Ammonoid stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution across the Permian–Triassic boundary in East Greenland

Abstract

East Greenland is a classical area for the study of the Permianearliest Triassic H.trivialeTriassic boundary. The new ammonoid data indicate that deposition was continuous across the Permianmudstone contact in basinal areas of Hold With Hope, northern and southern Jameson Land. Correlation of the ammonoid stratigraphy with the FAD of Hindeodusparvus, which defines the base of the Triassic in Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in Meishan, China, suggests that the Hypophicerastriviale Zone is to be referred to the uppermost Permian, whereas the H.martini Zone is lowermost Triassic. Accordingly, the end-Permian marine and terrestrial extinctions and associated isotope changes as well as the subsequent adaptive radiations in East Greenland took place in latest Permian time. New Boreal faunas and floras were well established and diversified in the Hypophicerastriviale Zone prior to the beginning of the Triassic, and the Permian–Triassic boundary, in its present definition, is no longer reflecting major changes in the Earth system. It would have been fortunate if a GSSP were defined in a protracted section at a point of major environmental perturbations, marked by isotope excursions, chemical anomalies and mass extinction, rather than in the strongly condensed section like Meishan at a point which post-dates all significant events.

Full text

Geol. Mag. 143 (5), 2006, pp. 635–656. c
2006 Cambridge University Press 635
doi:10.1017/S0016756806002020 Printed in the United Kingdom
Ammonoid stratigraphy and sedimentary evolution across
the Permian–Triassic boundary in East Greenland
MORTEN BJERAGER*, LARS SEIDLER*†, LARS STEMMERIK‡& FINN SURLYK*§
∗Geological Institute, University of Copenhagen, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
‡The Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland, Øster Voldgade 10, DK-1350 Copenhagen K, Denmark
(Received 28 October 2004; revised version received 7 October 2005; accepted 5 December 2005)
Abstract – East Greenland is a classical area for the study of the Permian–Triassic transition and the
succession is one of the most expanded in the world. New ammonoid data from the Wordie Creek
Formation have allowed us to better reconstruct the history of the East Greenland basin from semi-
isolated basins with an endemic fauna during latest Permian–earliest Triassic H. triviale–H. martini
zones time to well-connected open marine shelf basins during the Early Triassic M. subdemissum,
O. commune,W. decipiens and B. rosenkrantzi Zone times. The East Greenland zonation can be
correlated with Boreal zonations in Arctic Canada, Svalbard and northeastern Asia. It allows precise
relative dating and correlation of important events across the Permian–Triassic boundary. The new
ammonoid data indicate that deposition was continuous across the Permian–Triassic boundary and
developed as a marine mudstone–mudstone contact in basinal areas of Hold With Hope, northern and
southern Jameson Land. Correlation of the ammonoid stratigraphy with the FAD of Hindeodus parvus,
which defines the base of the Triassic in Global Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) in Meishan, China,
suggests that the Hypophiceras triviale Zone is to be referred to the uppermost Permian, whereas the
H. martini Zone is lowermost Triassic. Accordingly, the end-Permian marine and terrestrial extinctions
and associated isotope changes as well as the subsequent adaptive radiations in East Greenland took
place in latest Permian time. New Boreal faunas and floras were well established and diversified
in the Hypophiceras triviale Zone prior to the beginning of the Triassic, and the Permian–Triassic
boundary, in its present definition, is no longer reflecting major changes in the Earth system. It would
have been fortunate if a GSSP were defined in a protracted section at a point of major environmental
perturbations, marked by isotope excursions, chemical anomalies and mass extinction, rather than in
the strongly condensed section like Meishan at a point which post-dates all significant events.
Keywords: Permian–Triassic boundary, East Greenland, ammonoids.
1. Introduction
The Permian–Triassic boundary is associated with the
largest known mass extinction in Earth history, and
both the causes and the precise stratigraphical position
of the boundary have been and are still the subject of
much discussion. East Greenland is a classical area
for the study of the marine stratigraphical evolution
across the boundary in the Arctic (Nielsen, 1935;
Spath, 1935; Tr¨
umpy, 1969; Teichert & Kummel, 1976;
Perch-Nielsen et al. 1974; Surlyk et al. 1984, 1986;
Stemmeriketal.1997,Stemmerik,Bendix-Almgreen &
Piasecki, 2001; Twitchett et al. 2001; Wignall &
Twitchett, 2002; Seidler et al. 2004). The area be-
longs to the palaeo-biographical Boreal Realm, and
biostratigraphical correlations are based mainly on
ammonoids. The standard ammonoid zonation of the
Early Triassic Boreal Realm was in part established in
the Sverdrup Basin, Canadian Arctic Islands, by Tozer
(1994). Local zonations have been described from East
Greenland (Tr¨
umpy, 1969), nor theastern Asia (Dagys &
§Author for correspondence: finns@geol.ku.dk
†Present address: ExxonMobil Upstream Research Company,
Houston, Texas 77252-2189, USA.
Ermakova, 1996) and Svalbard (Weitschat & Dagys,
1989). Due to endemism and to widespread uncon-
formities in the interval spanning the Permian–Triassic
boundary, there are, however, still major problems in
dating and correlating uppermost Permian–lowermost
Triassic successions within the Boreal Realm.
The Permian–Triassic boundary in East Greenland
has traditionally been placed at the boundary between
the Foldvik Creek Group and the Wordie Creek
Formation. In most areas there is a major hiatus between
the two units, but successions showing continuous
sedimentation have been known for a long time from the
deeper, western part of the Jameson Land Basin (Perch-
Nielsen et al. 1972, 1974; Piasecki & Marcussen,
1986; Oberh¨
ansli et al. 1989; Twitchett et al. 2001;
Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki, 2001).
The Global Stratotype Section and Point (GGSP) of
the Permian–Triassic boundary in the Meishan section
in China has recently been ratified by the Executive
Committee of the International Union of Geological
Science (Yin Hongfu et al. 2001). The boundary is
in the Meishan section defined by the first appearance
datum (FAD) of the conodont Hindeodus parvus, which
has been reported from the lowermost part of the

636 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
Wordie Creek Formation in Jameson Land, East Green-
land (Twitchett et al. 2001; Wignall & Twitchett, 2002).
Six ammonoid zones are recognized in the Wordie
Creek Formation and they are, in stratigraphical order:
the Hypophiceras triviale,Hypophiceras martini,Met-
ophiceras subdemissum,Ophiceras commune,Wo r d -
ieoceras decipiens and Bukkenites rosenkrantzi zones
(Tr¨
umpy, 1969). They are overlain by the Anodonto-
phora breviformis and A. fassaensis bivalve zones
(Spath, 1935).
The aim of this study is to describe the stratigraphical
distribution of the key ammonoids and sedimentary
evolution across the Permian–Triassic boundary of East
Greenland. The study adds to earlier accounts with
new lithological and biostratigraphical data from the
subbasins of Hold With Hope, Traill Ø, Wegener Halvø
and northern Jameson Land (Figs 1, 2), the key areas
in East Greenland for understanding the events across
the boundary in the Boreal Realm. This is the region
where the most expanded and stratigraphically most
complete successions are found, both in East Greenland
and possibly worldwide. The correlation of the FAD
of Hindeodus parvus with the ammonoid stratigraphy
is still crude, but there is evidence to suggest that
the Hypophiceras triviale Zone, hitherto considered to
mark the base of the Triassic in East Greenland, belongs
to the uppermost Permian.
2. Geological setting
The Late Permian–Early Triassic basin of East
Greenland is N–S oriented, and the part exposed on
land stretches about 400 km in a N–S direction. It
is bounded to the west by the Post-Devonian Main
Fault–Stauning Alper Fault system, and the Liverpool
Land High forms the eastern boundary in the Jameson
Land area (Fig. 1). A correlative marine succession
offshore Norway suggests that a wide marine gulf
extended southwards between Greenland and Norway
(Bugge et al. 2002; Seidler et al. 2004; Stemmerik,
Piasecki & Surlyk, unpub. data).
The Middle–Upper Permian Foldvik Creek Group
overlies Upper Carboniferous–lowermost Permian
continental deposits and older rocks with an angular
unconformity. The group comprises, from below,
Capitanian alluvial conglomerates with marine
influence in the top (Huledal Formation), overlain
by marine hypersaline carbonates and evaporites
(Karstryggen Formation). In basin marginal areas
and over palaeo-highs the Capitanian Karstryggen
Formation is overlain by carbonate build-ups, up to
150 m thick (the Wuchiapingian-aged Wegener Halvø
Formation), whereas correlative black bituminous
mudstones, up to 100 m thick (Ravnefjeld Formation),
occur in basinal areas (Surlyk et al. 1986; Surlyk, 1990;
Piasecki & Stemmerik, 1991; Stemmerik et al. 1998).
The Changhsingian-aged Schuchert Dal Formation, up
to 220 m thick, represents the latest Permian basin fill,
where relative sea-level rise caused drowning of the
carbonate buildups and deposition of grey-black silty
bioturbated mudstone of the Oksedal Member and
turbiditic sandstones of the Bredehorn Member (Fig. 3)
(Surlyk et al. 1986; Stemmerik & Piasecki, 1991;
Kreiner-Møller & Stemmerik, 2001; Stemmerik et al.
1998). The uppermost part of the Schuchert Dal Form-
ation and the lowermost part of the overlying mainly
Griesbachian Wordie Creek Formation include the
24–27 m thick ‘Permian–Triassic boundary interval’
of Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki (2001).
The Permian–Triassic transition coincides in most of
East Greenland with an erosional unconformity formed
during a fall in relative sea level probably induced by
block faulting and tilting. The unconformity is best
developed at basin margins and on uplifted intrabasinal
fault-blocks. However, in the deeper, down-tilted parts
of the northern Jameson Land subbasin, sedimentation
appears to have been continuous across the boundary
(Perch-Nielsen et al. 1972; Piasecki & Marcussen,
1986; Oberh¨
ansli et al. 1989; Surlyk et al. 1986;
Twitchett et al. 2001; Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen &
Piasecki, 2001). The unconformity expands drastically
north of Jameson Land and the Schuchert Dal
Formation and correlatives are missing in the classical
boundary sections at Hold With Hope.
The Wordie Creek Formation is 70–850 m thick
and was deposited during overall relative sea-level
rise punctuated by several falls. The formation varies
markedly in facies and thickness, reflecting a strong
tectonic control on deposition (L. Seidler, unpub. Ph.D.
thesis, Univ. Copenhagen, 2000; Seidler, 2000; Seidler
et al. 2004). The overall facies development in the
study area begins with marine shales and mudstones,
with sandy and conglomeratic turbidites in the lower
part (H. triviale–O. commune zones). On Wegener
Halvø these deep marine sediments onlap the basin
margin towards the east against the Liverpool Land
High (Grasm¨
uck & Tr¨
umpy, 1969; Surlyk et al. 1986;
Seidler et al. 2004). The overlying strata (W. decipiens–
B. rosenkrantzi zones) consist of marine mudstones,
shoreface sandstones and a fluvial conglomerate
(Fig. 4) (Svinhufvuds Bjerge Member) (Clemmensen,
1980b). Locally, a succession of thrombolitic carbonate
bioherms, up to 19 m thick, occurs in the uppermost
part of the formation (Ødepas Member: Clemmensen,
1980a). The bioherms are laterally associated with
small stromatolite mounds and calcareous shoreface
storm sandstones. The uppermost part of the Wordie
Creek Formation consists of tidally influenced shallow
marine sandstones. The overlying Middle–Upper Tri-
assic succession is up to 1400 m thick and is mainly
continental with a marine intercalation in the Middle
Triassic (Clemmensen, 1980a,b).
3. Stratigraphy of the Permian–Triassic
boundary strata
The presence of Lower Triassic marine deposits in East
Greenland on the north coast of Hold With Hope was
first recognized by Wordie (1927) and the succession

