Logo: to the web site of Uppsala University

New occurrences of flask-shaped and envelope-bearing microfossils, including the predominantly Cambrian taxon Granomarginata, are reported from new localities, as well as from earlier in time (Ediacaran) than previously known. The stratigraphic range of Granomarginata extends into the Cambrian System, where it had a cosmopolitan distribution. This newly reported Ediacaran record includes areas from Norway (Baltica), Newfoundland (Avalonia) and Namibia (adjacent to the Kalahari Craton), and puts the oldest global occurrence of Granomarginata in the Indreelva Member (< 563 Ma) of the Stahpogieddi Formation on the Digermulen Peninsula, Arctic Norway. Although Granomarginata is rare within the assemblage, these new occurrences together with previously reported occurrences from India and Poland, suggest a potentially widespread palaeogeographic distribution of Granomarginata through the middle-late Ediacaran interval. A new flask-shaped microfossil Lagoenaforma collaris gen. et sp. nov. is also reported in horizons containing Granomarginata from the Stahpogieddi Formation in Norway and the Dabis Formation in Namibia, and flask-shaped fossils are also found in the Gibbett Hill Formation in Newfoundland. The Granomarginata-Lagoenaforma association, in addition to a low-diversity organic-walled microfossil assemblage, occurs in the strata postdating the Shuram carbon isotope excursion, and may eventually be of use in terminal Ediacaran biostratigraphy. These older occurrences of Granomarginata add to a growing record of body fossil taxa spanning the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary.

The late Neoproterozoic strata in Finnmark (Arctic Norway) provide a good sedimentary record of Neoproterozoic glaciations on the Baltica paleocontinent. The lower Vestertana Group exposed on the Digermulen Peninsula contains two glaciogenic units, the Smalfjord and Mortensnes formations. Chemostratigraphic correlation dated the Smalfjord diamictite to the Marinoan glaciation (650-635 Ma), yet its age was also proposed to be older, per correlation to glacial units in central and southern Scandinavia. The diamictites are bracketing shales and siltstones of the interglacial Nyborg Formation. Stratigraphic, paleontological, and sedimentological data are presented from the interglacial-glacial succession, investigated by the Digermulen Early Life Research Group. Palynological analysis yielded well-preserved organic-walled microfossils (OWM) from the Nyborg Fm., and from fine-grained diamictite matrix in the Mortensnes Fm. via a modified extraction method.

The interglacial Nyborg Fm. hosts a moderate diversity assemblage of prokaryotic and eukaryotic OWM, as well as acanthomorphic acritarchs such as Ceratosphaeridium, ?Cavaspina, and a novel process-bearing form. Organically preserved, enigmatic multicellular eukaryotic fossils occur in the upper Nyborg Fm. The Mortensens glacial assemblage is less diverse and contains bacterial filaments, leiosphaerids, toroidal forms, and Micrhystridium-type minute acanthomorphs.

The presence of Doushantuo-Pertatataka type acritarchs in the Nyborg Fm., and small acanthomorphs in the Mortensnes diamictite corroborate an early Ediacaran age for the interglacial-glacial succession on Digermulen. In addition to the trace fossil and body-fossil record of Ediacara-biota in the overlying Stáhpogieddi Formation, the microfossil biostratigraphy suggests Marinoan and Gaskiers glaciation equivalent ages of the Varanger glaciations in Finnmark. Protistan diversity in the succession declined through and following the glaciation, until late Ediacaran.

