A new dasycladacean alga associated with the 'Arctic Ordovician' fauna on Cornwallis Island

A new species of dasycladacean alga is present in the upper Thumb Mountain and in the overlying Irene Bay Formations of the Cornwallis Group on Cornwallis Island, Northwest Territories. The alga is associated with the 'Arctic Ordovician' fauna, which is of considerable biogeographical and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Canadian Journal of Botany
Main Authors: Lee, D. G., Caldwell, W. G. E.
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Published: Canadian Science Publishing 1977
Subjects:
Plant Science
Arctic
Northwest Territories
Thumb
Cornwallis
Irene Bay
Thumb Mountain
Cornwallis Island
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1139/b77-012
http://www.nrcresearchpress.com/doi/pdf/10.1139/b77-012
Description
Summary:A new species of dasycladacean alga is present in the upper Thumb Mountain and in the overlying Irene Bay Formations of the Cornwallis Group on Cornwallis Island, Northwest Territories. The alga is associated with the 'Arctic Ordovician' fauna, which is of considerable biogeographical and biostratigraphical importance. This fauna is believed to be of early Late Ordovician (Caradocian) age.The new alga is a member of the cyclocrinitid tribe and clearly is to be referred to the genus Cyclocrinites. It is distinguished from all other cyclocrinitid species by the exceptionally small size, the unusual bilobate form, and the mode of calcification of its thallus. It is believed to have lived in tropical waters which were quiet and shallow, to have been anchored to the seabed by means of rhizoids. and to have grown only in areas in which fine-grained carbonate sediment was accumulating.

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