| Fleming Fjord Formation | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: Norian-Rhaetian ~222–202 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N | |
 The Buch Bjerg "Track-site" at the Fleming Fjord Formation | |
| Type | Geological formation |
| Unit of | Scoresby Land Group |
| Sub-units | Edderfugledal, Malmros Klint & Ørsted Dal Members |
| Underlies | Kap Stewart Group |
| Overlies | Gippsdalen Formation |
| Area | 3,000 km (1,200 sq mi) |
| Thickness | 200–300 m (660–980 ft) |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Mudstone, claystone |
| Other | Limestone, sandstone |
| Location | |
| Coordinates | 71°54′N 22°34′W / 71.9°N 22.56°W / 71.9; -22.56 |
| Approximate paleocoordinates | 45°42′N 2°48′W / 45.7°N 2.8°W / 45.7; -2.8 |
| Region | East Greenland |
| Country |  Greenland |
| Extent | Jameson Land |
| Type section | |
| Named for | Fleming Fjord |
  Fleming Fjord Formation (Greenland) | |
The Fleming Fjord Formation, alternatively called the Fleming Fjord Group is an Upper Triassic geological formation in the northeastern coast of Jameson Land, Greenland. It consists of terrestrial sediments and is known for its fossil content.
Description
It is of Norian to Rhaetian age and is subdivided into three members; at the base the Edderfugledal Member, followed by the Malmros Klint Member with the Ørsted Dal Member at the top. It was deposited in a large shallow to ephemeral lake.
Paleobiota
The fauna of Fleming Fjord is diverse, including sauropodomorph dinosaurs, pterosaurs, temnospondyls, mammaliaforms, aetosaurs, and other taxa. Freshwater unionid bivalves and conchostracans have been reported from the Malmros Klint Member.
Fish
Lungfish, actinopterygian, and chondrichthyan teeth have been reported from the Malmros Klint Member.
| Fish of the Fleming Fjord Formation | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Genus / Taxon | Species | Member | Notes |
| Ceratodus | C. tunuensis | Ørsted Dal Member | A lungfish, possibly synonymous with Ptychoceratodus rectangulus |
| Ptychoceratodus | P. rectangulus | Ørsted Dal Member | A lungfish |
Amphibians
| Amphibians of the Fleming Fjord Formation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus / Taxon | Species | Member | Notes | Images |
| Cyclotosaurus | C. naraserluki | Ørsted Dal Member | A capitosaurian temnospondyl |  |
| Gerrothorax | G. cf. pulcherrimus | Malmros Klint Member,
Ørsted Dal Member |
A plagiosaurid temnospondyl | |
| Salientia indet. | Ørsted Dal Member | A potential stem-group anuran (frog) | ||
Reptiles
Besides the forms described below, a diverse ichnofauna of small and large tracks has also been reported from the Malmros Klint Member, as well as coprolites and additional theropod, pterosaur, and turtle fossils.
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
| Reptiles of the Fleming Fjord Formation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus / Taxon | Species | Member | Notes | Images |
| Aetosaurus | A. ferratus | Ørsted Dal Member | A small aetosaur |     |
| Arcticodactylus | A. cromptonellus | Ørsted Dal Member | A eudimorphodontid pterosaur | |
| cf. Brachychirotherium | Ørsted Dal Member | Small quadrupedal tracks, likely produced by small or juvenile pseudosuchians | ||
| Eosauropus sp. | Ørsted Dal Member | Large (>40 cm per footprint) quadrupedal tracks, likely produced by an early sauropod related to Eusauropoda | ||
| Evazoum sp. | Ørsted Dal Member | Large (~36 cm per footprint) bipedal tracks, likely produced by a plateosaurian sauropodomorph. By far the largest prints assigned to this ichnogenus | ||
| Grallator sp. | Malmros Klint Member, Ørsted Dal Member | Small bipedal tracks, likely produced by theropods | ||
| Issi | I. saaneq | Malmros Klint Member | A plateosaurid sauropodomorph closely related to (and previously referred to) Plateosaurus | |
| Paratypothorax | P. andressorum | Ørsted Dal Member? | A moderate-sized paratypothoracin aetosaur | |
| Phytosauria indet. | Malmros Klint Member | Indeterminate phytosaur fossils, including adult and juvenile specimens | ||