New organic-walled microfossil (OWM) assemblages are reported from upper Neoproterozoic glacial and interglacial siliciclastic deposits in Finnmark, northern Norway. A nearly continuous sedimentary succession of the Vestertana Group contains two glaciogenic units, the Smalfjorden and Mortensnes formations, interpreted as end-Cryogenian Marinoan and Ediacaran glaciations, respectively. We investigated the OWM record in the Nyborg, Mortensnes, and St ' ahpogieddi formations to assess the impact of a glacial interval on the diversity of microscopic eukaryotes. A modified acid-extraction technique was applied to recover OWM from the diamictite matrix. The upper Nyborg Formation contains morphologically complex Doushantuo-Pertatataka acritarchs (DPA), restricting the age of the Nyborg Formation to early-mid Ediacaran. DPA occur below the dolostones that record a negative carbon isotope excursion correlated with the Shuram anomaly and below a glacial diamictite. A decline in species richness and compositional change is observed in the Mortensnes glacial assemblage. DPA are replaced by bacterial filaments and cell aggregates. The overlying Indreelva Member, St ' ahpogieddi Formation contains Ediacara-type biota and palaeopascichnids, but only a depauperate OWM assemblage of leiosphaerids and flask-shaped microfossils characteristic of the late Ediacaran.The succession of assemblages in the Vestertana Group demonstrates a turnover from large eukaryotic OWM to a microbial community in the glacial interval, to a low diversity post-glacial assemblage during the rise of macroscopic life. We compared the Vestertana record to global DPA occurrences. Although one DPA assemblage zone postdates the Shuram excursion, no DPA occur above Ediacaran glacial diamictites in successions where those deposits are present. Considering this, and the community changes in the Vestertana succession, we suggest that DPA were affected by the onset of an Ediacaran glaciation. Lastly, we combined the biostratigraphic markers in the Vestertana Group to constrain the age of the Mortensnes diamictite.

The late Neoproterozoic Nyborg Formation is exposed in the Tanafjord area, Finnmark, Arctic Norway, on Digermulen and Varanger Peninsulas. The succession is composed of ~400 m of interbedded shales, siltstone and purple to grey sandstone, deposited between Neoproterozoic low latitude glacial deposits. The Nyborg Fm. lies on top of the Smalfjord diamictite, and is overlain by the Mortensnes diamictite (the latter was attributed to both Marinoan (650-635 Ma) and Gaskiers (579 Ma) glaciations) and the Ediacaran-Cambrian Stáhpogieddi Formation. Thus, the Nyborg Fm. represents late Neoproterozoic, probably the last Cryogenian interglacial interval. Presented material was collected in 2014 by members of Digermulen Early Life Research Group, from organic-rich, grey-green shales and siltstones of the Nyborg Mbr. D, uppermost Nyborg Fm. between Árasulluokta and Guvssájohka valleys. Organic-walled microfossils were extracted from shale via standard palynological acetolysis in hydrofluoric acid, and studied via light and scanning electron microscopy. Microfossils from the Nyborg Fm. include Synsphaeridium-type aggregated cells, unbranched bacterial filaments (Polythrichoides and Siphonophycus), sphaeromorph and envelope-bearing acritarchs (leiosphaerids, Stictosphaeridium, Simia), and previously unrecognized aggregated tubular microfossils. These taxa are long-ranging, but common in glacial-interglacial units worldwide, and thus broadly corroborate the Cryogenian age of the Nyborg sediments. The novel fossil, up to 300 μm in size, is a parenchymatous meshwork of interconnected organic-walled tubes that terminate in cup-shaped apices 4-11 µm in diameter. Irregular tube clusters are truncated both in macerates and in thin sections, suggesting post mortem transport. Elemental EDXS analysis indicates that extracted meshwork microfossils are predominantly composed of carbonaceous material and also associated with small amounts of titanium and vanadium. Considering the branching and adjoined body plan of carbonaceous fossil, it was likely multicellular and of eukaryotic affinity. As such, it may represent an important step in the evolution of complex multicellularity and morphological complexity several million years before the appearance of Ediacaran organisms.

Eukaryotic multicellularity originated in the Mesoproterozoic Era and evolved multiple times since, yet early multicellular fossils are scarce until the terminal Neoproterozoic and often restricted to cases of exceptional preservation. Here we describe unusual organically-preserved fossils from mudrocks, that provide support for the presence of organisms with differentiated cells (potentially an epithelial layer) in the late Neoproterozoic. Cyathinema digermulense gen. et sp. nov. from the Nyborg Formation, Vestertana Group, Digermulen Peninsula in Arctic Norway, is a new carbonaceous organ-taxon which consists of stacked tubes with cup-shaped ends. It represents parts of a larger organism (multicellular eukaryote or a colony), likely with greater preservation potential than its other elements. Arrangement of open-ended tubes invites comparison with cells of an epithelial layer present in a variety of eukaryotic clades. This tissue may have benefitted the organism in: avoiding overgrowth, limiting fouling, reproduction, or water filtration. C. digermulense shares characteristics with extant and fossil groups including red algae and their fossils, demosponge larvae and putative sponge fossils, colonial protists, and nematophytes. Regardless of its precise affinity, C. digermulense was a complex and likely benthic marine eukaryote exhibiting cellular differentiation, and a rare occurrence of early multicellularity outside of Konservat-Lagerstatten.

