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Conodonts from a platform-to-basin transect, lower Ordovician to lower Silurian, northeastern British Columbia, Canada1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

Leanne J. Pyle  and
Christopher R. Barnes
Leanne J. Pyle
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P6, Canada, ,
Christopher R. Barnes
Affiliation:
School of Earth and Ocean Sciences, University of Victoria, P.O. Box 3055, Victoria, B.C. V8W 3P6, Canada, ,
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Abstract

The conodont fauna from nine sections across a platform-to-basin transect in northeastern British Columbia includes species of Early Ordovician (Tremadocian) to Early Silurian (Llandovery) age. A collection of 9,110 conodont elements was recovered from 205 samples taken from nine stratigraphic sections that preserve the platform succession of the Kechika, Skoki, Beaverfoot, McCusker and Nonda Formations and their off-shelf equivalents, the Ospika, Robb, Kenny and Laurier Formations of the Road River Group. The fauna is assigned to 106 species representing 67 genera; the Ordovician species are representative of two faunal realms. One new genus, left in open nomenclature, is described. Five new species include Drepanoistodus latus and four new species left in open nomenclature assigned to the following genera: Walliserodus, Multioistodus?, Pseudooneotodus, and Belodina. The Midcontinent Realm zones recognized include, in ascending order, the Acodus kechikaensis, Oepikodus communis, Jumudontus gananda, Tripodus laevis to Plectodina aculeata zones, Phragmodus undatus and Gamachignathus ensifer? zones. Zonal species of the Atlantic Realm are Microzarkodina flabellum, Eoplacognathus suecicus, Baltoniodus variabilis, Pygodus anserinus, and Amorphognathus tvaerensis. The Silurian fauna, of lower diversity than the Ordovician fauna, is representative of the Distomodus staurognathoides and Pterospathodus amorphognathoides zones.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 77 , Issue 1 , January 2003 , pp. 146 - 171
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society

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Footnotes

1

All tables available on the Journal of Paleontology's Supplemental Database (http://www.journalofpaleontology.org).

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