Читать книгу Biogeography in the Sub-Arctic - Группа авторов - Страница 57

The Store Koldewey Formation is found at ~120 m above sea level and consists of bioturbated marine silt and fine sand (Bennike et al. 2010). The marine mollusc fauna comprises 13 species of bivalves and 5–6 species of gastropods. The presence of M. balthica and C. kurriana indicates lowered salinity, perhaps near a river outlet.

At two localities thin layers with species‐rich, well‐preserved remains of non‐marine macrofossils were found. The fossil flora comprises remains of trees (Larix sp., Betula sect. Albae sp. and Alnus sp.), shrubs and dwarf‐shrubs (Arctostaphylos uva‐ursi, Andromeda polifolia and E. nigrum) and herbs (Viola sp., Saxifraga oppositifolia and S. microcarpus), which indicate the presence of forest‐tundra vegetation in the region. The presence of several species of macro‐limnophytes and statoblasts of the freshwater bryozoan C. mucedo testifies to the presence of various freshwater biotopes. Coleoptera remains were scarce and represented by five taxa that are also found in the Kap København Formation. Only a single taxon, the circumpolar, low arctic‐temperate rove beetle Tachinus elongatus was identified to species level.

The moss remains from Store Koldewey were discussed by Hedenäs and Bennike (2009). A total of ~50 species were found, of which several are southern extralimital species. Two of them, Hamatocaulis vernicosus and Hygrohypnum montanum, do not occur in Greenland at present. They are the only examples of non‐Greenland moss species found as fossils in Greenland.

It was suggested that the age of the Store Koldewey Formation is similar to the age of the Île de France Formation by Bennike et al. (2010), mainly based on palaeo‐magnetic studies and data from benthic foraminifera.