Den 18 juni 1715 försvarades uppsatsen De Fluviatili Astaco ejusque usu medico vid Uppsalauniversitet. Författaren var Lars Roberg ochämnet var kräftdjur av olika slag. Arbetet innehöllen figur och på denna avbildades tre fossil;en krabba och två svanssköldar från trilobiter. Fossil hade aldrig tidigare avbildats i trycktaarbeten i Sverige, och därmed blev Lars Robergför trehundra år sedan den första i Sverige attillustrera fossil, därtill även svenska sådana.

Remains of 17(th) century cabinets of curiosity collections are held at the Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Sweden. Some of the oldest date back to the 1650s, and were included in the collection of Archiater, i.e. physician to the Crown, von Bromell (1679-1731). He is also known for publishing the first series of papers in Sweden to exclusively deal with palaeontology. Throughout his life he acquired specimens by collecting, buying or receiving in exchange to add to those he inherited from his father Olaus Bromelius, a famous botanist and physician. Information on the labels gives a glimpse of his network of friends, colleagues and fellow collectors, such as Kilian Stobaeus, Lars Roberg, Emanuel Swedenborg, Elias Brenner and Johan Dobelius. When Bromell died, his vast collections of books, coins, furniture, conchs, stuffed animals, minerals and fossils were sold off. The minerals and fossils were split up and owned by various persons during the following century. Parts owned by A. Lagerberg between the years 1746 and 1776 were bought in 1796 by Johan Afzelius and donated to Uppsala University at his death. Fossils and minerals earlier described by Bromell were in the care of The Royal Society of Science in Uppsala at least by 1791. Through the Institute of Geology, fossils accumulated over the centuries at Uppsala University eventually came together under the same roof in 1932, under professor Carl Wiman's care at the then newly erected Palaeontology museum building. Today, about 300 fossils from the Bromell collection are preserved at the museum.

The hyolith assemblage from the early Cambrian of Bornholm, Denmark, shows a higher diversity than contemporary assemblages in Baltoscandia. The most common species in the Green Shales (Laesa Formation, Norretorp Member, Cambrian Stage 3), is Hyolithes [=Hyolithus] (Orthotheca) johnstrupi Holm, 1893. A specimen of this species shows a well-preserved and almost complete digestive tract, folded into an approximately 22mm long chevron-like structure comprised of at least 20 arcuate loops on the ventral side and a flattened, gently sinuous to straight anal tube on the dorsal side. The thin, phosphatic outer shell layer of the conch is crushed under the digestive tract due to compaction while the digestive tract is preserved in three dimensions and appears undisturbed. The shape of the digestive tract is similar to that of the middle Cambrian Guduguwan hardmani (Etheridge) from Australia and the lower Cambrian specimens from Russia described by Mekova & Sysoev. The Danish specimen is probably an adult, lending support to the idea that the orthothecid digestive tract becomes more complex during ontogeny. Hyolithus (Orthotheca) johnstrupi is revised and here referred to Circotheca Sysoev, 1958.

A low abundance but diverse fauna of tergomyan molluscs is described from the Llangynog Inlier, Carmarthenshire, South Wales. The specimens originate from a single quarry exposing shallow-water siltstone and mudstone beds of the Early Arenig (early Floian) Bolahaul Member of the Ogof Hen Formation. The fauna includes Proplina areniga sp. nov., Proplina? obtusa sp. nov., Celtopileus calvapex gen. et sp. nov. with preserved muscle scars, Costulaconus mirificus gen. et sp. nov., and Hypseloconus? sp. Comparable tryblidiid taxa are mainly found in the Lower Ordovician of Midwestern USA among species of Proplina Kobayashi, 1933 and Gasconadeoconus Stinchcomb, 1986. The tentative assignment of the predominantly late Cambrian Hypseloconus is symptomatic of the many uncertainties regarding the phylogeny of the tryblidiids. The diverse assemblage of organisms preserved at the single locality represents one of the most remarkable faunas of this age worldwide.

