Fleming Fjord Formation

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 km2 (1,200 sq mi)
Thickness	200–300 m (660–980 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Mudstone, claystone
Other	Limestone, sandstone
Location
Coordinates	71°54′N22°34′W / 71.9°N 22.56°W / 71.9; -22.56
Approximate paleocoordinates	45°42′N2°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. ^[1]

Paleobiota

The fauna of Fleming Fjord is diverse, including sauropodomorph dinosaurs, pterosaurs, temnospondyls, mammaliaforms, aetosaurs, and other taxa. ^[2] Freshwater unionid bivalves and conchostracans have been reported from the Malmros Klint Member. ^[3]

Fish

Lungfish, actinopterygian, and chondrichthyan teeth have been reported from the Malmros Klint Member. ^[3]

Fish of the Fleming Fjord Formation
Genus / Taxon	Species	Member	Notes
Ceratodus	C. tunuensis [4]	Ørsted Dal Member	A lungfish, possibly synonymous with Ptychoceratodus rectangulus [5]
Ferganoceratodus	F. rectangulus [5] [6]	Ørsted Dal Member	A lungfish

Amphibians

Amphibians of the Fleming Fjord Formation
Genus / Taxon	Species	Member	Notes	Images
Cyclotosaurus	C. naraserluki [7]	Ørsted Dal Member	A capitosaurian temnospondyl	Cyclotosaurus
Gerrothorax	G. cf. pulcherrimus [8]	Malmros Klint Member, [3] Ørsted Dal Member	A plagiosaurid temnospondyl
Salientia indet. [9]		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, ^[3] as well as coprolites ^{[10] [11]} and additional theropod, pterosaur, and turtle fossils. ^{[3] [12]}

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

Reptiles of the Fleming Fjord Formation
Genus / Taxon	Species	Member	Notes	Images
Aetosaurus	A. ferratus	Ørsted Dal Member	A small aetosaur [12]	Eosauropus Issi saaneq Paratypothorax andressorum Proganochelys
Arcticodactylus	A. cromptonellus	Ørsted Dal Member	A eudimorphodontid pterosaur [12]
cf. Brachychirotherium		Ørsted Dal Member	Small quadrupedal tracks, likely produced by small or juvenile pseudosuchians [13]
Eosauropus sp.		Ørsted Dal Member	Large (>40 cm per footprint) quadrupedal tracks, likely produced by an early sauropod related to Eusauropoda [14]
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 [14]
Grallator sp.		Malmros Klint Member, Ørsted Dal Member	Small bipedal tracks, likely produced by theropods [14] [12]
Issi [15]	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 [12]
Phytosauria indet.		Malmros Klint Member	Indeterminate phytosaur fossils, including adult and juvenile specimens [12]
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 [15]
cf. Proganochelys		Ørsted Dal Member	Turtle fossils possibly referrable to Proganochelys [12] [16]
Testudinata indet.		Malmros Klint Member?, Ørsted Dal Member	Indeterminate testudinatan (turtle) fossils [12]

Synapsids

Synapsids of the Fleming Fjord Formation
Genus / Taxon	Species	Member	Notes	Images
cf. Brachyzostrodon		Ørsted Dal Member	A morganucodont mammaliaform [12]	Haramiyavia clemmenseni
Haramiyavia	H. clemmenseni	Ørsted Dal Member	A haramiyid mammaliaform [12]
Kalaallitkigun [17]	K. jenkinsi	Ørsted Dal Member	A haramiyid mammaliaform
Kuehneotherium sp.		Ørsted Dal Member	A kuehneotheriid mammaliaform [12]
Mitredon	M. cromptoni	Ørsted Dal Member	A probainognathian cynodont with uncertain affinities [12]

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• List of fossiliferous stratigraphic units in Greenland

