Mesozoic Biotas of Scandinavia and its Arctic Territories

Scandinavia and its Arctic territories of Svalbard and Greenland represent geographical regions with a long history of Mesozoic palaeontology. However, the last few decades have witnessed a surge of new discoveries. Especially famous are the Triassic and Late Jurassic Lagerstätten of East Greenland and Spitsbergen in the Svalbard Archipelago, together with the Late Cretaceous strata of southern Sweden and the UNESCO World Heritage locality at Stevns Klint in Denmark. The latter records one of the most complete terminal Mesozoic rock successions known globally. Collectively, these deposits encompass the spectrum of Mesozoic biotic evolution, including the explosive radiation of marine faunas after the Permian–Triassic extinction, seminal specialization of amniotes for life in the sea, Late Triassic–Jurassic domination of the land by dinosaurs and the Cretaceous development of modern terrestrial floras and marine ecosystems. This volume, authored by leading experts in the field, encapsulates key aspects of the latest research and will provide a benchmark for future investigations into the Scandinavian Mesozoic world.
The Slottsmøya marine reptile Lagerstätte: depositional environments, taphonomy and diagenesis
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Published:January 01, 2016
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CiteCitation
Lene L. Delsett, Linn K. Novis, Aubrey J. Roberts, Maayke J. Koevoets, Øyvind Hammer, Patrick S. Druckenmiller, Jørn H. Hurum, 2016. "The Slottsmøya marine reptile Lagerstätte: depositional environments, taphonomy and diagenesis", Mesozoic Biotas of Scandinavia and its Arctic Territories, B. P. Kear, J. Lindgren, J. H. Hurum, J. Milàn, V. Vajda
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Abstract
The Late Jurassic Slottsmøya Member Lagerstätte on Spitsbergen offers a unique opportunity to study the relationships between vertebrate fossil preservation, invertebrate occurrences and depositional environment. In this study, 21 plesiosaurian and 17 ichthyosaur specimens are described with respect to articulation, landing mode, preservation, and possible predation and scavenging. The stratigraphic distribution of marine reptiles in the Slottsmøya Member is analysed, and a correlation between high total organic content, low oxygen levels, few benthic invertebrates and optimal reptile preservation is observed. A new model for 3D preservation of vertebrates in highly compacted organic shales is explained.
A taphonomic description of each marine reptile specimen is available at https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.2133549
- anatomy
- Arctic region
- benthic taxa
- biomechanics
- bones
- burial
- Chordata
- compaction
- correlation
- depositional environment
- diagenesis
- Diapsida
- dissolved oxygen
- distribution
- erosion
- faunal studies
- feeding
- fossilization
- fossils
- Ichthyosauria
- Invertebrata
- Jurassic
- Lagerstatten
- marine environment
- Mesozoic
- occurrence
- organic compounds
- oxygen
- paleocurrents
- paleoenvironment
- Plesiosauria
- predation
- preservation
- Reptilia
- Sauropterygia
- skeletons
- solutes
- Spitsbergen
- stratigraphy
- Svalbard
- taphonomy
- Tetrapoda
- three-dimensional models
- total organic carbon
- Upper Jurassic
- Vertebrata
- Slottsmoya Member