The tergomyan genus Carcassonnella Horny´ and Peel, 1996 is common in and characteristic of the Mediterranean Province in peri-Gondwanan terranes during the late Tremadoc and Arenig. It is united with other small, slitbearingcyrtonellids in the Carcassonnellidae Horny´ , 1997b, of which Baltiscanella Horny´ , 1997b from the Arenig of the Oslo Region, Norway, and Sarkanella from the Caradoc of the Siljan District, Sweden has been recognized outside the Mediterranean Province. The most inclusive view of the Carcassonnellidae unites Peelerophon Yochelson, 1982, Carcassonnella Horny´ and Peel, 1996, Sarkanella Horny´ , 1997a, Baltiscanella Horny´ , 1997b, and Tachillanella Horny´ , 1997b. Patterns of distribution of genera in the family are obscured, however, by widely different phylogenetic relationships presented in the literature. Here, Carcassonnella multilineata (Reed, 1920) is documented in the upper Whitehouse and Drummuck subgroups of the Girvan district, Midland Valley of Scotland, being the first record of the genus outside peri-Gondwana. Its enigmatic occurrence on the edge of Laurentia is opposed to the occurrence of low latitude benthic faunas in higher latitudes during this time interval (the Boda Event). It is likely, therefore, that the genus spread from the ancient stock found on the Perunican microcontinent as this drifted away from Gondwana in the mid-Caradoc.

In 1908, Carl Wiman of Uppsala University, Sweden, discovered rich horizons with Triassic vertebrate remains in Spitsbergen on Svalbard, Norway. This marked the beginning ofvertebrate palaeontology as a science in Sweden, subsequently developed mainly through the collection and study of non-Swedish fossil remains. Wiman’s accomplishments, resolute personality and a tight network of influential friends and supporters enabled him to becomethe first person in Sweden to hold a university chair in Palaeontology and Historical Geology. He also managed to amass large numbers of unique fossil vertebrate specimens culminating inan extensive Chinese collection of both world famous dinosaurs and Neogene mammalsdeposited at Uppsala University. Joint scientific Sino-Swedish collaboration and a  deliberate Swedish scientific agenda ensured this unprecedented situation in an opportune moment.Governmental support and initiative allowed Uppsala University and Carl Wiman’sPalaeontological Institute to erect a museum building dedicated foremost to the Chinese material, now known as the Lagrelius Collection in recognition of the patron behind Wiman’s ambitious endeavours. In addition, the museum served as a permanent repository for seminal collections of Mesozoic fossils from Svalbard and North America. Collectively, these represent a landmark research and teaching resource that remains of intense scientific interest eventoday.

In 1908, Carl Wiman of Uppsala University, Sweden, discovered rich horizons with Triassic vertebrate remains in Spitsbergen on Svalbard, Norway. This marked the beginning of vertebrate palaeontology as a science in Sweden, subsequently developed mainly through the collection and study of non-Swedish fossil remains. Wiman's accomplishments, resolute personality and a tight network of influential friends and supporters enabled him to become the first person in Sweden to hold a university chair in Palaeontology and Historical Geology. He also managed to amass large numbers of unique fossil vertebrate specimens culminating in an extensive Chinese collection of both world famous dinosaurs and Neogene mammals deposited at Uppsala University. Joint scientific Sino-Swedish collaboration and a deliberate Swedish scientific agenda ensured this unprecedented situation in an opportune moment. Governmental support and initiative allowed Uppsala University and Carl Wiman's Palaeontological Institute to erect a museum building dedicated foremost to the Chinese material, now known as the Lagrelius Collection in recognition of the patron behind Wiman's ambitious endeavours. In addition, the museum served as a permanent repository for seminal collections of Mesozoic fossils from Svalbard and North America. Collectively, these represent a landmark research and teaching resource that remains of intense scientific interest even today.

Anticosti Island is located in the Gulf of St. Lawrence, Quebec, in eastern Canada. Relatively undisturbed Ordovician and Silurian sediments are preserved, with surface exposures ranging from the Ashgill (Rawtheyan) to the Llandovery (Telychian). Depositionally, they represent a shallow marine carbonate environment where Anticosti lies roughly parallel to the ancient shore line.

Gastropods are an important and prominent faunal component in the Ordovician and Silurian successions, with 58 species described. The current study, which is aimed at revising systematics, biostratigraphy, and biogeography of the gastropod fauna, has recognized several genera and species new to the island. The study is based on several large museum collections, but primarily on the unique material assembled by professor Paul Copper, Laurentian University, Canada.

