Fleming Fjord Formation

{{Short description|Geological formation in Greenland}}

{{Infobox rockunit

| name = Fleming Fjord Formation

| image = File:Fleming Fjord Formation.png

| caption = The Buch Bjerg "Track-site" at the Fleming Fjord Formation

| type = Geological formation

| age = Norian-Rhaetian
~{{fossil range|222|202}}

| period = Rhaetian

| prilithology = Mudstone, claystone

| otherlithology = Limestone, sandstone

| namedfor = Fleming Fjord

| namedby =

| region = East Greenland

| country = Greenland

| coordinates = {{coord|71.9|N|22.56|W|display=inline,title}}

| paleocoordinates = {{coord|45.7|N|2.8|W|display=inline}}

| unitof = Scoresby Land Group

| subunits = Edderfugledal, Malmros Klint & Ørsted Dal Members

| underlies = Kap Stewart Group

| overlies = Gippsdalen Formation

| thickness = {{convert|200|-|300|m|ft|abbr=on}}

| extent = Jameson Land

| area = {{convert|3000|km2|sqmi|abbr=on}}

| map = {{Location map+ | Greenland

| relief = 1

| width = 200

| float = center

| places =

{{Location map~ | Greenland

| lat_deg = 71.9

| lon_deg = -22.56

| mark = Pink ff0080 pog.svg

| marksize = 12

}}

}}

| map_caption =

}}

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.{{cite journal|last1=Clemmensen|first1=L.B.|last2=Kent|first2=D.V.|last3=Jenkins|first3=F.A. Jr.|year=1998|title=A Late Triassic lake system in East Greenland: facies, depositional cycles and palaeoclimate|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology|publisher=Elsevier|volume=140|issue=1–4|pages=135–159|url=http://academiccommons.columbia.edu/download/fedora_content/download/ac:143285/CONTENT/S0031-0182_98_00043-1.pdf|access-date=2 December 2012|doi=10.1016/s0031-0182(98)00043-1|bibcode=1998PPP...140..135C}}

Paleobiota

The fauna of Fleming Fjord is diverse, including sauropodomorph dinosaurs, pterosaurs, temnospondyls, mammaliaforms, aetosaurs, and other taxa.{{Cite journal |last1=Clemmensen |first1=Lars B. |last2=Milàn |first2=Jesper |last3=Adolfssen |first3=Jan Schulz |last4=Estrup |first4=Eliza Jarl |last5=Frobøse |first5=Nicolai |last6=Klein |first6=Nicole |last7=Mateus |first7=Octávio |last8=Wings |first8=Oliver |date=2015-12-16 |title=The vertebrate-bearing Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland revisited: stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and new palaeontological data |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287387885 |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |volume=434 |issue=1 |pages=31–47 |doi=10.1144/sp434.3 |issn=0305-8719 |s2cid=130069487}} 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.

class="wikitable" align="center"

! colspan="4" align="center" |Fish of the Fleming Fjord Formation

Genus / Taxon

!Species

!Member

!Notes

Ceratodus

|C. tunuensis{{Cite journal |last1=Agnolin |first1=Federico L. |last2=Mateus |first2=Octávio |last3=Milàn |first3=Jesper |last4=Marzola |first4=Marco |last5=Wings |first5=Oliver |last6=Adolfssen |first6=Jan Schulz |last7=Clemmensen |first7=Lars B. |date=2018-03-04 |title=Ceratodus tunuensis , sp. nov., a new lungfish (Sarcopterygii, Dipnoi) from the Upper Triassic of central East Greenland |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2018.1439834 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |language=en |volume=38 |issue=2 |pages=e1439834 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2018.1439834 |bibcode=2018JVPal..38E9834A |s2cid=90666275 |issn=0272-4634|url-access=subscription }}

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A lungfish, possibly synonymous with Ptychoceratodus rectangulus{{Cite journal |last1=Pawlak |first1=Wojciech |last2=Tałanda |first2=Mateusz |last3=Sulej |first3=Tomasz |last4=Niedźwiedzki |first4=Grzegorz |date=2020 |title=Dipnoan from the Upper Triassic of East Greenland and remarks about palaeobiogeography of Ptychoceratodus |url=http://www.app.pan.pl/article/item/app006792019.html |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=65 |doi=10.4202/app.00679.2019|s2cid=219423302 |doi-access=free }}

Ferganoceratodus

|F. rectangulus{{Cite journal |last=Challands |first=Tom J. |last2=Cavin |first2=Lionel |last3=Zondo |first3=Michel |last4=Munyikwa |first4=Darlington |last5=Choiniere |first5=Jonah N. |last6=Barrett |first6=Paul M. |date=2023-11-02 |title=A new lungfish from the Upper Triassic of the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe |url=https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/02724634.2024.2365391#d1e782 |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=43 |issue=6 |pages=e2365391 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2024.2365391 |issn=0272-4634 |doi-access=free}}

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A lungfish

= Amphibians =

class="wikitable" align="center"