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 637
20
22°24°26°
26°
24°22°20°
72°
74°74°
72°
Jameson
Land
Wegener Halvø
Traill Ø
Gauss
Halvø
Geographical
Society Ø
Kong Oscar Fjord
Hold
With
Hope
Clavering
Ø
Kap Stosch
S
t
a
u
n
i
n
g
A
l
p
e
r
10
78
9
6
4
1
5
3
2
11
P
o
s
t
–
D
e
v
o
n
i
a
n
M
a
i
n
Fault
P
o
s
t
–
D
e
v
o
n
i
a
n
M
a
i
n
F
a
u
l
t
Fault
1–11 Localities
Wordie Creek Fm.
LowerTriassic
Foldvik Creek Gp.
Upper Permian
25 km
Figure 1. Map showing outcrop of the Upper Permian Foldvik Creek Group and uppermost Permian–Lower Triassic Wordie Creek
Formation in East Greenland basin together with the main faults; Localities: 1 – Fiskegrav; 2 – Lille Cirkusbjerg; 3 – Paradigmabjerg;
4 – Aggersborg; 5 – Oksedal; 6 – Korsbjerg; 7 – Svinhufvud Bjerge, coastal section; 8 – Svinhufvud Bjerge, Ødepas; 9 – Mols Bjerge;
10 – Rold Bjerge, M˚
anedal; 11 – Hold With Hope. Modified from Callomon, Donovan & Tr¨
umpy (1972) and Larsen et al. (1998).
was termed the Wordie Creek Formation by Koch
(1929, 1931). Subsequent studies in the area described
the general lithostratigraphy and fish faunas (Nielsen,
1935, 1961; Stensi¨
o, 1932), ammonoid faunas (Spath,
1930, 1935), palynostratigraphy (Balme, 1979) and
the stratigraphical development across the Permian–
Triassic boundary (Teichert & Kummel, 1976). Map-
ping and description of Upper Permian–Triassic strata

638 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
260
255
Aggersborg
Oksedal
Mesters Vig
Triaskæden
882
Noret
Store Blydal
Korsbjerg 1061
Jameson Elv
820
Flemming
Fjord
Lille Ravnefjeld
Lille Cirkusbjerg
580
590
Paradigmabjerg
Walter Martin Bjerg
Calamitesdal
Nathorst
Fjord
Flemming
Fjord
Traill Ø, Svinhufvud Bjerge.
Northern Jameson Land
Northwestern Jameson Land
Western Jameson Land Central Wegener Halvø Northern Wegener Halvø
Kong Oscar Fjord
Svinhufvud Bjerge
Locality
200 m contours
River
Coastal profile
1400
1211
Frebold Bjerg
Kap Stosch
River 7
Northern Hold With Hope
Schuchert Dal
Schuchert Flod
Trias Elv
Fiskegrav
Major Paars Dal
Loc. 11
Loc. 7
Loc. 8
Loc.4
Loc. 5
Loc. 6
Loc. 3
Loc. 2
Loc. 1
Loc. 4
0 km 5
Figure 2. Maps of localities 1–8 and 11. Locality numbers as in Figure 1.

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 639
A. fassaensis
C.kullingi
H. triviale
Wordie Creek
Fm.
Svinhufvuds
Bjerge Mb.
Schuchert Dal
Fm.
Wegener
Halvø Fm.
Ravnefjeld
Fm.
Ødepas Mb.
Oksedal
Mb. Brede-
horn Mb.
Pingo Dal
Fm.
H. martini
M. subdemissum
O. commune
W. decipiens
B. rosenkrantzi
A. breviformis
Lower Triassic (part)
Upper Permian
Griesbachian
Changh-
singian Dienerian
Wuchia-
pingian
Paramexicoceras/
Changhsingoceras*
Lithostratigraphy Biostratigraphy
Chrono-
stratigraphy
Figure 3. Upper Permian–Lower Triassic lithostratigraphy and
ammonoid zonation. Vertical scale arbitrary. Based on Perch-
Nielsen et al. (1974), Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki
(2001), Yin Hongfu et al. (2001), and this study. Asterisk –
material does not allow definite determination; star – FAD of H.
parvus; solid circle – δ13Cspike.
from Traill Ø and northern Jameson Land was
undertaken by Frebold & Noe-Nygaard (1938), Stauber
(1942), Putallaz (1961) and Grasm¨
uck & Tr¨
umpy
(1969), and the Lower Triassic ammonoid fauna and
zonation based mainly on material from Wegener Halvø
was described by Tr¨
umpy (1969).
A lithostratigraphical scheme covering the Lower
Triassic of Jameson Land and Traill Ø was presented
by Perch-Nielsen et al. (1974) and updated by
Clemmensen (1980a,b). More recently the Upper
Permian–Lower Triassic succession has been dealt with
in connection with petroleum geological investigations
(Piasecki, 1984; Surlyk et al. 1984, 1986; Stemmerik
et al. 1997; Larsen et al. 1998). A sedimentological and
sequence stratigraphical interpretation of the Wordie
Creek Formation was presented by Seidler (2000; L.
Seidler, unpub. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Copenhagen, 2000),
while the Permian–Triassic boundary interval was
studied by Twitchett et al. (2001), Stemmerik, Bendix-
Almgreen & Piasecki (2001) and Wignall & Twitchett
(2002).
This study adds to earlier accounts with new
lithological and biostratigraphical data from Hold With
Hope, Traill Ø and northern Jameson Land, including
the Wegener Halvø area. The fossils were collected bed-
by-bed and the generic names of the ammonoids follow
Tozer (1981, 1994) and Dagys & Ermakova (1996).
A thorough revision of the taxonomy of Spath (1930,
1935) and Tr¨
umpy (1969) with an evaluation of syn-
onymy (intraspecific variations, ontogenetic variations)
and subgeneric ranks would be useful. However, the
preservation of the collected material is too poor and
the total number of ammonoids from single beds is
too scarce to allow such a revision to be undertaken.
Specimens are therefore assigned to the morphotypes
of Spath (1935), except where these have been revised
by Tozer (1994) or Dagys & Ermakova (1996).
4. Biostratigraphical zonation
The Upper Permian cyclolobid ammonoid stratigraphy
of East Greenland comprises a Wuchiapingian Cyclo-
lobus assemblage and a Changhsingian Changhsingo-
ceras?/Paramexicoceras assemblage, but this is not
Figure 4. Wordie Creek Formation at Ødepas in Svinhufvud Bjerge, looking east (loc. 8 in Figs 1, 2). Fluvial conglomerates of
Svinhufvuds Bjerge Member (Sv Mb), shallow marine mudstone sandstone and carbonates of Ødepas Member (Ød Mb), sandstone
turbidites (T), shoreface sandstones (SFS), Tertiary dykes (D) and sills (S).

640 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
* Only known from Hold With Hope
Hypophiceras triviale
(Spath)
Hypophiceras polare
(Spath) *
H. martini
(Trümpy)
H. minor
(Spath)
H. minimum
(Spath) *
H. gracile
(Spath)
Tompophiceras pascoei
(Spath)
T. extremum
(Spath)
Metophiceras subdemissum
(Spath)
M. noenygaardi
(Spath)
M. praecursor
(Spath) *
M. wegeneri
Trümpy
Otoceras boreale
Spath
Otoceras concavum
? Tozer *
Ophiceras
sp. ind.
Ophiceras greenlandicum
Spath
O. transitorium
Spath
O. commune
Spath
Ophiceras poulseni
Spath
Ophiceras subgibbosum
Spath *
Ophiceras subsakuntala
Spath *
Ophiceras (Lytophiceras) kilenense
Spath
Ophiceras (L.) leptodiscus
Spath
Ophiceras (L.) vishnuoides
Spath *
Ophiceras (L.) dubium
Spath
Discophiceras kochi
(Spath)
D. compressum
(Spath)
D. wordiei
(Spath)
D. subkyokticum
(Spath)
Vishnuites oxynotus
(Spath)
Vishnuites striatus
(Spath) *
Wordieoceras decipiens
(Spath)
W. wordiei
(Spath)
Bukkenites rosenkrantzi
(Spath)
Cyclolobus kullingi
cf. (Frebold)
Changhsingoceras ?
Ammonoids
Stratigraphy (Zonation) U. Permian Lower Triassic
C. kullingi
Paramexicoceras/
Changhsingoceras
H. triviale
H. martini
M. subdemissum
O. commune
W. decipiens
B. rosenkrantzi
Figure 5. Ammonoid range chart mainly based on fossil collections from northern Jameson Land and Traill Ø. The species marked
with an asterisk are only known from Hold With Hope (Spath, 1935).
dealt with in further detail. The Changhsingian age
of the strata containing the ammonoids tentatively
referred to Changhsingoceras? is indicated by palyno-
logical data (Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki,
2001). The ammonoid zonation of the uppermost
Permian–Lower Triassic is based on Spath (1935)
and Tr¨
umpy (1969) and the terminology is updated
after Tozer (1994) and Dagys & Ermakova (1996).
A range chart based on ammonoid collections from
northern Jameson Land and Traill Ø and a correlation
scheme of boreal ammonoid zonations are presented
in Figures 5 and 6. Key specimens of the generally
poorly preserved and poorly documented ammonoid
fauna of northern Jameson Land and Traill Ø are
illustrated in Figures 7 and 8, whereas the rich and
mainly well-preserved Hold With Hope fauna has been
documented by Spath (1930, 1935). The six ammonoid
zones recognized in the Wordie Creek Formation of

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 641
East Greenland
(Trümpy 1969,
this paper)
Arctic Canada,
Sverdrup basin
(Tozer 1994)
Svalbard
(Weitschat & Dagys
1989)
Northeast Asia
(Dagys & Weitschat 1993,
Dagys & Ermakova 1996)
Otoceras concavum
Otoceras boreale
Ophiceras commune
Bukkenites strigatus
Proptychites candidus
Vavilovites sverdrupi
Wordieoceras decipiens
Ophiceras commune
Otoceras concavum
Otoceras boreale
Otoceras boreale
Wordieoceras decipiens
Bukkenites rosenkrantzi Bukkenites rosenkrantzi
Vavilovites
turdigus
Vavilovites sverdrupi
Hypophiceras triviale
Hypophiceras martini
Metophiceras
subdemissum
Tompophiceras pascoei
Tompophiceras morpheus
Kingites(?) korostelevi
V. umbonatus
V. subtriangularis
Dienerian
Griesbachian
Lower Induan
C.
Figure 6. Correlation of ammonoid zonations from East Greenland, Arctic Canada (Standard Zonation of the Boreal Realm), Svalbard
and Northeast Asia (eastern Verkhoyansk). The Griesbachian and Dienerian are equivalent to the Induan, which is used in northeastern
Asia. C. – Changhsingian. Modified from Dagys & Weitschat (1993) and Dagys & Ermakova (1996).
Hold With Hope, the Hypophiceras triviale, Hypophi-
ceras martini, Metophiceras subdemissum, Ophiceras
commune, Wordieoceras decipiens and Bukkenites
rosenkrantzi zones and the overlying Anodontophora
breviformis and A. fassaensis bivalve zones, can be used
for regional correlation in the East Greenland basin.
The H. martini to B. rosenkrantzi zones are widely
distributed in the area, whereas sediments included in
the H. triviale Zone have a more limited occurrence.
The bivalve zones are only known from the northern
part of the basin. The East Greenland ammonoid
zonation has a relatively high stratigraphical resolution
and its use is therefore preferred here; the zones are
correlated with the Canadian, Svalbard and Siberian
zonations of the Boreal Realm in Figure 6.
4.a. Hypophiceras triviale–Hypophiceras martini zones
The zones are characterized by a few species only, and
specimens are rare and normally not well preserved.
The zones are therefore combined in this description.
The combined thickness of the two zones is up to
260 m. The H. triviale Zone contains H. triviale (Spath)
and H. minor (Spath), whereas the H. martini Zone
contains H. martini Tr ¨
umpy, H. minor, Metophiceras
noenygaardi (Spath) and Ophiceras sp. ind. Species
of Otoceras are not recorded from these zones in
Jameson Land and Traill Ø, but fragmented specimens
assigned to Otoceras sp. ind. showing a rather inflated
whorl section with flat sides have been described from
Hold With Hope (Spath, 1935). These specimens occur
stratigraphically many tens of metres below the level
with abundant Otoceras boreale and they probably
belong to Otoceras concavum Tozer of Dagys &
Ermakova (1996). Hypophiceras polare (Spath) has
also been described from the H. triviale Zone at Hold
With Hope (Spath, 1935). The index species of the
two zones have not been found elsewhere in the Boreal
Realm, suggesting a relatively high level of endemism
at that time.
4.b. Metophiceras subdemissum Zone
The diversity of the ammonoid assemblage in this zone
has increased to five genera and about 15 species. The
specimens are abundant and commonly well preserved
in concretions. The zone is 15–100 m thick. The
recorded species are H. minor, H. gracile (Spath), T.
extremum (Spath), Tompophiceras pascoei (Spath),
Otoceras boreale Spath, Metophiceras subdemissum
(Spath), M. noenygaardi, M. wegeneri Tr ¨
umpy and
rare Ophiceras commune Spath. Tompophiceras ser-
pentinum (Spath), T. subextremum (Spath), T. nielseni
(Spath), Metophiceras praecursor (Spath), Ophi-
ceras sp., Ophiceras ligatum (Spath) and Ophiceras
chamunda Diener have also been recorded from this
zone at Hold With Hope (Spath, 1935).
The M. subdemissum Zone can be correlated with
the O. boreale Zone of Arctic Canada (Sverdrup
Basin), where Hypophiceras gracile (Spath) and
Otoceras boreale Spath are common. Correlation with
the Tethyan Realm can be made on the genus level
by the probably cosmopolitan Otoceras and Ophiceras
(Teichert, 1990; Dagys, 1988; Hallam & Wignall,
1997).

642 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
Figure 7. Ammonoids from Permian and H. triviale–O. commune zones of East Greenland (all in natural size). (a, b) Hypophiceras
minor (Spath), adult specimen, O. commune Zone, Aggersborg, northern Jameson Land (GGU 423887); (c) Hypophiceras triviale
(Spath), imprint in shale, H. triviale Zone, Oksedal, northern Jameson Land (GGU 423841); (d, e) Hypophiceras martini (Spath), H.
martini Zone, Svinhufvud Bjerge, Traill Ø (GGU 443068); (f) Changhsingoceras? sp., cast of mould, juvenile specimen, Svinhufvud
Bjerge, Traill Ø (GGU 423822); (g, h) Metophiceras subdemissum Spath, juvenile specimen, M. subdemissum Zone, Walter Martin
Bjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 449614); (i, j) Hypophiceras gracile (Spath), adult specimen, combined M. subdemissum–O. commune
Zone, Walter Martin Bjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 449622); (k, l) Tompophiceras pascoei (Spath), adult specimen, O. commune Zone,
Paradigmabjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 423941); (m, n) Otoceras boreale Spath, juvenile specimen, M. subdemissum Zone, Walter
Martin Bjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 449615); (o, p) Otoceras boreale Spath, M. subdemissum Zone, Paradigmabjerg, Wegener Halvø
(GGU 423925).

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 643
Figure 8. Ammonoids from the M. subdemissum–W. decipiens zones of East Greenland (all in natural size). (a, b) Ophiceras commune
Spath, adult specimen, O. commune Zone, Lille Cirkusbjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 423971); (c, d) Discophiceras subkyokticum
(Spath), O. commune Zone, Oksedal, northern Jameson Land (GGU 423868); (e) Tompophiceras pascoei (Spath), mould, O. commune
Zone, Paradigmabjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 423950B); (f, g), Metophiceras noenygaardi Spath, M. subdemissum Zone, Aggersborg,
northern Jameson Land (GGU 423904); (h, i) Discophiceras wordiei (Spath), O. commune Zone, Aggersborg, northern Jameson
Land (GGU 423880); (j, k) Wordieoceras decipiens (Spath) juvenile with the ventral area slightly weathered, W. decipiens Zone, Lille
Cirkusbjerg, Wegener Halvø (GGU 423983).

644 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
4.c. Ophiceras commune Zone
This zone is widely distributed, 20–150 m thick, and
contains the most diverse ammonoid assemblage with
seven genera. Ophiceras commune is by far the most
abundant species. Other common species include Ophi-
ceras greenlandicum Spath, Tompophiceras pascoei,
Discophiceras wordiei (Spath) and D. subkyokticum
(Spath). Rare species are Otoceras boreale, H. minor,
H. gracile, H. serpentinum (Spath), D. kochi (Spath),
D. compressum (Spath), Ophiceras (Acanthophiceras)
poulseni Spath, Vishnuites oxynotus (Spath) and Wor d -
ieoceras decipiens (Spath). In addition, Ophiceras
subsakuntala (Spath), Ophiceras L. kilenense (Spath),
Vishnuites striatus (Spath) and Hypophiceras minimum
(Spath) have been recorded from Hold With Hope
(Spath, 1935).
Ophiceras commune Spath, Ophiceras greenland-
icum Spath, Discophiceras wordiei (Spath) and Wo r d -
ieoceras decipiens (Spath) are also found in Arctic
Canada. W. decipiens was included in W. wordiei by
Tozer (1994) but we consider it as a separate species. On
a genus level, Ophiceras and possibly Tompophiceras
are in common with the Tethyan Realm (Teichert, 1990;
Dagys, 1988; Hallam & Wignall, 1997).
4.d. Wordioceras decipiens Zone
The ammonoid diversity is reduced compared to the
two underlying zones and the specimens are commonly
less well preserved and relatively rare. The zone is up
to 350 m thick and widely distributed, but the original
three-fold subdivision of the zone into lower, middle
and upper beds (Spath, 1935) is not substantiated by
this study. The recorded species include Wordieoceras
decipiens, W. wordiei (Spath), Ophiceras transitorium
Spath, Ophiceras (L.) kilenense Spath and Ophiceras
(L.) leptodiscus Spath. Rare species are Ophiceras
commune and Ophiceras (Lytophiceras) dubium Spath.
Bukkenites grandis (Spath) and B. subdiscoides (Spath)
are also recorded from the zone at Hold With Hope.
Bukkenites possibly includes species referred to as
Proptychites by Tozer (1994).
The W. decipiens Zone is also recognized in Siberia
with the same index species. It can probably be correl-
ated with the B. strigatus Zone in the Sverdrup Basin
as both zones contain W. wordiei and species assigned
to Bukkenites (Spath, 1935; Tozer, 1994; Dagys &
Ermakova, 1996).
4.e. Bukkenites rosenkrantzi Zone
The zone marks the top of the ammonoid-bearing part
of the Triassic succession in East Greenland; it is up to
80 m thick. At Svinhufvud Bjerge on Traill Ø the zone
is represented by Ophiceras (L.) dubium. According
to Waterhouse (1994), the species should possibly be
assigned to the genus Mesokantoa Waterhouse, but firm
generic designation awaits further taxonomic studies.
The index species Bukkenites rosenkrantzi (Spath)
and other species of Bukkenites are common at Hold
With Hope but rare further south. Only two localities
on Traill Ø (M˚
anedal and Svinhufvud Bjerge) have
yielded a few specimens of this genus (Putallaz, 1961).
The B. rosenkrantzi Zone is also present on Svalbard
(Weitschat & Dagys, 1989). In East Greenland the
zone clearly characterizes an interval above the W.
decipiens Zone and it may correlate with the upper
part of the B. strigatus Zone of the Sverdrup Basin,
or more likely with an interval above this zone. The
base of the B. rosenkrantzi Zone corresponds to the
base of the palynologically defined Densoisporites
assemblage zone at Hold With Hope, which correlates
to Assemblage O in the Barents Sea (Hochuli, Colin &
Vigran, 1989).
4.f. Anodontophora breviformis Zone
This zone is defined by the presence of the bivalve
Anodontophora breviformis Spath; it is up to 150 m
thick. It has not yielded any ammonoids and is confined
to Svinhufvud Bjerge on Traill Ø and Hold With Hope.
It has not been identified outside East Greenland.
4.g. Anodontophora fassaensis Zone
This zone is also a bivalve zone and has not yielded
any ammonoids. It has only been described from
Hold With Hope, where it is up to 100 m thick. It
contains A. fassaensis (Wissmann) and Myalina kochi
Spath (Spath, 1930, 1935). Strata belonging to the A.
breviformis–A. fassaensis zones are included in the
Densoisporites assemblage zone at Hold With Hope.
5. Structural and sedimentological evolution
Deposition of the Upper Permian–Lower Triassic suc-
cession took place in the connected marine Hold With
Hope, Traill Ø, northern Jameson Land and Wegener
Halvø subbasins (Seidler et al. 2004). The subbasins are
half-grabens showing greatest subsidence towards the
western basin margin formed by the Post-Devonian–
Stauning Alper Fault System. Two rift events took place
during deposition of the Wordie Creek Formation and
are dated to the H. martini and W. decipiens Zone times,
respectively (Seidler et al. 2004).
5.a. Hold With Hope subbasin
The main outcrops on the north coast of Hold With
Hope occupy a central position on a westward tilted
fault block on which the Wordie Creek Formation
thickens towards the west to more than 650 m. The
upper part of the Foldvik Creek Group, the Schuchert
Dal Formation and correlative strata are missing at
Hold With Hope, and the Wordie Creek Formation

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 645
Figure 9. Sections through the ‘Permian–Triassic boundary interval’ of Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki (2001) and the
Wordie Creek Formation. The profile is hung on the base of the M. subdemissum Zone, which corresponds to a major flooding surface.
Note the thickness variations in the H. triviale–H. martini zones and in the W. decipiens Zone. The A. fassaensis Zone is only known
from Hold With Hope.
rests directly on black mudstones of the Ravnefjeld
Formation (Fig. 9). The top of the Ravnefjeld Formation
is reddish due to weathering, reflecting prolonged
latest Permian subaerial exposure. It is overlain by
greenish silty mudstones and fine-grained sandstones
with Hypophiceras triviale.
5.a.1. Hypophiceras triviale–H. martini zones
At Hold With Hope the combined zones form a wedge-
shaped unit of fine-grained sandstones and mudstones
thinning from west to east from more than 250 m to
140 m. The upper part of the succession is character-
ized by two prograding fan delta conglomerates, each
30–40 m thick.
5.a.2. Metophiceras subdemissum–Ophiceras commune zones
The base of the combined zones is marked by a
sharp boundary between fan delta conglomerates and
sandstones and black marine mudstones. Upwards
the mudstones gradually pass into interbedded silty

