A Balto-Scandian Middle Cambrian fauna from Peary Land, North Greenland

Abstract

The first record of Middle Cambrian faunas of 'Atlantic' affinity from the Franklinian basin sequence of North Greenland was made by Poulsen (1969) who noted that previously described Greenland faunas were of 'Pacific' type. Field work by the Geological Survey of Greenland during the last decade has established that 'Atlantic' faunas are widespread in more outer shelfsequences along the northern coast of North Greenland while the 'Pacific' faunas occur within inner shelfsequences more to the south, near the margin of the Inland Ice. North Greenland preserves both faunas in dose geographical juxtaposition in only slightly tectonised geological settings. Thus, alatest Middle Cambrian trilobite fauna described by Robison (in press) from the Holm Dal Formation in an area some 40 km south of the presently discussed locality (and more inner shelf) includes a mixture of polymeroids characteristic of the Cedaria Zone of North America and agnostoids characteristic of the Lejopyge laevigata Zone of the Swedish standard zonation.