Burrowing below the basal Cambrian GSSP, Fortune Head, Newfoundland

The range of Treptichnus pedum , the index trace fossil for the Treptichnus pedum Zone, extends some 4 m below the Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point for the base of the Cambrian Period at Fortune Head on the Burin Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland. The identification of zigzag traces...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geological Magazine
Main Authors: GEHLING, JAMES G., JENSEN, SÖREN, DROSER, MARY L., MYROW, PAUL M., NARBONNE, GUY M.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Cambridge University Press (CUP) 2001
Subjects:
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/s001675680100509x
https://www.cambridge.org/core/services/aop-cambridge-core/content/view/S001675680100509X
Description
Summary:The range of Treptichnus pedum , the index trace fossil for the Treptichnus pedum Zone, extends some 4 m below the Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point for the base of the Cambrian Period at Fortune Head on the Burin Peninsula in southeastern Newfoundland. The identification of zigzag traces of Treptichnus isp., even further below the GSSP than T. pedum in the Fortune Head section, and in other terminal Proterozoic successions around the globe, supports the concept of a gradational onset of three-dimensional burrowing across the Proterozoic–Cambrian boundary. Although T. pedum remains a reasonable indicator for the base of the Cambrian Period, greater precision in the stratotype section can be achieved by a detailed re-evaluation of the stratigraphic ranges and the morphological variation of ichnotaxa included in the T. pedum Zone.