646 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
mudstones and thin turbidite sandstones. Ammonoids
are mainly preserved in concretions in the lower part of
the succession and as filled body chambers in sandstone
beds higher in the succession. The total thickness of
the combined M. subdemissum–O. commune zones is
approximately 40 m.
5.a.3. Wordieoceras decipiens Zone
This zone is represented by offshore mudstones and thin
sandstone turbidites in the lower part and a prominent
unit of canyon-filling marine density flow sandstones
in the upper part. The zone varies from 100 to 150 m in
thickness.
5.a.4. Bukkenites rosenkrantzi Zone
This zone is also represented by a lower fine-grained
unit of mainly offshore mudstones overlain by a thick
nearshore sandstone-dominated unit. Ammonoids are
restricted to the basal part of the mudstones.
5.a.5. Anodontophora breviformis–A. fassaensis zones
These zones reflect a gradual transition from offshore
mudstones and sandy turbidites to more shallow marine
siltstones and sandstones. The combined zones are up
to 210 m thick. The A. fassaensis Zone is erosionally
overlain by Cretaceous and Palaeogene sediments.
5.a.6. Permian–Triassic transition
The Permian–Triassic boundary at Hold With Hope has
been much debated due to the occurrence of supposedly
reworked Permian fossils in the lower part of the
Wordie Creek Formation. The redefinition of the period
boundary means that the important hiatus between the
Ravnefjeld Formation and the Wordie Creek Formation
is of latest Permian, intra-Changhsingian age, and that
the basal part of the Wordie Creek Formation is of latest
Permian age. The basal Wordie Creek Formation was
deposited during block faulting and westward tilting of
the Hold With Hope–Clavering Ø block and a rise in
relative sea level over the hangingwall. Shelf mudstones
and fine-grained sandstones were deposited during the
early Hypophiceras zones times, and coarse-grained
fan deltas prograded southward due to falls in relative
sea level during late Hypophiceras martini Zone time.
The subbasin deepened at the onset of M. subdemissum
Zone time, and deposition of offshore mud and thin
sandy turbidites characterized the subbasin to the end
of A. breviformis Zone time. Marine Early Triassic
deposition continued longer at Hold With Hope than
anywhere else in central East Greenland, and shallow
marine sandstones and red siltstones characterize the
A. fassaensis Zone (Fig. 10).
5.b. Traill Ø subbasin
The sections at Svinhufvud Bjerge along the south coast
of Traill Ø occupy a central position in the subbasin
(Fig. 1) and the Wordie Creek Formation is about
850 m thick. Two sections were measured 3 km apart.
The western coastal section contains the Permian–
Triassic transition, whereas the Triassic middle and
upper parts of the Wordie Creek Formation are exposed
at Ødepas (Figs 1, 4, 9). The fossils recorded from the
two localities are listed in Table 1. The lowest part of
the Wordie Creek Formation is exposed at Rold Bjerge,
northern Traill Ø.
At Svinhufvud Bjerge the Upper Permian is repres-
ented by black mudstones of the Ravnefjeld Formation,
gradually passing upward into grey silty mudstones of
the Oksedal Member (Schuchert Dal Formation), of
which 35 m are preserved. Juvenile specimens possibly
referred to a cyclolobid ammonoid Changsingoceras
were found 3 m below the top of the member
(Figs 7, 9). The Wordie Creek Formation erosionally
overlies the Oksedal Member, and the boundary is
marked by the base of a 6 m wide and 1.5 m thick
turbidite channel-fill sandstone that is overlain by
mudstone with Hypophiceras sp. of the Hypophiceras
zones.
5.b.1. Hypophiceras triviale–H. martini zones
At Svinhufvud Bjerge these zones consist of basinal
mudstone with three intervals of turbidite sandstone
forming an approximately 100 m thick succession with
scattered occurrences of poorly preserved ammonoids
and other fossils (Figs 9, 10). At Rold Bjerge only
the top part of the zones is present and consists
of a succession of yellow turbidite sandstones that
is 30 m thick. The H. triviale Zone has not been
identified and is probably missing in the studied Traill Ø
sections.
5.b.2. Metophiceras subdemissum–Ophiceras commune zones
The base of the combined zones at Rold Bjerge and
Svinhufvud Bjerge is characterized by dark grey to
black mudstones, which pass upwards into greenish
mudstones and include intercalations of turbidite sand-
stones, the total being up to 40 m thick. Ammonoids are
preserved in concretions, especially in the lower part
of the succession, as imprints on mudstone bedding
planes, and as filled body chambers with compressed
phragmocones in turbidite sandstone beds. At Rold
Bjerge the lowest 6 m of the mudstones contain
imprints of the ammonoids Hypophiceras minor, Hypo-
phiceras sp., Metophiceras noenygaardi, Metophiceras
sp. and Ophiceras sp. The total thickness of the com-
bined M. subdemissum–O. commune zones is 100 m in
in this area.

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 647
ab
cd
Lower Triassic (part)
Upper Permian
Griesbachian Dienerian
(part)
Wordie Creek Formation
F. C .
Group
Stage
Biostratigraphy
Series
Basinal mudstone grey, green, purple, brown
Carbonate buildup
Hiatus
Lithostratigraphy
Kap Stosch
Blåelv
Turbidite sandstone
Turbidite channel-fill
conglomerate and sandstone Shoreface sandstone
Fluvial conglomerate and sandstone
Coastal plain – continental
deposits
Basinal mudstone, dark, laminated
Inner shelf sandstone and mudstone Tidal stromatolites/thrombolites
Conglomeratic Gilbert-type delta
Wuchia-
pingian
Changh-
singian
H. triviale
H. martini
M. subde-
missum
O. commune
W. decipiens
B. rosen-
krantzi
A. breviformis
(bivalve zone)
A. fassaensis
(bivalve zone)
Changhsingo-
ceras/Para-
mexicoceras
C. kullingi
WE
Hold With Hope Subbasin
8 km
Wordie Creek Formation
F. C.
Group
Pingo Dal
Fm.
Rold Bjerge
Coastal profile
Ødepas
Mols Bjerge
Lithostratigraphy
WE
Traill Ø Subbasin
Lower Triassic (part)
Upper Permian
Griesbachian Dienerian
(part) Stage
Biostratigraphy
Series
Wuchia-
pingian
Changh-
singian
H. triviale
H. martini
M. subde-
missum
O. commune
W. decipiens
B. rosen-
krantzi
A. breviformis
(bivalve zone)
A. fassaensis
(bivalve zone)
Changhsingo-
ceras/Para-
mexicoceras
C. kullingi
50 km
Svinhufvud
Bjerge
?
Korsbjerg
Aggersborg
Oksedal
Northern Jameson Land Subbasin
Lower Triassic (part)
Upper Permian
Griesbachian Dienerian
(part)
Wordie Creek Formation Pingo Dal Formation
Foldvik Creek
Group
Stage
Biostratigraphy
Series
Lithostratigraphy
Wuchia-
pingian
Changh-
singian
H. triviale
H. martini
M. subde-
missum
O. commune
W. decipiens
B. rosen-
krantzi
A. breviformis
(bivalve zone)
A. fassaensis
(bivalve zone)
Changhsingo-
ceras/Para-
mexicoceras
C. kullingi
WE
35 km
Wegner Halvø Subbasin
Lagunenæsset
Lille Cirkusbjerg
Paradigmabjerg
Walter Martin
Bjerg
Lower Triassic (part)
Upper Permian
Griesbachian Dienerian
(part)
Wordie Creek Formation
Foldvik
Creek Group Pingo Dal Fm.
Stage
Biostratigraphy
Series
Lithostratigraphy
Wuchia-
pingian
Changh-
singian
H. triviale
H. martini
M. subde-
missum
O. commune
W. decipiens
B. rosen-
krantzi
A. breviformis
(bivalve zone)
A. fassaensis
(bivalve zone)
Changhsingo-
ceras/Para-
mexicoceras
C. kullingi
WE
10 km
Figure 10. Stratigraphy and depositional environments across the upper Permian–lower Triassic boundary in the East Greenland
subbasins. (a) Hold with Hope subbasin; (b) Traill Ø subbasin; (c) Northern Jameson Land subbasin; (d) Wegener Halvø subbasin.

