Kanguk Formation

Kanguk Formation
Stratigraphic range: Cenomanian-Campanian ~99–72  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Geological formation
Sub-units	Eglinton Member
Underlies	Expedition Formation
Overlies	Hassel Formation
Thickness	up to 365 metres (1,200 ft) [1]
Lithology
Primary	Shale, siltstone
Other	Sandstone, tuff
Location
Coordinates	79°14′24″N92°21′58″W / 79.24°N 92.36613°W / 79.24; -92.36613 (Kanguk Formation)
Region	Northwest Territories, Nunavut
Country	Canada
Type section
Named for	Kanguk Peninsula
Named by	Souther
Year defined	1963
Kanguk Formation (Canada)

The Kanguk Formation is a geological formation in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. ^[2] Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation. ^[3]

It was first described in the Kanguk Peninsula of the Axel Heiberg Island, along the shore of the Stand Fiord by Souther in 1963. ^[4] 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. ^[1] 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. ^[5] Fish fossils have been unearthed here. ^[6]

Dinosaurs of the Kanguk Formation
Genus	Species	Location	Stratigraphic position	Abundance	Description	Images
Canadaga	C. arctica				A Hesperomithes
Hesperornis [3]	Indeterminate [3]
Hadrosauridae [7] [8] [9]	Indeterminate
Lambeosaurinae [10] [11]	Indeterminate
Tyrannosauroidea [10]	Indeterminate
Ornithomimidae [12]	Indeterminate
Plesiosauroidea [13]	Indeterminate
Aurorachelys [14] [15]	A. gaffneyi
Champsosaurus [16] [17]	Champsosaurus sp.

See also

• List of dinosaur-bearing rock formations
• Strand Fiord Formation

References

1. Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units (17 Dec 2009). "Kanguk Formation". Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
2. Davies, Marissa A.; Schröder-Adams, Claudia J.; Herrle, Jens O.; Hülse, Peter; Schneider, Simon; Quesnel, Alex; Harwood, David M. (2018-03-28). "Integrated biostratigraphy and carbon isotope stratigraphy for the Upper Cretaceous Kanguk Formation of the High Arctic Sverdrup Basin, Canada" . GSA Bulletin. 130 (9–10): 1540–1561. doi:10.1130/B31858.1. ISSN   0016-7606.
3. 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.
4. Geological Survey of Canada Map 36-1959
5. Schröder-Adams, Claudia J.; Herrle, Jens O.; Embry, Ashton F.; Haggart, James W.; Galloway, Jennifer M.; Pugh, Adam T.; Harwood, David M. (1 November 2014). "Aptian to Santonian foraminiferal biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental change in the Sverdrup Basin as revealed at Glacier Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago" . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology . 413: 81–100. Bibcode:2014PPP...413...81S. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.03.010 . Retrieved 6 November 2022.
6. Friedman, Matt; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B. (2003-12-01). "Fossil fishes from the high Canadian Arctic: further palaeobiological evidence for extreme climatic warmth during the Late Cretaceous (Turonian–Coniacian)" . Cretaceous Research. 24 (6): 615–632. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2003.07.001. ISSN   0195-6671.
7. Vavrek, Matthew J.; Hills, Len V.; Currie, Philip J. (2014-03-18). "A Hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Kanguk Formation of Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada, and Its Ecological and Geographical Implications". Arctic. 67 (1): 1–9–1–9. doi: 10.14430/arctic4362 . ISSN   1923-1245.
8. Gangloff, Roland A. (2012-07-10). Dinosaurs Under the Aurora. Indiana University Press. pp. 16–18. ISBN   978-0-253-00080-4.
9. "Northernmost Dinosaur Find Was A Tough Canadian". HuffPost. 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
10. Brownstein, Chase D. (2018-02-08). "The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia". Palaeontologia Electronica. 21 (1): 1–56. doi: 10.26879/801 . ISSN   1094-8074.
11. Currie, Philip J (2001-12-01). "Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Project / Le Projet dinosaurien sino-canadiens" . Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 38 (12): vii–viii. doi:10.1139/e01-083. ISSN   0008-4077.
12. McFeeters, B. (2015). "Evolution and Diversity of Ornithomimid Dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous Belly River Group of Alberta" (PDF). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Carleton University. pp. 1–253.
13. Vandermark, Deborah; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B. (2006). "Late Cretaceous Plesiosaur Teeth from Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada". Arctic. 59 (1): 79–82. ISSN   0004-0843.
14. Vandermark, Deborah; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B.; Cottrell, Rory D.; Mason, Stephanie (2009-02-01). "New Late Cretaceous macrobaenid turtle with Asian affinities from the High Canadian Arctic: Dispersal via ice-free polar routes" . Geology. 37 (2): 183–186. doi:10.1130/G25415A.1. ISSN   0091-7613.
15. Sohn, Emily (2009-03-06). "Tropical turtle fossil found in Arctic". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
16. Vandermark, Deborah; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B. (2007-05-14). "A fossil champsosaur population from the high Arctic: Implications for Late Cretaceous paleotemperatures" . Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 248 (1): 49–59. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2006.11.008. ISSN   0031-0182.
17. Tarduno, J. A.; Brinkman, D. B.; Renne, P. R.; Cottrell, R. D.; Scher, H.; Castillo, P. (1998-12-18). "Evidence for Extreme Climatic Warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic Vertebrates" . Science. 282 (5397): 2241–2243. doi:10.1126/science.282.5397.2241. ISSN   0036-8075.

Further reading

• A. T. Pugh, C. J. Schröder-Adams, E. S. Carter, J. OHerrle, J. Galloway, J. W. Haggart, J. L. Andrews and K. Hatsukanoc. 2014. Cenomanian to Santonian radiolarian biostratigraphy, carbon isotope stratigraphy and paleoenvironments of the Sverdrup Basin, Ellef Ringnes Island, Nunavut, Canada. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 413:101-122
• J. A. Tarduno, D. B. Brinkman, P. R. Renne, R. D. Cottrell, H. Scher and P. Castillo. 1998. Evidence for extreme climatic warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic vertebrates. Science 282:2241-2244