Content uploaded by Arden Roy Bashforth
Author content
All content in this area was uploaded by Arden Roy Bashforth on Nov 13, 2015
Content may be subject to copyright.
PALAIOS, 2015, v. 30, 779–791
Research Article
DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.2110/palo.2015.031
A MARINE INCURSION IN THE LOWER PENNSYLVANIAN TYNEMOUTH CREEK FORMATION, CANADA:
IMPLICATIONS FOR PALEOGEOGRAPHY, STRATIGRAPHY AND PALEOECOLOGY
HOWARD J. FALCON-LANG,
1
PEIR K. PUFAHL,
2
ARDEN R. BASHFORTH,
3
MARTIN R. GIBLING,
4
RANDALL F. MILLER,
5
AND
NICHOLAS J. MINTER
6
1
Department of Earth Sciences, Royal Holloway, University of London, Egham, Surrey TW20 0EX, UK
2
Department of Earth and Environmental Science, Acadia University, Wolfville, Nova Scotia, B4P 2R6, Canada
3
Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, Washington, DC, 20560, USA
4
Department of Earth Sciences, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, B3H 4R2, Canada
5
Natural Science Department, New Brunswick Museum, 277 Douglas Avenue, Saint John, New Brunswick, E2K 1E5, Canada
6
School of Earth & Environmental Sciences, University of Portsmouth, Burnaby Building, Burnaby Road, Portsmouth, PO1 3QL, UK
e-mail: h.falcon-lang@es.rhul.ac.uk
A
BSTRACT
: We document the occurrence of a marine bed, and its associated biota, in the Lower Pennsylvanian (Langsettian)
Tynemouth Creek Formation of New Brunswick, and discuss its implications for paleogeography, stratigraphy, and
paleoecology. This is only the second marine interval found in the entire Pennsylvanian fill of the Maritimes Basin of Canada,
the other being recently found in the broadly same-age Joggins Formation of Nova Scotia. Evidence for the new marine
transgression comprises an echinoderm-rich limestone that infills irregularities on a vertic paleosol surface within the distal
facies of a syntectonic fluvial megafan formed under a seasonally dry tropical climate. Gray, platy ostracod-rich shales and
wave-rippled sandstone beds that directly overlie the marine limestone contain trace fossils characteristic of the Mermia
Ichnofacies, upright woody trees, and adpressed megafloras. This association represents bay-fills fringed by freshwater coastal
forests dominated by pteridosperms, cordaites, and other enigmatic plants traditionally attributed to dryland/upland habitats.
The fossil site demonstrates that marine transgressions extended farther into the interior of Pangea than has previously been
documented, and may allow correlation of the Tynemouth Creek and Joggins Formations with broadly coeval European
successions near the level of the Gastrioceras subcrenatum and G. listeri marine bands. It also helps explain the close similarity
of faunas between the Maritimes Basin and other paleotropical basins, if transgressions facilitated migration of marine taxa
into the continental interior.
INTRODUCTION
The Maritimes Basin of Atlantic Canada (Fig. 1A) is one of the largest
Pennsylvanian depocenters in tropical Pangea, covering 210,000 km
2
(Rehill 1996). It comprises a complex of small sub-basins separated by
basement blocks, each with a distinctive depositional history (van de Poll
et al. 1995), developed in a strike-slip context resulting from the oblique
convergence of Gondwana with Laurasia (Hibbard and Waldron 2009).
As such, it is recognized as one of the most continental interior basins of
tropical Pangea (Gibling et al. 2008). Fluvial deposits dominate the
Pennsylvanian fill of the basin, and regional paleocurrent compilations
indicate that rivers flowed east to northeast away from the Appalachian
Orogen drainage divide towards a ‘mid-European sea’ (Fig. 2; Gibling et
al. 1992; Calder 1998).
This paper deals with the deposits of the Cumberland sub-basin of
northern Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick (Fig. 1B), which lay
in the western part, and judging from regional paleoflow data, the most
inland part of the Maritimes Basin complex. This inference is supported by
the fact that the Cumberland sub-basin is associated with zones of strong
deformation that include strike-slip and thrust faults, along with
greenschist facies metamorphism (Nance 1986, 1987). The Pennsylvanian
component of the fill comprises coarse-grained syntectonic alluvium along
basin margins (Plint and van de Poll 1982; Chandler 1998; Bashforth et al.
2014), and three alternating associations in the basin center: (1) poorly-
drained coastal plain deposits with coals, (2) well-drained alluvial deposits
with scattered calcrete nodules, and (3) open water deposits with
bituminous limestone beds (Davies and Gibling 2003; Davies et al.
2005). The Cumberland sub-basin also contains important Pennsylvanian
fossil sites in the Joggins Formation of Nova Scotia (Falcon-Lang et al.
2006; Grey and Finkel 2011) and the Lancaster Formation (‘Fern Ledges’)
of New Brunswick (Falcon-Lang and Miller 2007; Fig. 1B).
Due to the absence of documented stenohaline faunas in open water
facies, the Cumberland sub-basin—and indeed the Maritimes Basin as
a whole—was long regarded as a limnic depocenter (Brand 1994),
positioned too far inland to be influenced by glacio-eustatic transgressions
that gave rise to the repeated ‘marine bands’ of northwest Europe (Flint
et al. 1995). That view was challenged by the discovery of agglutinated
foraminifera at Joggins, which suggested marine influence and a paralic
context for the basin (Archer et al. 1995). Shortly thereafter, diverse
aquatic faunas (bivalves, ostracods, microconchids, eurypterids, cari-
deans, xiphosurans, fish), long known from the bituminous limestone beds
at Joggins and other localities in the Maritimes Basin, were re-evaluated as
brackish-marine indicators (Fig. 2; Calder 1998; Tibert and Dewey 2006;
Falcon-Lang et al. 2006; Prescott et al. 2014; Zaton et al. 2014; