Late Tertiary plant and arthropod fossils from the high-terrace sediments on Fosheim Peninsula, Ellesmere Island, Nunavut

Stratigraphic and Paleoenvironmental Reconstruction of a Mid-Pliocene Fossil Site in the High Arctic (Ellesmere Island, Nunavut): Evidence of an Ancient Peatland with Beaver Activity + Online Appendix Figures S1 and S2 (See Article Tools)

“…Fossil forest remains are known from Mesozoic to early and late Cenozoic deposits across the Arctic (Francis, 1988;Greenwood and Basinger, 1993;Fyles et al, 1994;Matthews and Fyles, 2000;Falcon-Lang et al, 2004). Most of the known late Neogene sites were discovered by John Fyles (Geological Survey of Canada) through a series of surveys across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) that began in the 1960s and continued into the early 1990s.…”

“…Most of the known late Neogene sites were discovered by John Fyles (Geological Survey of Canada) through a series of surveys across the Canadian Arctic Archipelago (CAA) that began in the 1960s and continued into the early 1990s. The deposits are characterized by unconsolidated sand and gravel, along with plant and invertebrate remains that are exquisitely preserved, being essentially mummified (Matthews and Fyles, 2000). The thickest Pliocene deposits are referred to as the Beaufort Formation and are formed by an extensive braided river system.…”

“…One such site, hereafter referred to as "the Beaver Pond site" (78˚33′ N, 82˚22′ W), is a small exposure lying within a collection of high-terrace deposits up to 40 m thick and spanning an area roughly 1 km 2 near Strathcona Fiord on west-central Ellesmere Island, Nunavut, Canada ( Fig. 1) (Matthews and Fyles, 2000). The collection of Pliocene-aged sites, referred to in the literature as the "Beaver Peat," was discovered in 1961 and preserves evidence of a boreal-type forest and wetland environment (Hulbert and Harington, 1999;Elias and Matthews, 2002;Hutchison and Harington, 2002;Tedford and Harington, 2003;Ballantyne et al, 2006Ballantyne et al, , 2010Murray et al, 2009;Csank et al, 2011a, b).…”

“…The plant macrofossil remains recovered from the "Beaver Peat" sites included 56 vascular plants (Matthews and Fyles, 2000). The tree assemblage was dominated by the extinct larch (Larix groenlandii) and also included birch (Betula spp., both a dwarf shrub and arboreal types), willow (Salix sp.…”

“…(Matthews and Ovenden, 1990). There were 30 bryophyte species identified with the most abundant being Scorpidium scorpioides, a taxon characteristic of mineral-rich fens (Matthews and Ovenden, 1990;Matthews and Fyles, 2000). Nearly a hundred arthropod fossil taxa, a bryozoan, and a freshwater sponge have been identified (Matthews and Fyles, 2000), as well as at least five species of freshwater molluscs, including Gyraulus albus (Harington, 2001).…”