Gastropods are found throughout the succession but their spatial distribution and ecological biofacies have yet to be mapped. Gastropod biogeography of Anticosti largely follows a pattern similar to that of trilobites and brachiopods. In the Ordovician Ellis Bay Formation especially, strong affinity with faunas from Baltica and eastern and marginal Laurentia is evident (for instance Tritonophon, Phragmolites, Pterotheca, Brachytomaria, and Arjamannia). Rare specimens of Pilina occur in the La Framboise reefs, a genus otherwise found sparsely in eastern Laurentia and more commonly in Baltica during the late Ordovician; Silurian forms of the genus are missing in Anticosti.

The Silurian fauna comprises widespread genera like Sphenosphaera and Salpingostoma, while a Phanerotrema species in the Jupiter Formation may be conspecific with forms found in Baltica. However, there is also a conspicuous near absence of otherwise common and widespread Silurian taxa such as Oriostoma and Euomphalopterus, which on Anticosti are only rarely seen in the reefal build-up of the Chicotte Formation. Similar patterns in trilobite distributions have been discussed as a function the pervading biofacies at deposition.

Four Middle and Upper Cambrian burlingiid trilobites from the Oslo Region, Norway, are described including Burlingia angusta sp. nov. from the Ptychagnostus punctuosus Zone and Schmalenseeia athrotryphe sp. nov. from the lower part of the Lejopyge laevigata Zone. New complete material previously attributed to Schmalenseeia jagoi Whittington is assigned to Burlingia. Cladistic analysis supports the genera Burlingia and Schmalenseeia as currently understood, including the placement of the controversial middle Middle Cambrian Schmalenseeia acutangula Westergård in Schmalenseeia, even though it lacks typical characters of the genus such as the median ridge on the preglabellar field. The analysis also supports burlingiid monophyly, and suggests that Schmalenseeia was derived from a broadly Burlingia-like ancestor, with S. acutangula displaying how the transition may have occurred. The broader relationships of Burlingia remain obscure, although similarities between burlingiids and the arthropod Kleptothule from the Early Cambrian Sirius Passet fauna are discussed: these include overall form, lack of functional hinges in the thorax, and details of the cephalic region. It is unclear whether these similarities represent general progenetic features, are functional convergences or, less likely, represent a genuine relationship.

Pterotheca hispanica nov. sp. is described from the basal beds (Stimulograptus sedgwickii graptolite Zone) of the Formigoso Fm., in the Cantabrian Zone of the Iberian Massif, north-western Spain. This specialized bellerophontoid gastropod is for the first time recorded in the Silurian of peri-Gondwana; it is the only Aeronian species known so far. Its most closely allied relatives are from higher beds placed in the Telychian of Scotland. Pterotheca is considered a highly derived genus within the Pterothecinae of the Carinaropsidae, with the strongly reduced to absent coiling and the growth of the septum being synapomorphies. In the present work it is shown that not only the apical angle of the septum can be used to distinguish species, but also the relative length and width of the septum. In some cases, the slit may extend as far back as the anterior part of the internal septum. Silurian species were hitherto only found in marginal Laurentian and Eastern Avalonian settings. Pterotheca is absent from central Laurentia and Baltica, where it could be expected to be present based on its wide Ordovician distribution. In the light of this, the occurrence of the genus in the Aeronian of Spain seems difficult to explain, albeit the genus was present in peri-Gondwana prior to the end-Ordovician extinction. The extreme scarcity of described taxa recorded from Avalonia, Baltica and Iberia during the Early Silurian may explain this patchy distribution.

Three cases of repaired injuries and malformation in specimens of the helcionelloid mollusc Helcionella antiqua (Ki & UAELIG;r, 1917) from the lower Cambrian (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) Gislov Formation of southern Sweden document some of the oldest known durophagous attacks on Palaeozoic molluscs. Two of the injuries are developed as clefts, of which one had a severe effect on the continued growth of the shell. The third example is a large embayment removing large portions of the supra-apical part of the shell. A similar repaired injury is known in the slightly older mollusc Marocella mira Geyer, 1986. from Antarctica and Australia. The morphology of the injuries and the hydrodynamically quiet depositional setting suggests that the shell damage was caused by failed predatory attacks. The location of the repaired injuries suggests that the attacks may have targeted the head region of the molluscs, thus supporting an endogastrically coiled orientation of the shell in Helcionella. Only three repaired injuries in 252 Helcionella specimens were found, giving a shell repair frequency of 1.2%. All three examples occur in the larger size classes. The size-frequency distribution (N = 182) is strongly right skewed, which could suggest high input of juvenile specimens into the assemblage. The assemblage is interpreted as a time averaged and mixed death assemblage, albeit with good correspondence with the living shelly assemblage, due to a relatively thin, homogenous unit that may suggest within-habitat time averaging.

