Skip to main content

Research Repository

Advanced Search

The Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of North Greenland: a remote window on the Cambrian Explosion

Harper, D.A.T.; Hammarlund, E.U.; Topper, T.P.; Nielsen, A.T.; Rasmussen, J.A.; T-y.s., Park; Smith, M.P.

The Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of North Greenland: a remote window on the Cambrian Explosion Thumbnail


Authors

E.U. Hammarlund

T.P. Topper

A.T. Nielsen

J.A. Rasmussen

Park T-y.s.

M.P. Smith



Abstract

The lower Cambrian Lagerstätte of Sirius Passet, Nansen Land, North Greenland, is one of the oldest of the Phanerozoic, exceptionally preserved biotas. The Lagerstätte evidences the escalation of numbers of new body plans and life modes that formed the basis for a modern, functionally tiered ecosystem. The fauna is dominated by predators – infaunal, benthic and pelagic – and the presence of abundant nekton, including large sweep-net feeders, suggests an ecosystem rich in nutrients. Recent discoveries have helped reconstruct digestive systems and their contents; muscle fibres; and visual and nervous systems, for a number of taxa. New collections have confirmed the complex combination of taphonomic pathways associated with the biota and its potentially substantial biodiversity. These complex animal-based communities within the Buen Formation were associated with microbial matgrounds, now preserved in black mudstones deposited below storm-wave base that provide insight to the shift from late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) to Cambrian substrates and communities. Moreover, the encasing sediment holds important data on the palaeoenvironment and the water-column chemistry, suggesting that these animal-based communities developed in conditions with very low oxygen concentrations.

Citation

Harper, D., Hammarlund, E., Topper, T., Nielsen, A., Rasmussen, J., T-y.s., P., & Smith, M. (2019). The Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of North Greenland: a remote window on the Cambrian Explosion. Journal of the Geological Society, 176(6), 1023-1037. https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2019-043

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Jun 20, 2019
Online Publication Date Jul 26, 2019
Publication Date Nov 30, 2019
Deposit Date Jun 27, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal Journal of the Geological Society
Print ISSN 0016-7649
Electronic ISSN 2041-479X
Publisher The Geological Society
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 176
Issue 6
Pages 1023-1037
DOI https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2019-043

Files





You might also like



Downloadable Citations