| Plateosauridae indet. | Malmros Klint Member, Ørsted Dal Member | Undescribed fossils of plateosaurid sauropodomorphs, including complete skeletons. Plateosaurid skull material has been named as the species Issi saaneq | ||
| cf. Proganochelys | Ørsted Dal Member | Turtle fossils possibly referrable to Proganochelys | ||
| Testudinata indet. | Malmros Klint Member?, Ørsted Dal Member | Indeterminate testudinatan (turtle) fossils | ||
Synapsids
| Synapsids of the Fleming Fjord Formation | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus / Taxon | Species | Member | Notes | Images |
| cf. Brachyzostrodon | Ørsted Dal Member | A morganucodont mammaliaform |  | |
| Haramiyavia | H. clemmenseni | Ørsted Dal Member | A haramiyid mammaliaform | |
| Kalaallitkigun | K. jenkinsi | Ørsted Dal Member | A haramiyid mammaliaform | |
| Kuehneotherium sp. | Ørsted Dal Member | A kuehneotheriid mammaliaform | ||
| Mitredon | M. cromptoni | Ørsted Dal Member | A probainognathian cynodont with uncertain affinities | |
See also
References
- Clemmensen, L.B.; Kent, D.V.; Jenkins, F.A. Jr. (1998). "A Late Triassic lake system in East Greenland: facies, depositional cycles and palaeoclimate" (PDF). Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 140 (1–4). Elsevier: 135–159. Bibcode:1998PPP...140..135C. doi:10.1016/s0031-0182(98)00043-1. Retrieved 2 December 2012.
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- ^ Sulej, Tomasz; Wolniewicz, Andrzej; Bonde, Niels; Błażejowski, Błażej; Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz; Tałanda, Mateusz (2014-12-10). "New perspectives on the Late Triassic vertebrates of East Greenland: preliminary results of a Polish−Danish palaeontological expedition". Polish Polar Research. 35 (4): 541–552. doi:10.2478/popore-2014-0030. ISSN 2081-8262. S2CID 44113380.
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- ^ Marco Marzola; Octávio Mateus; Jesper Milàn; Lars B. Clemmensen (March 2018). "A review of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic tetrapods from Greenland". Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark: 21–46.
- Klein, Hendrik; Milàn, Jesper; Clemmensen, Lars B.; Frobøse, Nicolaj; Mateus, Octávio; Klein, Nicole; Adolfssen, Jan S.; Estrup, Eliza J.; Wings, Oliver (2015-12-16). "Archosaur footprints (cf.Brachychirotherium) with unusual morphology from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation (Norian–Rhaetian) of East Greenland". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 434 (1): 71–85. doi:10.1144/sp434.1. ISSN 0305-8719. S2CID 56216714.
- ^ Lallensack, Jens; Klein, Hendrik; Milán, Jesper; Wings, Oliver; Mateus, Octávio; Clemmensen, Lars (2017). "Sauropodomorph dinosaur trackways from the Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland: evidence for Late Triassic sauropods". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 62. doi:10.4202/app.00374.2017. hdl:10362/33146. ISSN 0567-7920.
- ^ Beccari, V.; Mateus, O.; Wings, O.; Milàn, J.; Clemmensen, L. B. (2021). "Issi saaneq gen. et sp. nov.—A New Sauropodomorph Dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Norian) of Jameson Land, Central East Greenland". Diversity. 13 (11): 561. doi:10.3390/d13110561. hdl:10362/128951.
- Prothero, D. R. (2015). The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution. New York, NY: Columbia University Press. ISBN 9780231539425.
- Tomasz Sulej; Grzegorz Krzesiński; Mateusz Tałanda; Andrzej S. Wolniewicz; Błażej Błażejowski; Niels Bonde; Piotr Gutowski; Maksymilian Sienkiewicz; Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki (2020). "The earliest-known mammaliaform fossil from Greenland sheds light on origin of mammals". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 117 (43): 26861–26867. Bibcode:2020PNAS..11726861S. doi:10.1073/pnas.2012437117. PMC 7604429. PMID 33046636. S2CID 222320190.
Bibliography
- Kent, D. V.; Clemmensen, L. B. (2021). "Northward dispersal of dinosaurs from Gondwana to Greenland at the mid-Norian (215–212 Ma, Late Triassic) dip in atmospheric pCO2". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. 118 (8): e2020778118. Bibcode:2021PNAS..11820778K. doi:10.1073/pnas.2020778118. PMC 7923678. PMID 33593914.