Kanguk Formation

{{Infobox rockunit

| name = Kanguk Formation

| image =

| caption =

| type = Geological formation

| age = Cenomanian-Maastrichtian
~{{fossil range|99|66}}

| period = Maastrichtian

| prilithology = Shale, siltstone

| otherlithology = Sandstone, tuff

| namedfor = Kanguk Peninsula

| namedby = Souther

| year_ts = 1963

| region = Northwest Territories, Nunavut

| country = {{Flag|Canada}}

| coordinates = {{coord|79.24|-92.36613|name=Kanguk Formation}}

| unitof =

| subunits = Eglinton Member

| underlies = Eureka Sound Formation

| overlies = Hassel Formation

| thickness = up to {{convert|365|m|ft|-1}}{{Cite web|url=http://cgkn1.cgkn.net/weblex/weblex_litho_detail_e.pl?00053:007360|title=Kanguk Formation|author=Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units|access-date=2009-03-07}}

| extent =

| area =

| map = {{Location map+ | Canada

| relief = 1

| width = 300

| float = center

| places =

{{Location map~ | Canada

| lat_deg = 79.24

| lon_deg = -92.36

| mark = Lightgreen pog.svg

| marksize = 12

}}

| map_caption =

}}

The Kanguk Formation is a geological formation in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. {{ISBN|0-520-24209-2}}.

It was first described in the Kanguk Peninsula of the Axel Heiberg Island, along the shore of the Stand Fiord by Souther in 1963.Geological Survey of Canada Map 36-1959 The formation occurs throughout the Sverdrup Basin and the southern Queen Elizabeth Islands.

Lithology

The Kanguk Formation is composed of dark shale and siltstone with interbeds of sandstone, bentonite and tuff. Thicker sandstone and conglomerate beds occur in the western reaches in Eglinton Island.

Fossil content

The Kanguk Formation preserves an extensive record of shelf assemblages rich in benthic foraminifera that reveal numerous pulses of local hypoxia.{{cite journal |last1=Schröder-Adams |first1=Claudia J. |last2=Herrle |first2=Jens O. |last3=Embry |first3=Ashton F. |last4=Haggart |first4=James W. |last5=Galloway |first5=Jennifer M. |last6=Pugh |first6=Adam T. |last7=Harwood |first7=David M. |date=1 November 2014 |title=Aptian to Santonian foraminiferal biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental change in the Sverdrup Basin as revealed at Glacier Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago |url=http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1059&context=andrillrespub |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=413 |pages=81–100 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.03.010 |bibcode=2014PPP...413...81S |access-date=6 November 2022}} Fish fossils have been unearthed here.{{Cite journal |last=Friedman |first=Matt |last2=Tarduno |first2=John A. |last3=Brinkman |first3=Donald B. |date=2003-12-01 |title=Fossil fishes from the high Canadian Arctic: further palaeobiological evidence for extreme climatic warmth during the Late Cretaceous (Turonian–Coniacian) |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0195667103000843 |journal=Cretaceous Research |volume=24 |issue=6 |pages=615–632 |doi=10.1016/j.cretres.2003.07.001 |issn=0195-6671}}