A low diversity Sinuites-dominated gastropod community is described from the Floian, Arenig Series, of the Llangynog Inlier, southwest of Carmarthen, South Wales. The abundant material comes from shallow-water siltstone and mudstone beds of the Bolahaul Member of the Ogof Hen Formation. The locality has an exceptionally diverse mollusc-dominated fauna (63.5% of the fauna), with gastropods constituting 6% and tergomyans 1% and echinoderms, arthropods and other fauna making up the rest. Except for one rare tergomyan mollusc, identified as Catrassonnella cf. vizcainoi, other tergomyans are described elsewhere. Nearly half of all gastropod specimens are represented by Sinuites ramseyensis. Three of the five taxa described are new: Mimospira llangynogensis sp. nov., Catalanispira prima sp. nov., and Ceratopea? moridunensis sp. nov. The assemblage compares best with those of contemporaneous high-latitude peri-Gondwana areas. Early Ordovician species of Catva.ssonnella are typically found in France, Iberia, Czech Republic, and Morocco, while species ofillimospira are found in Germany and Czech Republic, but also in Baltica where the main radiation took place later. Two of the oldest occurrences of Mimospira are from Avalonian Wales (Carmarthenshire and Anglesey). Catalanispira occurs later in Baltica and Laurentia in the late Middle and early Late Ordovician, when taxa from these areas start to appear in Wales and vice versa. The presence of Ceratopea?, a genus typical of Laurentia, is at odds with the biogeographic distribution of faunas at this time. Part of the observed distribution pattern may be explained by different latitudinal position and facies depths of Avalonia compared to Armorica, Bohemia, and Morocco. The species described herein are amongst the first Floian taxa of these groups formally described from this area and add significantly to the global Floian record.

Ordovician trilobites from the important sequences of the Taimyr Peninsula, Arctic Russia have been poorly studied since the work by Balashova (1959, 1960). Newly collected and well-preserved specimens from Late Ordovician sections, along with the original collections of Balashova, form the basis of a reappraisal of 56 Upper Ordovician (Sandbian-Katian) trilobites. New species include Bronteopsis tenuirhachis, Dionide trigintasegmentata, Failleana superba, Pararemopleurides ornatissimus, Raymondella plastron, Robergia subtilis and R. nikolaiseni. Probable new species include: Stenopareia sp. aff. S. glaber, and Stygina sp. aff. S. latifrons. A new subgenus Bilobaspis of the monorakine genus Evenkaspis, and a new species, Evenkaspis (Bilobaspis) mirabilis, are proposed. Thoracic segments and pygidium are correctly associated for the first time with cephala of the hitherto poorly understood Taimyraspis. The genera Effnaspis and Yumenaspis are likely junior synonyms of Taimyraspis. A placement within the Ityophoridae is suggested for Taimyraspis, together with the closely related genera Ityophorus and Frognaspis. Comparison of Goldillaenoides taimyricus with Failleana suggests that these are also closely related. A provisional placement of the former in the Styginidae is adopted. Bronteopsis nannus Balashova could be a juvenile B. tenuirhachis, and is regarded as a nomen dubium. The genus Ceratevenkaspis dominates among the monorakines on Taimyr, while Monorakos itself has not been collected. Robergia nikolaiseni has a narrow cranidial border, which is also present in the type species of Robergia. Two biofacies are identified in the current collections. The first, the raphiophorid association, is widespread around low latitude Ordovician palaeocontinents, identifying marginal shelf sites; the association is not critical in defining palaeocontinents themselves. Inner shelf faunas of the monorakine-cheirurid-illaenid association have taxa that comprise a distinctive group with a strong link between Taimyr and the Ordovician Siberian craton. The trilobites described herein support reconstructions showing Taimyr peripheral to the Siberian craton during the Ordovician. 