648 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
5.b.3. Wordieoceras decipiens Zone
At Svinhufvud Bjerge the base of the zone is
represented by a 100 m thick interval of greenish
grey mudstones erosionally overlain by a 125 m thick
fluvial conglomerate, belonging to the Svinhufvuds
Bjerge Member. The conglomerate is overlain by
greenish-grey marine mudstones interbedded with up
to 19 m of stromatolitic mound-forming carbonates
and thrombolitic biostromes associated with calcareous
shoreface sandstones of the Ødepas Member (Fig. 4).
Ammonoids occur in the marine parts of the interval as
imprints or as filled body-chambers.
5.b.4. Bukkenites rosenkrantzi Zone
At Svinhufvud Bjerge the zone consists of about 25 m
of tidally influenced upper shoreface sandstones and
shallow marine mudstones. At M˚
anedal the zone is
represented by shallow marine mudstones (Putallaz,
1961). Svinhufvud Bjerge is the southernmost loc-
ation in the basin where B. rosenkrantzi has been
recorded.
5.b.5. Anodontophora breviformis Zone
At Svinhufvud Bjerge this zone is represented by
100 m of predominantly tidally influenced shallow
marine sandstones with very few fossils. At M˚
anedal
A. breviformis occurs in grey shallow marine mud-
stones overlain by 20 m of pebbly sandstones. The zone
marks the top of fully marine Lower Triassic deposits in
the Traill Ø subbasin. At Svinhufvud Bjerge the zone is
erosionally overlain by Cretaceous conglomerates with
clasts up to 5 m across.
5.b.6. The Permian–Triassic transition
The Permian–Triassic boundary in the Traill Ø sub-
basin is developed as an important unconformity, span-
ning the upper part of the Upper Permian
Changhsingian Stage, including the H. triviale Zone.
Offshore basinal mudstones and turbidite sandstones
were deposited during the time of the H. martini
Zone, and the base of the M. subdemissum Zone is
represented by a prominent flooding surface (Figs 9,
10). Deposition of offshore mudstones with intercal-
ated intervals of turbidite sandstone continued through
O. commune Zone time with a gradually shallowing-
upward transition into the W. decipiens Zone. The
fluvial interval of W. decipiens Zone age marks an
important tectonic event in the subbasin (Seidler
et al. 2004). The shallowing-upward trend continued
through B. rosenkrantzi and A. breviformis Zone times
with deposition of the shallow marine stromatolitic
carbonate mounds and sandstones.
The thickest succession of the Wordie Creek
Formation in East Greenland occurs in the Svinhufvud
Bjerge area, reflecting high rates of subsidence and
sedimentation. The western coastal section is situated
in a more proximal setting than the Ødepas section,
as indicated by thicker turbiditic sandstone beds and
greater thickness of the fluvial Svinhufvuds Bjerge
Member (Fig. 9).
5.c. Northern Jameson Land subbasin
The Oksedal and Aggersborg sections are situated in
the western central part of the subbasin where the
Wordie Creek Formation is up to 280 m thick (Figs 1,
9, 10). The Aggersborg section is located 3.5 km west
of Oksedal. Korsbjerg is situated closer to the western
basin margin and here the Wordie Creek Formation is
170 m thick. The fossils recorded from these localities
are listed in Table 1. The Oksedal section was probably
measured at the same location as the OK 3 section of
Wignall & Twitchett (2002).
In the central part of the basin the Upper Permian
is represented by dark-grey bioturbated mudstone
with thin fine-grained sandstone beds of the Oksedal
Member (Schuchert Dal Formation). At Oksedal, the
base of the Wordie Creek Formation is placed at
the transition from dark-grey mudstone to greenish
grey and brown mudstones with abundant sandstone
beds. A fine-grained turbidite, 20 cm thick, occurs
approximately 6 m above the base of this unit and
the FAD of H. triviale is situated 5 m higher in the
section.
At the Aggersborg section, the Permian–Triassic
transition shows a similar development. The first
appearance of Hypophiceras sp. followed by H. triviale
occurs within 5 m of a slightly upward-coarsening
succession from grey to grey-green mudstone (Fig. 9).
At Korsbjerg the Upper Permian grey mudstones of the
Oksedal Member are overlain erosionally by a 30 m
thick conglomerate with ammonoids of the H. martini
Zone in the uppermost part.
5.c.1. Hypophiceras triviale–martini zones
At Oksedal and Aggersborg, the H. triviale Zone con-
sists of a slightly upward-coarsening interval of basinal
dark grey mudstones passing into green and brown
mudstones with thin sandstone turbidites (Fig. 9).
Ammonoids are preserved as imprints on mudstone
bedding planes. The top part of the H. martini Zone
is marked by incised valleys or canyons filled with
conglomeratic density flow deposits, which mark the
base of the Triassic at Korsbjerg. The thickness of the
combined zones varies from 30 m at the basin margin
to 80 m in the basinal settings.
5.c.2. M. subdemissum–O. commune zones
The base of the M. subdemissum Zone is sharp and
marked by dark grey to black mudstones, which over
an interval of 25 m pass upwards into grey and greenish

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 649
Table 1. Fossils recorded from the studied localities
Zonation Ammonoids Other fossils
Svinhufvud Bjerge, Traill Ø, localities 7, 8 in Figure 1
B. rosenkrantzi Ophiceras (Lytophiceras) dubium Spath Myalina aff. schamarae Bittner
Wordieoceras sp.
W. decipiens Wordieoceras decipiens (Spath) Claraia sp.
W. w o r d i e i (Spath) Myalina sp.
Wordieoceras sp. Myalina aff. schamarae Bittner
O. commune Ophiceras commune Spath
O. commune var. evolvens Spath
M. subdemissum Hypophiceras sp. Lingula borealis Bittner
Tompophiceras pascoei (Spath) Laugia groenlandica Stensi¨
o
Metophiceras noenygaardi (Spath) Glaucolepis arctica Stensi¨
o
M. subdemissum (Spath)
H. martini Hypophiceras martini (Spath) Claraia sp.
H. minor (Spath)
Metophiceras noenygaardi (Spath)
Paramexicoceras/Changhsingoceras Changhsingoceras? Martinia greenlandica Dunbar
Oksedal, northern Jameson Land, locality 5 in Figure 1
W. decipiens Wordieoceras sp. Claraia sp.
O. commune Ophiceras commune Spath Discophiceras Naticopsis arctica Spath
subkyokticum (Spath) Claraia sp.
D. wordiei (Spath)
Hypophiceras gracile (Spath)
M. subdemissum Hypophiceras sp. Lingula borealis Bittner
Tompophiceras pascoei (Spath) Laugia groenlandica Stensi¨
o
Metophiceras noenygaardi (Spath) Glaucolepis arctica Stensi¨
o
M. subdemissum (Spath)
H. martini Hypophiceras minor (Spath)
H. triviale Hypophiceras minor (Spath) Claraia sp.
H. triviale (Spath)
Paramexicoceras/Changhsingoceras Martinia greenlandica Dunbar
Aggersborg, northern Jameson Land, locality 4 in Figure 1
W. decipiens Ophiceras commune Spath Claraia sp.
O. commune Discophiceras wordiei (Spath) Claraia sp.
D. kochi (Spath)
M. subdemissum Hypophiceras minor (Spath) Metophiceras Lingula borealis Bittner
subdemissum (Spath) Glaucolepis arctica Stensi¨
o
M. wegeneri Tr¨
umpy Broughia perleididoides Stensi¨
o
Ophiceras commune Spath
H. martini Hypophiceras minor (Spath)
H. triviale Hypophiceras minor (Spath) Claraia sp.
H. triviale (Spath) Laugia groenlandica Stensi¨
o
Paramexicoceras/Changhsingoceras Lisotella sp.
Korsbjerg, northern Jameson Land, locality 6 in Figure 1
W. decipiens Claraia sp.
O. commune Ophiceras commune Spath Claraia sp.
O. commune var. aperta Spath Discophiceras
wordiei (Spath)
D. kochi (Spath)
D. subkyokticum (Spath)
Hypophiceras gracile (Spath)
H. minor (Spath)
Vishnuites oxynotus Spath
Wordieoceras cf. wordiei (Spath)
M. subdemissum Otoceras boreale Spath Claraia sp.
Hypophiceras gracile (Spath) Bellerophon borealis Spath
Tompophiceras pascoei (Spath)
Ophiceras commune Spath
H. martini Hypophiceras cf. martini (Spath) Claraia sp.
Paramexicoceras/Changhsingoceras Lisotella sp.

650 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
Tab le 1 . (Contd.)
Zonation Ammonoids Other fossils
Paradigmabjerg, Wegener Halv Ø, locality 3 in Figure 1
W. decipiens Wordieoceras sp. juv. Claraia sp.
O. commune Ophiceras commune Spath Claraia sp.
O. poulseni (Spath) Perleidus stoschiensis Stensi¨
o
Discophiceras wordiei (Spath)
D. kochi (Spath)
D. subkyokticum (Spath)
Wordieoceras decipiens (Spath)
Hypophiceras gracile (Spath)
H. minor (Spath)
Tompophiceras extremum (Spath)
T. pascoei (Spath)
M. subdemissum Otoceras boreale Spath
Hypophiceras minor (Spath) Claraia sp.
C. kullingi Pleurohorridonia scoresbyensis
Dunbar
Lille Cirkusbjerg, Wegener Halv Ø, locality 2 in Figure 1
W. decipiens Wordieoceras decipiens (Spath) Claraia sp.
W. decipiens var. discoidea (Spath) Myalina aff. schamarae Bittner
W. w o r d i e i (Spath) Myalina sp.
Wordieoceras sp. juv. Naticopsis arctica Spath
Ophiceras (Lytophiceras) dubium Spath Bellerophon borealis Spath
O. commune Ophiceras commune Spath Claraia sp.
O. poulseni (Spath)
Discophiceras wordiei (Spath)
D. kochi (Spath)
D. subkyokticum (Spath)
O. greenlandicum Spath
Wordieoceras decipiens (Spath)
Hypophiceras gracile (Spath)
M. subdemissum Otoceras boreale Spath Claraia sp.
Hypophiceras minor (Spath)
mudstones of the O. commune Zone. Abundant
concretions at several levels contain well-preserved
ammonoids, bivalves and occasional fish. The com-
bined thickness of the two zones varies between 50 and
100 m.
5.c.3. W. decipiens Zone
The zone consists of a shallowing-upward succession
of grey, green to brown mudstones with metre-thick
sandstone beds and a prominent conglomerate, 25 m
thick. The zone marks the upper part of the marine
Wordie Creek Formation in this subbasin and is overlain
by reddish coastal plain and continental sandstones of
the Pingo Dal Formation with an angular unconformity
(Fig. 10). Only a few ammonoids preserved as imprints
in mudstones or as partly filled body chambers were
collected in the Wordie Creek Formation.
5.c.4. The Permian–Triassic transition
The sections studied in the Jameson Land basin
represent a transition from a position relatively close
to the basin margin (∼5 km) represented at Korsbjerg
to more basinward settings at Aggersborg and Oksedal
(20–30 km). Sedimentation was continuous across the
Permian–Triassic boundary at Oksedal and Aggersborg
and the localities show a similar development to the
Fiskegrav section at the eastern side of Schuchert Dal
(Fig. 11) (Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki,
2001; Twitchett et al. 2001). The conglomerate forming
the base of the Triassic at Korsbjerg can be traced
further out into the basin and represents a period
of faulting and uplift of basin margins (Wignall &
Twitchett, 2002; Seidler et al. 2004). The base of the M.
subdemissum Zone is interpreted as a marine flooding
surface where black bituminous mudstones overlie grey
siltstones. The succession shallows upward through
grey and greenish grey mudstones of the O. commune
and W. decipiens zones and is topped by a marked
tectonically induced erosion surface probably formed
during W. decipiens Zone time. The Wordie Creek
Formation is unconformably overlain by coastal plain
to continental deposits of the Pingo Dal Formation.
5.d. Wegener Halvø subbasins
The Wegener Halvø area is situated at the southeastern
basin margin (Fig. 1), and the succession there is
bounded by faults, which controlled the Early Triassic
sedimentological development (Seidler, 2000; Seidler
et al. 2004). The Paradigmabjerg section is located in
a structurally stable area within the subbasins and the
Wordie Creek Formation is only 150 m thick, whereas

