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Progress in describing Ordovician siliceous biodiversity from the Southern Uplands (Scotland, U.K.)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

Taniel Danelian  and
James D. Floyd
Taniel Danelian
Affiliation:
Taniel Danelian, Department of Geology and Geophysics, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW,U.K. (present address: Laboratoire de Micropaléontologie, Département de Géologie Sédimentaire, UPMC, C.1054. T. 15-25, 4E, 4 place Jussieu, 75252, Paris, Cedex 05, France); e-mail: [email protected]
James D. Floyd
Affiliation:
James D. Floyd, British Geological Survey, Murchison House, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3LA, U.K.; e-mail:[email protected]
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Abstract

ABSTRACT

Leaching of Ordovician cherts from the Southern Uplands using dilute hydrofluoric acid has yielded numerous radiolaria, sponge spicules and a few conodonts. Although many of the radiolaria have suffered intense recrystallisation, it nevertheless proved possible to extract for SEM examination some examples with exquisitely preserved micro-structure. Despite this, the radiolaria have not proved sufficient, on their own, to answer the outstanding biostratigraphical question of one continuous or two separate episodes (Arenig and Llanvirn/Caradoc) of chert sedimentation in the Southern Uplands. This is partly because the biostratigraphy of Lower Palaeozoic radiolaria is still quite poorly known. A new radiolarian species, Protoceratoiciskum clarksoni Danelian, has been identified and described from cherts in the Crawford area. In addition, the distinctive sponge species Konyrium varium Nazarov & Popov, has also been found for the first time in Southern Uplands cherts. This new occurrence, in deep-water sediments, suggests a much wider habitat for this unusual sponge. Amongst the few conodont elements extracted, one can be identified as probably belonging to the genus Periodon.

Keywords

Crawford GroupRadiolariaScotlandsponges
Type
Research Article
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 91 , Issue 3-4: The Southern Uplands Terrane: Tectonics and Biostratigraphy within the Caledonian Orogen , 2000 , pp. 489 - 498
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 2000

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