The thick Late Ordovician (Katian) succession on the Taimyr Peninsula, Arctic Russia is divided into three regions showing a transition from a southern carbonate dominated facies, a central transitional facies, and a siliciclastic dominated northern facies. All regions are rich in trilobites but hitherto only the southern fauna was described. New collections have been added to this and allow a division into two very different biofacies for the Katian succession. Black limestone and shales have taxa similar to those of the peripheral Laurentian Scoto-Appalachian belt (Ampyxella, Ampxyina, Failleana, Pararemopleurides, Raymondella, Remopleurides, Robergia, Stygina, Taimyraspis, Telephina, and Toernquistia), and is termed the raphiophorid association. Further subdivisions may be possible, but the small number of new collections does not allow this at the moment. From shelf limestone a contrasting fauna contains monorakine trilobites (Carinopyge, Ceratevenkaspis, Elasmaspis, Evenkaspis, and Monorakos) endemic to the Siberian platform. Trilobites such as isotelines, Calyptaulax, Xylabion, and Cheirurus otherwise typical of inshore Laurentia co-occur with this fauna. This biofacies is termed the monorakine-cheirurid-illaenid association. Our results show that the Taimyr Peninsula, as an open shelf marginal to the Siberian Platform, typically would have the endemic monorakine-cheirurid-illaenid association, while similar conditions to those on the eastern fringes of the Iapetus Ocean permitted a short lived establishment of comparable faunas of the raphiophorid association.

Analyses of distribution and occurrences of both trilobites and brachiopods have been pivotal for the current understanding of Lower Palaeozoic biogeography. A fruitful coupling with palaeomagnetic studies has recently produced highly accurate palaeomaps for the Ordovician and Silurian. Tergomyan molluscs and gastropods represent abundant and diverse marine benthos with a huge potential for further detailing of Lower Palaeozoic biogeography. In the present project we aim at analysis of Ordovican – Devonian members of these groups, on a stage by stage level. The analysis will be at the generic level, because very few species seem to be common between the various palaeo terranes. This is especially true for the Ordovician. Although a number of important contributions on diversity and distribution exist, these molluscs have never been subjected to a large-scale numerical analysis. In the literature, Ordovican taxa such as Peelerophon (Tergomya), Tritonophon (Gastropoda), and the widespread macluritid gastropods have been recognized as useful for biogeographical studies. For Silurian, and particularly Devonian taxa, a much better understanding of biogoeographical distribution exists. Devonian gastropods have for instance been used to formalize distinct biogeographical realms. The current project involves several experts, with the two authors as principal coordinators.

The biogeographical distribution of Ordovician and Silurian gastropods, monoplacophorans and mimospirids has beenanalysed on a generic level. The dataset contains 334 genera and 2769 species, yielding 1231 records of genera with 2274 occurrencesworldwide. There is a bias towards eastern Laurentia, Baltica and Perunica records. Some 53.1% of the records are Ordovician. The study demonstrates that these molluscs are well suited to being used to improve understanding of Ordovician and Silurian biogeographicalprovinciality. Specific points are that: a Lower Ordovician assemblage is evident in Laurentia; the fauna of the Argentinean Precordillera is Laurentian until the Darriwilian, when taxa are shared with North China; Late Silurian gastropods from the Alexander terrane (SE Alaska) are unknown in Laurentia, but support a rift origin of this terrane from NE Siberia; Perunica, Ibero-Armorica and Morocco cluster together throughout the Ordovician but Perunica and Morocco are closer; Darriwilian–Sandbian deep-water Bohemian taxaoccur in Baltica; a Laurentian–Baltica proximity is unsupported until the Silurian; Siberia clusters with North China and eastern Laurentia during the Tremadocian–Darriwilian; during the Gorstian–Pridoli Siberia clusters with the Farewell and Alexander terranes; North China may have been close to Laurentia and the Argentinean margin of Gondwana; and the affinity of Tarim taxa is problematic.

