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.
Biota and palaeoenvironment of a high middle-latitude Late Triassic peat-forming ecosystem from Hopen, Svalbard archipelago
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Published:January 01, 2016
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CiteCitation
S. McLoughlin, C. Strullu-Derrien, 2016. "Biota and palaeoenvironment of a high middle-latitude Late Triassic peat-forming ecosystem from Hopen, Svalbard archipelago", 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
A siliceous permineralized peat block recovered from Hopen in the Svalbard archipelago hosts a low-diversity Late Triassic flora dominated by autochthonous roots and stems of bennettitaleans and lycophytes, and parautochthonous leaves, sporangia, spores and pollen from a small range of pteridophytes and gymnosperms. Some parenchymatous bennettitalean root cells show interactions with chytrid fungi and bacteria; the remains of other fungi and fungi-like organisms are dispersed within the peat’s detrital matrix. Cavities excavated through some roots and compacted detritus contain abundant coprolites probably derived from sapro-xylophagous oribatid mites, although no body fossils have yet been identified. Sparse larger coprolites containing leaf fragments attest to the presence of invertebrate folivores in the ancient ecosystem. The low-diversity flora, relatively few trophic levels and simple nutritional web, together with sedimentological aspects of the host formation and the peat structure, collectively favour accumulation of the organic mass as a fibric (root-dominated) peat within a temperate (high middle-latitude), well-aerated mire.
- Arctic region
- Arthropoda
- assemblages
- bacteria
- Bennettitales
- biodiversity
- biogeography
- biota
- Bryophyta
- colonization
- communities
- Coniferales
- coprolites
- degradation
- deposition
- detritus
- diet
- ecosystems
- feeding
- floral provinces
- floral studies
- food chains
- fossilization
- fungi
- Gymnospermae
- ichnofossils
- Invertebrata
- leaves
- Lycopsida
- Mesozoic
- microfossils
- microorganisms
- miospores
- mires
- morphology
- nutrients
- nutrition
- paleoecology
- paleoenvironment
- palynomorphs
- peat
- peatlands
- pH
- Plantae
- pollen
- preservation
- provenance
- Pteridophyta
- Pteridospermae
- quantitative analysis
- reconstruction
- reproduction
- roots
- sediments
- seeds
- silicification
- soft parts
- Spermatophyta
- sporangia
- spores
- Svalbard
- terrestrial environment
- Triassic
- trophic analysis
- Upper Triassic
- vegetation
- permineralization
- Hopen Island
- De Geerdalen Formation