colspan="7" align="center" \| Dinosaurs of the Kanguk Formation
class="wikitable" align="center"
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Description	Images
Canadaga \| C. arctica \| \| \| \| A Hesperomithes \|
Hesperornis \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \| File:Hesperornis BW (white background).jpg
Hadrosauridae{{Cite journal\|last1=Vavrek\|first1=Matthew J.\|last2=Hills\|first2=Len V.\|last3=Currie\|first3=Philip J.\|date=2014-03-18\|title=A Hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Kanguk Formation of Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada, and Its Ecological and Geographical Implications\|url=https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67407\|journal=Arctic\|language=en\|volume=67\|issue=1\|pages=1–9–1–9\|doi=10.14430/arctic4362\|issn=1923-1245\|doi-access=free}}{{Cite book \|last=Gangloff \|first=Roland A. \|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dinosaurs_Under_the_Aurora/bCoANTXw-KkC?hl=en&gbpv=0 \|title=Dinosaurs Under the Aurora \|date=2012-07-10 \|publisher=Indiana University Press \|isbn=978-0-253-00080-4 \|pages=16-18 \|language=en}}{{Cite web \|date=2014-04-04 \|title=Northernmost Dinosaur Find Was A Tough Canadian \|url=https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/hadrosaur-northernmost-dinosaur-discovery-survived-tough-nunav_n_5094151 \|access-date=2025-04-04 \|website=HuffPost \|language=en}} \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Lambeosaurinae{{Cite journal\|last=Brownstein\|first=Chase D.\|date=2018-02-08\|title=The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia\|url=https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2018/2123-appalachia-biogeography\|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica\|language=English\|volume=21\|issue=1\|pages=1–56\|doi=10.26879/801\|issn=1094-8074\|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal \|last=Currie \|first=Philip J \|date=2001-12-01 \|title=Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Project / Le Projet dinosaurien sino-canadiens \|url=https://doi.org/10.1139/e01-083 \|journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences \|volume=38 \|issue=12 \|pages=vii–viii \|doi=10.1139/e01-083 \|issn=0008-4077}} \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Tyrannosauroidea \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Ornithomimidae{{cite web\|year=2015\|url=https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/e5f2d188-c878-41fa-bb06-c441ad5c3079/etd_pdf/5f255d3fcaa068d4e5fe45d15fbbfc3e/mcfeeters-evolutionanddiversityofornithomimiddinosaurs.pdf\|title=Evolution and Diversity of Ornithomimid Dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous Belly River Group of Alberta\|pages=1–253\|last=McFeeters\|first=B.\|publisher=Carleton University\|location=Ottawa, Ontario, Canada}} \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Plesiosauroidea{{Cite journal \|last=Vandermark \|first=Deborah \|last2=Tarduno \|first2=John A. \|last3=Brinkman \|first3=Donald B. \|date=2006 \|title=Late Cretaceous Plesiosaur Teeth from Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40512770 \|journal=Arctic \|volume=59 \|issue=1 \|pages=79–82 \|issn=0004-0843}} \|Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Aurorachelys{{Cite journal \|last=Vandermark \|first=Deborah \|last2=Tarduno \|first2=John A. \|last3=Brinkman \|first3=Donald B. \|last4=Cottrell \|first4=Rory D. \|last5=Mason \|first5=Stephanie \|date=2009-02-01 \|title=New Late Cretaceous macrobaenid turtle with Asian affinities from the High Canadian Arctic: Dispersal via ice-free polar routes \|url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/37/2/183/519459/New-Late-Cretaceous-macrobaenid-turtle-with-Asian?redirectedFrom=fulltext \|journal=Geology \|volume=37 \|issue=2 \|pages=183–186 \|doi=10.1130/G25415A.1 \|issn=0091-7613}}{{Cite web \|last=Sohn \|first=Emily \|date=2009-03-06 \|title=Tropical turtle fossil found in Arctic \|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29550126 \|access-date=2025-04-04 \|website=NBC News \|language=en}} \|A. gaffneyi \| \| \| \| \|
Champsosaurus{{Cite journal \|last=Vandermark \|first=Deborah \|last2=Tarduno \|first2=John A. \|last3=Brinkman \|first3=Donald B. \|date=2007-05-14 \|title=A fossil champsosaur population from the high Arctic: Implications for Late Cretaceous paleotemperatures \|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018206006481 \|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology \|volume=248 \|issue=1 \|pages=49–59 \|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2006.11.008 \|issn=0031-0182}}{{Cite journal \|last=Tarduno \|first=J. A. \|last2=Brinkman \|first2=D. B. \|last3=Renne \|first3=P. R. \|last4=Cottrell \|first4=R. D. \|last5=Scher \|first5=H. \|last6=Castillo \|first6=P. \|date=1998-12-18 \|title=Evidence for Extreme Climatic Warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic Vertebrates \|url=https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5397.2241 \|journal=Science \|volume=282 \|issue=5397 \|pages=2241–2243 \|doi=10.1126/science.282.5397.2241 \|issn=0036-8075}} \|Champsosaurus sp. \| \| \| \| \|