! colspan="5" align="center" |Amphibians of the Fleming Fjord Formation

Genus / Taxon

!Species

!Member

!Notes

!Images

Cyclotosaurus

|C. naraserluki{{Cite journal |author1=Marco Marzola |author2=Octávio Mateus |author3=Neil H. Shubin |author4=Lars B. Clemmensen |year=2017 |title=Cyclotosaurus naraserluki, sp. nov., a new Late Triassic cyclotosaurid (Amphibia, Temnospondyli) from the Fleming Fjord Formation of the Jameson Land Basin (East Greenland) |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=37 |issue=2 |pages=e1303501 |doi=10.1080/02724634.2017.1303501 |bibcode=2017JVPal..37E3501M |hdl-access=free |hdl=10362/33003 |s2cid=134255506}}

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A capitosaurian temnospondyl

| rowspan="165" |File:CyclotosaurusDB2 White background.jpg]]

Gerrothorax

|G. cf. pulcherrimus{{cite journal |author1=Farish A. Jenkins, Jr. |author2=Neil H. Shubin |author3=Stephen M. Gatesy |author4=Anne Warren |year=2008 |title=Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland and a reassessment of head lifting in temnospondyl feeding |journal=Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=935–950 |doi=10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.935 |bibcode=2008JVPal..28..935J |s2cid=86523094}}

|Malmros Klint Member,

Ørsted Dal Member

|A plagiosaurid temnospondyl

Salientia indet.{{Cite journal |last1=Jésus |first1=Valerian J. P. |last2=Mateus |first2=Octávio |last3=Milàn |first3=Jesper |last4=Clemmensen |first4=Lars B. |date=2022-08-24 |title=First occurrence of a frog-like batrachian (Amphibia) in the Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Group, central East Greenland |url=https://2dgf.dk/xpdf/bull70-117-130.pdf |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark |volume=70 |pages=117–130 |doi=10.37570/bgsd-2022-70-08 |s2cid=251787823 |issn=2245-7070}}

|

|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,{{Cite journal |last1=Sulej |first1=Tomasz |last2=Wolniewicz |first2=Andrzej |last3=Bonde |first3=Niels |last4=Błażejowski |first4=Błażej |last5=Niedźwiedzki |first5=Grzegorz |last6=Tałanda |first6=Mateusz |date=2014-12-10 |title=New perspectives on the Late Triassic vertebrates of East Greenland: preliminary results of a Polish−Danish palaeontological expedition |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/269411243 |journal=Polish Polar Research |volume=35 |issue=4 |pages=541–552 |doi=10.2478/popore-2014-0030 |s2cid=44113380 |issn=2081-8262|doi-access=free }} as well as coprolites{{Cite journal |last1=Hansen |first1=Bitten Bolvig |last2=Milàn |first2=Jesper |last3=Clemmensen |first3=Lars B. |last4=Adolfssen |first4=Jan Schulz |last5=Estrup |first5=Eliza Jarl |last6=Klein |first6=Nicole |last7=Mateus |first7=Octávio |last8=Wings |first8=Oliver |date=2015-12-17 |title=Coprolites from the Late Triassic Kap Stewart Formation, Jameson Land, East Greenland: morphology, classification and prey inclusions |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |volume=434 |issue=1 |pages=49–69 |doi=10.1144/sp434.12 |issn=0305-8719 |s2cid=130321311}}{{Cite journal |last1=Milàn |first1=Jesper |last2=Mateus |first2=Octávio |last3=Mau |first3=Malte |last4=Rudra |first4=Arka |last5=Sanei |first5=Hamed |last6=Clemmensen |first6=Lars B. |date=2021 |title=A possible phytosaurian (Archosauria, pseudosuchia) coprolite from the late triassic fleming fjord group of jameson land, central east Greenland |url=https://run.unl.pt/handle/10362/125319 |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark |volume=69 |pages=71–80 |doi=10.37570/bgsd-2021-69-05 |s2cid=237873890 |issn=0011-6297|hdl=10362/125319 |hdl-access=free }} and additional theropod, pterosaur, and turtle fossils.{{Cite journal |author=Marco Marzola |author2=Octávio Mateus |author3=Jesper Milàn |author4=Lars B. Clemmensen |date=March 2018 |title=A review of Palaeozoic and Mesozoic tetrapods from Greenland |url=https://www.researchgate.net/publication/323551728 |journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark |pages=21–46}}{{paleobiota-key-compact}}

class="wikitable" align="center"

! colspan="5" align="center" |Reptiles of the Fleming Fjord Formation

Genus / Taxon

!Species

!Member

!Notes

!Images

Aetosaurus

|A. ferratus

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A small aetosaur

| rowspan="174" |File:Footprints of Large, Triassic dinos in Greenland.png]]

File:Issiskull.png]]

File:Paratypothorax_andressorum.JPG]]

File:Proganochelys_Quenstedti.jpg]]