Phragmolites lissoni new species is described from 11 specimens found in the Sandbian Calapuja Formation near Calapuja in Peru. The deposits are part of the Central Andean Basin. This is the hitherto only systematically described Ordovician gastropod from Peru. The species is from a brachiopod-dominated siliciclastic sequence and is associated with bryozoans. Most specimens are preserved as external molds, but latex casts yield excellent details of shell ornamentation and are used as a basis for evaluating this feature in the genus. The characteristic ornamentation of Phragmolites should be called corrugated lamellae, and the individual elements on these should be referred to as flutes. A descriptive terminology for these is suggested. The development and shape of the corrugated lamellae and flutes could be biomechanical process. A second component in lamellar formation is the alternation between regular incremental growth and formation of a lamella. Phragmolites is mainly found in shallow-water carbonate facies from tropical latitudes in the Sandbian and a mid-latitude presence in Peru is unexpected. Brachiopods from the same section in Calapuja show affinities with faunas of the Mediterranean margin of Gondwana but also weak links with Avalonia. Phragmolites is found abundantly in deeper-water facies in Laurentia, and a broad tolerance to facies and temperature and possible planktotrophy might have allowed a wide geographical dispersal of the genus. The scant record of Ordovician gastropods in the Central Andean Basin precludes comparison with the disparate record of the Ordovician gastropod taxa from the Precordillera, which do not include Phragmolites. UUID: http://zoobank.org/References/fbd7a43e-a610-42fd-a31d-b1a16fa69c9b

Integration of new isotopic data and earlier biostratigraphic information from eight sections through the terminal Ordovician (Pirgu and Porkuni stages) of the Siljan district, Sweden, allows a more precise correlation of sections in terms of biostratigraphy and carbon isotope dating. Four levels with positive delta C-13 excursions are identified (from bottom) - the Moe, an unnamed excursion, Paroveja and Hirnantian Carbon Isotope Excursion (HICE). The delta C-13 values through the Boda Limestone are 1-2 parts per thousand higher than usual in Baltica, only the values for the HICE remains within what is expected. Background values increase from 1.5 parts per thousand in the bottom of the core of the Boda Limestone up to 3 parts per thousand in the top of it. The HICE is identified in five of eight sections and the main peak falls according to inferred correlation within the Metabolograptus persculptus Biozone, at or close to the Hindella beds in the Upper Boda Member. The late Katian (Pirgu) age of Holorhynchus in the Siljan district is clear and its co-occurrence with the chitinozoan Belonechitina gamachiana in Estonia supports a Katian age for this zone. The base of the Ozarkodina hassi Biozone may occur within units B-C of the Upper Boda Member and in the upper part of the Loka Formation and most likely is correlated with the M. persculptus Biozone. The Hirnantia-Dalmanitina faunas reported from the lowermost part of the Loka Formation and units B-D of the Upper Boda Member seem to range through all the Hirnantian, but detailed morphological studies allow to distinguish an older (=extraordinarius) and a younger (=persculptus) fauna.

Sabellidites cambriensis is a tubular non-mineralized metazoan that appears as compressed ribbon-shaped imprints with transverse wrinkling, thick walls and an even tube diameter of up to 3 mm. The distribution of Sabellidites is investigated in three Ediacaran-Cambrian sections on the Digermulen Peninsula in Arctic Norway, spanning the Manndrapselva Member of the Stahpogieddi Formation and the lower member of the Breidvika Formation. Here, the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary is located in the lower part of the upper parasequence (third cycle) of the Manndrapselva Member. Specimens of Sabellidites are rare but consistently present close to the lowest level of Treptichnus pedum and upsection, whereas the taxon is common and abundant in the lower part of the lower member of the Breidvika Formation, with an upper record at c. 55 m above the base. The range is comparable with that of the GSSP section in Newfoundland, Canada, establishing Sabellidites as an index fossil for the lowermost Cambrian. In the Manndrapselva Member, Sabellidites co-occurs with the acritarch Granomarginata, indicative of the lowermost Cambrian Granomarginata Zone, whereas in the Breidvika Formation it co-occurs with Asteridium. Sabellidites is widely distributed in Baltica, through the Rovnian and Lontovan regional stages but confined to the Fortunian global stage. In its lower range, Sabellidites is associated with a Treptichnus pedum trace fossil association and a depauperate leiosphaerid acritarch assemblage, followed by a Granomarginata assemblage. In its upper range, Sabellidites co-occurs with acritarchs of the Asteridium-Comasphaeridium Zone and the tubular foraminiferan Platysolenites. In Baltica, Sabellidites is a useful index fossil.

Shell repair is reported in two dorsal valves of the brachiopod Strophomena? arachnoidea Lindstrom, 1880 from the lower Ashgill Fjacka Formation of the Siljan district, Dalarna. The most severe case displays a large wedge-shaped injury that cuts back abou