colspan="7" align="center" \| Dinosaurs of the Kanguk Formation
class="wikitable" align="center"
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Description	Images
Canadaga \| C. arctica \| \| \| \| A Hesperomithes \|
Hesperornis \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \| File:Hesperornis BW (white background).jpg
Hadrosauridae{{Cite journal\|last1=Vavrek\|first1=Matthew J.\|last2=Hills\|first2=Len V.\|last3=Currie\|first3=Philip J.\|date=2014-03-18\|title=A Hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Kanguk Formation of Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada, and Its Ecological and Geographical Implications\|url=https://journalhosting.ucalgary.ca/index.php/arctic/article/view/67407\|journal=Arctic\|language=en\|volume=67\|issue=1\|pages=1–9–1–9\|doi=10.14430/arctic4362\|issn=1923-1245\|doi-access=free}}{{Cite book \|last=Gangloff \|first=Roland A. \|url=https://www.google.com/books/edition/Dinosaurs_Under_the_Aurora/bCoANTXw-KkC?hl=en&gbpv=0 \|title=Dinosaurs Under the Aurora \|date=2012-07-10 \|publisher=Indiana University Press \|isbn=978-0-253-00080-4 \|pages=16-18 \|language=en}}{{Cite web \|date=2014-04-04 \|title=Northernmost Dinosaur Find Was A Tough Canadian \|url=https://www.huffpost.com/archive/ca/entry/hadrosaur-northernmost-dinosaur-discovery-survived-tough-nunav_n_5094151 \|access-date=2025-04-04 \|website=HuffPost \|language=en}} \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Lambeosaurinae{{Cite journal\|last=Brownstein\|first=Chase D.\|date=2018-02-08\|title=The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia\|url=https://palaeo-electronica.org/content/2018/2123-appalachia-biogeography\|journal=Palaeontologia Electronica\|language=English\|volume=21\|issue=1\|pages=1–56\|doi=10.26879/801\|issn=1094-8074\|doi-access=free}}{{Cite journal \|last=Currie \|first=Philip J \|date=2001-12-01 \|title=Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Project / Le Projet dinosaurien sino-canadiens \|url=https://doi.org/10.1139/e01-083 \|journal=Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences \|volume=38 \|issue=12 \|pages=vii–viii \|doi=10.1139/e01-083 \|issn=0008-4077}} \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Tyrannosauroidea \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Ornithomimidae{{cite web\|year=2015\|url=https://curve.carleton.ca/system/files/etd/e5f2d188-c878-41fa-bb06-c441ad5c3079/etd_pdf/5f255d3fcaa068d4e5fe45d15fbbfc3e/mcfeeters-evolutionanddiversityofornithomimiddinosaurs.pdf\|title=Evolution and Diversity of Ornithomimid Dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous Belly River Group of Alberta\|pages=1–253\|last=McFeeters\|first=B.\|publisher=Carleton University\|location=Ottawa, Ontario, Canada}} \| Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Plesiosauroidea{{Cite journal \|last=Vandermark \|first=Deborah \|last2=Tarduno \|first2=John A. \|last3=Brinkman \|first3=Donald B. \|date=2006 \|title=Late Cretaceous Plesiosaur Teeth from Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada \|url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/40512770 \|journal=Arctic \|volume=59 \|issue=1 \|pages=79–82 \|issn=0004-0843}} \|Indeterminate \| \| \| \| \|
Aurorachelys{{Cite journal \|last=Vandermark \|first=Deborah \|last2=Tarduno \|first2=John A. \|last3=Brinkman \|first3=Donald B. \|last4=Cottrell \|first4=Rory D. \|last5=Mason \|first5=Stephanie \|date=2009-02-01 \|title=New Late Cretaceous macrobaenid turtle with Asian affinities from the High Canadian Arctic: Dispersal via ice-free polar routes \|url=https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/37/2/183/519459/New-Late-Cretaceous-macrobaenid-turtle-with-Asian?redirectedFrom=fulltext \|journal=Geology \|volume=37 \|issue=2 \|pages=183–186 \|doi=10.1130/G25415A.1 \|issn=0091-7613}}{{Cite web \|last=Sohn \|first=Emily \|date=2009-03-06 \|title=Tropical turtle fossil found in Arctic \|url=https://www.nbcnews.com/id/wbna29550126 \|access-date=2025-04-04 \|website=NBC News \|language=en}} \|A. gaffneyi \| \| \| \| \|
Champsosaurus{{Cite journal \|last=Vandermark \|first=Deborah \|last2=Tarduno \|first2=John A. \|last3=Brinkman \|first3=Donald B. \|date=2007-05-14 \|title=A fossil champsosaur population from the high Arctic: Implications for Late Cretaceous paleotemperatures \|url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018206006481 \|journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology \|volume=248 \|issue=1 \|pages=49–59 \|doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2006.11.008 \|issn=0031-0182}}{{Cite journal \|last=Tarduno \|first=J. A. \|last2=Brinkman \|first2=D. B. \|last3=Renne \|first3=P. R. \|last4=Cottrell \|first4=R. D. \|last5=Scher \|first5=H. \|last6=Castillo \|first6=P. \|date=1998-12-18 \|title=Evidence for Extreme Climatic Warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic Vertebrates \|url=https://doi.org/10.1126/science.282.5397.2241 \|journal=Science \|volume=282 \|issue=5397 \|pages=2241–2243 \|doi=10.1126/science.282.5397.2241 \|issn=0036-8075}} \|Champsosaurus sp. \| \| \| \| \|

Kanguk Formation

Lithology

Fossil content

See also

References

Further reading