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 651
Jameson
Land
Subbasin Liverpool
Land
High
Hold With
Hope
Subbasin
Traill Ø Subbasin
Wegener
Halvø
Subbasin
Mestersvig
Subbasin
50 km
26
?
?
10
78
5
3
2
4
1
6
9
C.kullingi
Zone
74°
72°
20°22°
24°
Jameson
Land
Subbasin
Liverpool
Land
High
Hold With
Hope
Subbasin
Traill Ø Subbasin
Wegener
Halvø
Subbasin
Mestersvig
Subbasin
50 km
26
?
?
11
10
78
5
3
2
4
1
6
9
74°
72°
20°22°
24°
Jameson
Land
Subbasin
Liverpool
Land
High
Hold With
Hope
Subbasin
Traill Ø Subbasin
Wegener
Halvø
Subbasin
Mestersvig
Subbasin
74°
72°
50 km
20°
24°
?
?
?
11
10
78
5
3
2
4
1
6
9
H. triviale
Zone
Jameson
Land
Subbasin
Liverpool
Land
High
Hold With
Hope
Subbasin
Traill Ø Subbasin
Wegener
Halvø
Subbasin
Mestersvig
Subbasin
50 km
26
?
?
?
?
11
10
78
5
3
2
4
1
6
9
Late
H. martini
Zone
74°
72°
20°22°
24°
ab
cd
22°
11
No deposits known
Land
Locality
Carbonate platform
I
nner Shelf sandstone
and mud
Fault
Land
Inner Shelf sandstone
and mud
Fault
No deposits known
Inner Shelf sandstone
and mud
Land
Fault Land
Turbidite sand
Gilbert-type delta
Fault
Inner Shelf sandstone
and mud
No deposits known
No deposits known
Locality
Locality
Locality
Figure 11. Palaeogeographical maps of (a) late Permian Wuchiapingian C. kullingi Zone time, (b) δ13Cspike,(c)H. triviale Zone
time, and (d) early Triassic late H. martini Zone time. Locality numbers as for Figures 1 and 2.

652 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
it is 300 m thick at the more basinal Lille Cirkusbjerg
section. Fossils recorded at the localities are presented
in Table 1.
At Paradigmabjerg, the Upper Permian comprises
reef-associated carbonates of the Wegener Halvø
Formation, up to 150 m thick, erosionally overlain
by shallow marine, calcareous shoreface sandstones,
6 m thick, of the Bredehorn Member (Schuchert Dal
Formation) (Figs 2, 10, 11). The erosional top of
the Bredehorn Member coincides with the Permian–
Triassic boundary and is overlain by a 13 m thick dens-
ity flow conglomerate, containing clasts of the Wegener
Halvø Formation and forming the basal part of the
Wordie Creek Formation.
At Lille Cirkusbjerg the Upper Permian succession
consists of reef limestones of the Wegener Halvø
Formation interfingering with and overlain by black
mudstones of the Ravnefjeld Formation or in some
places by dark grey silty mudstones of the Oksedal
Member (Schuchert Dal Formation). The Permian–
Triassic boundary is developed as an erosional uncon-
formity overlain by 20 m of conglomerate interbedded
with mudstone in the lower part. This succession forms
the basal part of the Wordie Creek Formation and passes
laterally into a conglomerate, up to 40 m thick, which
in some places directly overlies the Wegener Halvø
Formation with an erosional unconformity.
5.d.1. Hypophiceras triviale–martini zones
No ammonoids of the H. triviale Zone have been
recorded from Wegener Halvø. The H. martini Zone
is present in the most basinal settings in the area and is
represented by turbidite sandstone and offshore mud-
stone (Grasm¨
uck & Tr¨
umpy, 1969; Seidler, 2000; L.
Seidler. unpub. Ph.D. thesis, Univ. Copenhagen, 2000).
Prominent conglomerate beds, forming the lowermost
part of most of the Lower Triassic sections on Wegener
Halvø, probably belong to the top of the H. martini
Zone.
5.d.2. M. subdemissum–O. commune zones
The basal part of the M. subdemissum Zone consists of
black mudstone, overlying the conglomeratic interval
at the base of the Triassic succession in the area. The
mudstone contains concretions with well-preserved
ammonoids and other fossils and passes upward into
greenish silty mudstones of the O. commune Zone.
At Paradigmabjerg and Lille Cirkusbjerg the total
thicknesses of the combined zones are about 50 m and
100 m, respectively.
5.d.3. W. decipiens Zone
At Paradigmabjerg the zone is 100 m thick and is
represented by a yellow and grey, sandstone-dominated,
erosionally based turbiditic succession. Two mudstone
intervals occur containing a few imprints of fossils.
The upper part of the zone is erosionally overlain by
alluvial-fan conglomerates of the Pingo Dal Formation.
At Lille Cirkusbjerg the greenish grey mudstone of
the O. commune Zone passes gradually upwards into
aW. decipiens Zone succession of dark grey, green
and brown mudstone with common erosionally based
sandy turbidites that are up to 10 m thick. The zone is
170 m thick, and ammonoids and other fossils occur as
imprints in mudstones and as shell-rich layers in sandy
turbidites.
5.d.4. The Permian–Triassic transition
The Wegener Halvø sections show different develop-
ments, depending on their structural position, and the
Late Permian reefs and tectonic movements exerted
a strong control on deposition. The Permian–Triassic
boundary is developed as an erosional unconformity
(Fig. 10). The widespread conglomeratic interval at
the base of the Wordie Creek Formation is most
prominent over structural highs and at basin margins
and correlates with the conglomerate at the base
of the Korsbjerg section. It represents the filling
of incised valleys and/or submarine canyons eroded
during latest Permian–earliest Triassic time (Seidler,
2000). In more basinal settings the H. martini Zone
is represented by offshore mudstones and turbidite
sandstones (Grasm¨
uck & Tr¨
umpy, 1969; Seidler,
2000).
The base of the M. subdemissum Zone is also
marked by an abrupt shift towards black mudstones
on Wegener Halvø, interpreted as a flooding surface.
Similarly, there is an upward gradual shift to grey
and greenish grey mudstone of the O. commune Zone.
Shallow marine mudstone and subordinate sandy and
conglomeratic density flow deposits characterize the
W. decipiens Zone. Shallow marine tidally influenced
sandstones occur in the middle part of this zone at
Paradigmabjerg, close to the eastern basin margin.
6. Discussion
Upper Permian–Lower Triassic ammonoids of East
Greenland are of outstanding importance for biostrati-
graphical subdivision and correlation of the Wordie
Creek Formation and for identification of the Permian–
Triassic boundary. The Upper Permian ammonoids
from the Oksedal Member at Svinhufvud Bjerge and
in western Jameson Land are quite different from
Cyclolobus kullingi from Hold With Hope and are
referred to Changhsingoceras and Paramexicoceras,
(W. W. Nassichuk, 1995 and pers. comm. 2001;
Zakharov, Oleinikov & Kotlyar, 1997; Zhou et al.
1996; Glenister, Furnish & Zhou, unpub. data). The
Hypophiceras triviale Zone and the overlying H.
martini Zone can probably be correlated with the O.
concavum Zone of Arctic Canada and northeast Siberia