References

1. 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.
2. Clemmensen, Lars B.; Milàn, Jesper; Adolfssen, Jan Schulz; Estrup, Eliza Jarl; Frobøse, Nicolai; Klein, Nicole; Mateus, Octávio; Wings, Oliver (2015-12-16). "The vertebrate-bearing Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of central East Greenland revisited: stratigraphy, palaeoclimate and new palaeontological data". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 434 (1): 31–47. doi:10.1144/sp434.3. ISSN   0305-8719. S2CID   130069487.
3. 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.
4. Agnolin, Federico L.; Mateus, Octávio; Milàn, Jesper; Marzola, Marco; Wings, Oliver; Adolfssen, Jan Schulz; Clemmensen, Lars B. (2018-03-04). "Ceratodus tunuensis , sp. nov., a new lungfish (Sarcopterygii, Dipnoi) from the Upper Triassic of central East Greenland". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 38 (2): e1439834. Bibcode:2018JVPal..38E9834A. doi:10.1080/02724634.2018.1439834. ISSN   0272-4634. S2CID   90666275.
5. Pawlak, Wojciech; Tałanda, Mateusz; Sulej, Tomasz; Niedźwiedzki, Grzegorz (2020). "Dipnoan from the Upper Triassic of East Greenland and remarks about palaeobiogeography of Ptychoceratodus". Acta Palaeontologica Polonica. 65. doi: 10.4202/app.00679.2019 . S2CID   219423302.
6. Challands, Tom J.; Cavin, Lionel; Zondo, Michel; Munyikwa, Darlington; Choiniere, Jonah N.; Barrett, Paul M. (2023-11-02). "A new lungfish from the Upper Triassic of the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 43 (6): e2365391. doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2365391 . ISSN   0272-4634.
7. Marco Marzola; Octávio Mateus; Neil H. Shubin; Lars B. Clemmensen (2017). "Cyclotosaurus naraserluki, sp. nov., a new Late Triassic cyclotosaurid (Amphibia, Temnospondyli) from the Fleming Fjord Formation of the Jameson Land Basin (East Greenland)". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology. 37 (2): e1303501. Bibcode:2017JVPal..37E3501M. doi:10.1080/02724634.2017.1303501. hdl: 10362/33003 . S2CID   134255506.
8. Farish A. Jenkins, Jr.; Neil H. Shubin; Stephen M. Gatesy; Anne Warren (2008). "Gerrothorax pulcherrimus from the Upper Triassic Fleming Fjord Formation of East Greenland and a reassessment of head lifting in temnospondyl feeding". Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology . 28 (4): 935–950. Bibcode:2008JVPal..28..935J. doi:10.1671/0272-4634-28.4.935. S2CID   86523094.
9. Jésus, Valerian J. P.; Mateus, Octávio; Milàn, Jesper; Clemmensen, Lars B. (2022-08-24). "First occurrence of a frog-like batrachian (Amphibia) in the Late Triassic Fleming Fjord Group, central East Greenland" (PDF). Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark. 70: 117–130. doi:10.37570/bgsd-2022-70-08. ISSN   2245-7070. S2CID   251787823.
10. Hansen, Bitten Bolvig; Milàn, Jesper; Clemmensen, Lars B.; Adolfssen, Jan Schulz; Estrup, Eliza Jarl; Klein, Nicole; Mateus, Octávio; Wings, Oliver (2015-12-17). "Coprolites from the Late Triassic Kap Stewart Formation, Jameson Land, East Greenland: morphology, classification and prey inclusions". Geological Society, London, Special Publications. 434 (1): 49–69. doi:10.1144/sp434.12. ISSN   0305-8719. S2CID   130321311.
11. Milàn, Jesper; Mateus, Octávio; Mau, Malte; Rudra, Arka; Sanei, Hamed; Clemmensen, Lars B. (2021). "A possible phytosaurian (Archosauria, pseudosuchia) coprolite from the late triassic fleming fjord group of jameson land, central east Greenland". Bulletin of the Geological Society of Denmark. 69: 71–80. doi:10.37570/bgsd-2021-69-05. hdl: 10362/125319 . ISSN   0011-6297. S2CID   237873890.
12. 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.
13. 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.
14. 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.
15. 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 .
16. 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.
17. 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.