Arcticodactylus

|A. cromptonellus

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A eudimorphodontid pterosaur

style="background:#FEF6E4;"| cf. Brachychirotherium

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Ørsted Dal Member

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Small quadrupedal tracks, likely produced by small or juvenile pseudosuchians{{Cite journal |last1=Klein |first1=Hendrik |last2=Milàn |first2=Jesper |last3=Clemmensen |first3=Lars B. |last4=Frobøse |first4=Nicolaj |last5=Mateus |first5=Octávio |last6=Klein |first6=Nicole |last7=Adolfssen |first7=Jan S. |last8=Estrup |first8=Eliza J. |last9=Wings |first9=Oliver |date=2015-12-16 |title=Archosaur footprints (cf.Brachychirotherium) with unusual morphology from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation (Norian–Rhaetian) of East Greenland |journal=Geological Society, London, Special Publications |volume=434 |issue=1 |pages=71–85 |doi=10.1144/sp434.1 |issn=0305-8719 |s2cid=56216714|url=https://figshare.com/articles/journal_contribution/2008371 |url-access=subscription }}

style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Eosauropus sp.

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Ørsted Dal Member

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Large (>40 cm per footprint) quadrupedal tracks, likely produced by an early sauropod related to Eusauropoda{{Cite journal |last1=Lallensack |first1=Jens |last2=Klein |first2=Hendrik |last3=Milán |first3=Jesper |last4=Wings |first4=Oliver |last5=Mateus |first5=Octávio |last6=Clemmensen |first6=Lars |date=2017 |title=Sauropodomorph dinosaur trackways from the Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland: evidence for Late Triassic sauropods |journal=Acta Palaeontologica Polonica |volume=62 |doi=10.4202/app.00374.2017 |issn=0567-7920 |doi-access=free|hdl=10362/33146 |hdl-access=free }}

style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Evazoum sp.

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Ørsted Dal Member

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Large (~36 cm per footprint) bipedal tracks, likely produced by a plateosaurian sauropodomorph. By far the largest prints assigned to this ichnogenus

style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Grallator sp.

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Malmros Klint Member, Ørsted Dal Member

|style="background:#FEF6E4;"| Small bipedal tracks, likely produced by theropods

Issi{{cite journal |last1=Beccari |first1=V. |last2=Mateus |first2=O. |last3=Wings |first3=O. |last4=Milàn |first4=J. |last5=Clemmensen |first5=L. B. |date=2021 |title=Issi saaneq gen. et sp. nov.—A New Sauropodomorph Dinosaur from the Late Triassic (Norian) of Jameson Land, Central East Greenland |journal=Diversity |language=en |volume=13 |issue=11 |page=561 |doi=10.3390/d13110561 |doi-access=free|hdl=10362/128951 |hdl-access=free }}

|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{{cite book |last1=Prothero |first1=D. R. |title=The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hunters and the Wonders of Evolution |date=2015 |publisher=Columbia University Press |isbn=9780231539425 |location=New York, NY}}

Testudinata indet.

|

|Malmros Klint Member?, Ørsted Dal Member

|Indeterminate testudinatan (turtle) fossils

= Synapsids =

class="wikitable" align="center"

! colspan="5" align="center" |Synapsids of the Fleming Fjord Formation

Genus / Taxon

!Species

!Member

!Notes

!Images

cf. Brachyzostrodon

|

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A morganucodont mammaliaform

| rowspan="167" |File:Haramiyavia clemmenseni life restoration.jpg]]

Haramiyavia

|H. clemmenseni

|Ørsted Dal Member

|A haramiyid mammaliaform

Kalaallitkigun{{Cite journal |author1=Tomasz Sulej |author2=Grzegorz Krzesiński |author3=Mateusz Tałanda |author4=Andrzej S. Wolniewicz |author5=Błażej Błażejowski |author6=Niels Bonde |author7=Piotr Gutowski |author8=Maksymilian Sienkiewicz |author9=Grzegorz Niedźwiedzki |year=2020 |title=The earliest-known mammaliaform fossil from Greenland sheds light on origin of mammals |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=117 |issue=43 |pages=26861–26867 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2012437117 |pmc=7604429 |pmid=33046636 |bibcode=2020PNAS..11726861S |doi-access=free |s2cid=222320190}}

|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

{{Reflist}}

= Bibliography =

  • {{cite journal |last1=Kent |first1=D. V. |last2=Clemmensen |first2=L. B. |year=2021 |title=Northward dispersal of dinosaurs from Gondwana to Greenland at the mid-Norian (215–212 Ma, Late Triassic) dip in atmospheric pCO2 |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America |volume=118 |issue=8 |page=e2020778118 |doi=10.1073/pnas.2020778118 |pmid=33593914 |pmc=7923678 |bibcode=2021PNAS..11820778K |doi-access=free}}

Category:Geologic formations of Greenland

Category:Triassic System of Europe

Category:Triassic System of North America

Category:Triassic Greenland

Category:Norian Stage

Category:Rhaetian Stage

Category:Sandstone formations

Category:Shale formations

Category:Lacustrine deposits

Category:Ichnofossiliferous formations

Category:Paleontology in Greenland