East Greenland ammonoid stratigraphy 653
(Dagys & Weitschat, 1993; Tozer, 1994). The Permian–
Triassic boundary GSSP at Meishan is defined at
the FAD of the conodont Hindeodus parvus (Yin
Hongfu et al. 2001), but correlation with the ammonoid
stratigraphy is still rather crude. The base of the H.
triviale Zone is situated 7 m above the base of the
Wordie Creek Formation at Oksedal, northern Jameson
Land. The FAD of H. parvus occurs 23.5 m above the
base of the Wordie Creek Formation in the Fiskegrav
section, southern Jameson Land (Twitchett et al. 2001),
where the lowermost ammonoids belonging to the
H. martini Zone are found 28 m above the base of
the formation, that is, above the FAD of H. parvus
(Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki, 2001). Yin
Hongfu et al. (2001, table 1) referred both the H. triviale
and the H. martini zones to the Permian. Our data
show that this cannot be substantiated. The H. triviale
Zone is clearly of latest Permian, Changhsingian age,
whereas most or all of the H. martini Zone belongs to
the lowermost Triassic. In the Fiskegrav section there
is a pronounced palynological shift in the uppermost
part of the Schuchert Dal Formation, 0.5 m below
the base of the Wordie Creek Formation (Stemmerik,
Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki, 2001; Twitchett et al.
2001). The δ13C of organic material drops by 8 ‰ in
the topmost metre of the Schuchert Dal Formation to
reach its most negative value of −32 ‰ PDB at the
base of the Wordie Creek Formation. The negative δ13C
spike in the Permian–Triassic boundary interval thus
pre-dates the FAD of H. parvus in Jameson Land with
an interval corresponding to a 23.5 m thick succession
(Stemmerik, Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki, 2001). It is
possible that the FAD of H. parvus in East Greenland
post-dates the FAD at the GSSP at Meishan, and
the immediately underlying strata (lowermost Wordie
Creek Formation) at Fiskegrav may thus still belong to
the lowermost Triassic.
The H. triviale Zone is for the first time documented
in northern Jameson Land. Together with the conodont
data of Wignall & Twitchett, (2002) this strongly
indicates that a continuous mudstone succession across
the Permian–Triassic boundary occurs in the basinal
localities at Oksedal and Aggersborg in northern
Jameson Land (Figs 9, 10). The section at Fiskegrav,
southwestern Jameson Land, described by Stemmerik,
Bendix-Almgreen & Piasecki (2001) and Twitchett
et al. (2001), clearly indicated the existence of a
continuous succession.
At Hold With Hope, the classical and most disputed
boundary locality in East Greenland, the new boundary
definition means that the basal Wordie Creek Formation
is of youngest Permian age (H. triviale Zone) and
that sedimentation was continuous across the Permian–
Triassic boundary in the western, deepest part of the
half-graben.
In most other areas in East Greenland the Permian–
Triassic boundary is developed as an erosion surface,
and the Schuchert Dal Formation and its correlatives
are missing. The strata containing the δ13C spike and
the FAD of H. parvus do not show sedimentological
signals indicative of sea-level changes. The claim by
Twitchett et al. (2001) and Wignall & Twitchett (2002)
that ‘conformable shale contacts are present throughout
the basin’ (the Jameson Land subbasin) and implicitly
that there was continuous sedimentation across the
boundary is not substantiated by field evidence from
the other subbasins of East Greenland. Rather, the
ammonoid and palynological zonations from the whole
region indicate that the interval recording the δ13C
anomaly and the extinction event is missing in most
areas (Fig. 10).
The uppermost Permian–lowermost Triassic depos-
its of the H. triviale–H. martini zones are dominated
by basinal mudstone and sand- and conglomerate-
dominated turbidites in basinal and down-tilted areas.
At Hold With Hope the succession is dominated by
shelf sandstones and siltstones, and in the upper part
two prominent fan delta conglomerate units occur.
An erosional unconformity is overlain by prominent
conglomerate- or sand-dominated turbidite units, the
top of which mark the top of the H. martini Zone
throughout the Jameson Land subbasin, including
Wegener Halvø (Fig. 9). The hiatus includes the
Permian–Triassic boundary at basin margins at Kors-
bjerg and Paradigmabjerg and over intrabasinal highs
at Lille Cirkusbjerg and is interpreted to represent
a prominent but local tectonically induced relative
sea-level fall. Erosion and incision took place at the
Permian–Triassic transition and/or in late H. martini
Zone time.
The base of the M. subdemissum Zone coincides
with a basin-wide change in deposition from siltstone
to black bituminous mudstone and is interpreted as
a drowning surface, probably of eustatic nature. The
black mudstone passes upward into greenish-grey silty
mudstone of the O. commune Zone. This Early Triassic
sea-level rise was associated with the evolution of
diverse ammonoid faunas in the M. subdemissum and
O. commune zones, reflecting the filling of vacant
niches after the end-Permian mass-extinction. The
number of ammonoid genera thus increases from three
in the H. triviale and H. martini zones to seven in the
O. commune Zone (Fig. 5).
The W. decipiens Zone is characterized by shallow
marine mudstone and subordinate coarse-grained tur-
bidites in the Traill Ø and Jameson Land subbasins,
and by mudstones and turbidite sandstones in the Hold
With Hope subbasin. The number of ammonoid genera
is greatly reduced to four, combined with a gradual
shallowing-upward trend in the succession. A distinct
fluvial interlude represented by the Svinhufvuds Bjerge
Member, possibly of relatively short duration, occurred
within W. decipiens Zone time, reflecting a tectonic
event in the Traill Ø subbasin. The Svinhufvuds Bjerge
Member cannot be traced out into the basin but is
probably time-equivalent to turbidite sandstones at

654 M. BJERAGER AND OTHERS
Aggersborg and Lille Cirkusbjerg and to the coastal
tidally influenced sandy succession at Paradigmabjerg.
Marine deposition in northern Jameson Land and
Wegener Halvø ceased in W. decipiens Zone time
but continued at Svinhufvud Bjerge and Hold With
Hope. At Hold With Hope deep-water deposition
continued during B. rosenkrantzi and A. breviformis
Zone times, whereas the Svinhufvud Bjerge area
was characterized by shallow marine stromatolitic
build-ups and associated carbonate mudstones and
sandstones of the Ødepas Member. The lower part of
the continental basin-marginal Pingo Dal Formation is
probably contemporaneous with the uppermost shallow
marine part of the Wordie Creek Formation at Traill
Ø (Perch-Nielsen et al. 1974). The ammonoid fauna is
further reduced to only two genera in the B. rosenkrantzi
Zone, and the correlation potential to other parts of
the Boreal Realm is limited. This level marks a major
regression in East Greenland and the transition to more
widespread shallow marine–continental deposition.
7. Conclusions
Ammonoids are important in determining the Permian–
Triassic boundary and for the stratigraphical subdi-
vision and interpretation of the marine uppermost
Permian–Lower Triassic of East Greenland. Six
ammonoid zones are recognized in the uppermost
Permian–Lower Triassic, and the zonation can be
correlated with the standard ammonoid zonation of
the Boreal Realm (Sverdrup Basin) and other Boreal
regions (Svalbard, Northeast Siberia). The lowest of the
East Greenland zones, the H. triviale Zone, most likely
belongs to the uppermost Permian, following the recent
definition of the Permian–Triassic GSSP at Meishan
in China, but more integrated studies of conodonts
and ammonoids are needed to correlate precisely the
Boreal and Tethyan sections. The proposed correlation
indicates that the end-Permian marine and terrestrial
extinctions and associated isotope changes, as well
as the subsequent adaptive radiations in the Boreal
Realm, took place in what is now defined as latest
Permian time. New Boreal faunas and floras were well
established and diversified prior to the beginning of
the Triassic, and the Permian–Triassic boundary in
its present definition is not reflecting major changes
in the Earth system. It would have been fortunate
if a GSSP was defined in a protracted section at a
point of major environmental perturbations, marked
by isotope excursions, chemical anomalies and mass
extinction, rather than in the strongly condensed section
like Meishan at a point which post-dates all significant
events.
New ammonoid data from Jameson Land, Wegener
Halvø and Traill Ø allow us to better reconstruct
the latest Permian–Early Triassic evolution of the
East Greenland Basin. The H. triviale and H. martini
zones are characterized by endemic faunas reflecting
deposition in small and semi-isolated basins. Diverse
and widespread Boreal ammonoid faunas occur in the
M. subdemissum and O. commune zones. This interval
corresponds to an overall transgressive development,
including a maximum flooding interval, which resulted
in better marine connections to the Boreal Sea
towards the north. The overlying W. decipiens–B.
rosenkrantzi zones mark a change into a higher degree
of endemism associated with onset of relative sea-level
fall and regression in the basin. This was associated
with regional rifting, causing large-scale incision and
erosion over structural highs and at basin margins and
deposition of sand and conglomerate in the basins
(Seidler et al. 2004).
Acknowledgements. This work was supported by the
Danish Research Councils through the project ‘Resources
of the Sedimentary Basins of North and East Greenland’
and by the Carlsberg Foundation. Mikkel Kreiner-Møller is
thanked for companionship in the field. We thank Stefan
Piasecki of the Geological Survey of Denmark and Greenland
(GEUS) for constructive discussion and company in the field,
and Stephen Hesselbo and Wolfgang Weitschat for useful
comments on an early manuscript version. Leopold Krystyn
and Paul Wignall are thanked for constructive reviews. Lars
Stemmerik publishes with approval from the Geological
Survey of Denmark and Greenland.
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