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 vertebrate-bearing Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland revisited: stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and new palaeontological data
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Published:January 01, 2016
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CiteCitation
Lars B. Clemmensen, Jesper Milàn, Jan Schulz Adolfssen, Eliza Jarl Estrup, Nicolai Frobøse, Nicole Klein, Octávio Mateus, Oliver Wings, 2016. "The vertebrate-bearing Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland revisited: stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and new palaeontological data", 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
In Late Triassic (Norian–Rhaetian) times, the Jameson Land Basin lay at 40° N on the northern part of the supercontinent Pangaea. This position placed the basin in a transition zone between the relatively dry interior of the supercontinent and its more humid periphery. Sedimentation in the Jameson Land Basin took place in a lake–mudflat system and was controlled by orbitally forced variations in precipitation. Vertebrate fossils have consistently been found in these lake deposits (Fleming Fjord Formation), and include fishes, dinosaurs, amphibians, turtles, aetosaurs and pterosaurs. Furthermore, the fauna includes mammaliaform teeth and skeletal material. New vertebrate fossils were found during a joint vertebrate palaeontological and sedimentological expedition to Jameson Land in 2012. These new finds include phytosaurs, a second stem testudinatan specimen and new material of sauropodomorph dinosaurs, including osteologically immature individuals. Phytosaurs are a group of predators common in the Late Triassic, but previously unreported from Greenland. The finding includes well-preserved partial skeletons that show the occurrence of four individuals of three size classes. The new finds support a late Norian–early Rhaetian age for the Fleming Fjord Formation, and add new information on the palaeogeographical and palaeolatitudinal distribution of Late Triassic faunal provinces.
- Amphibia
- Archosauria
- Arctic region
- assemblages
- biochronology
- biodiversity
- biogenic structures
- biogeography
- bones
- Chordata
- classification
- depositional environment
- Diapsida
- dinosaurs
- East Greenland
- faunal provinces
- faunal studies
- fossils
- Greenland
- ichnofossils
- Jameson Land
- Labyrinthodontia
- lacustrine environment
- lithofacies
- magnetic properties
- magnetic susceptibility
- Mesozoic
- paleoclimatology
- paleoenvironment
- paleogeography
- paleolatitude
- paleomagnetism
- Phytosauria
- Reptilia
- review
- Saurischia
- Sauropodomorpha
- sedimentary structures
- sedimentation
- stratigraphy
- stromatolites
- succession
- taxonomy
- Temnospondyli
- Testudinata
- Tetrapoda
- Thecodontia
- Theropoda
- thrombolites
- tracks
- Triassic
- Upper Triassic
- Vertebrata
- Fleming Fjord Formation
- Jameson Land Basin
- Tait Bjerg Beds
- Carlsberg Fjord Beds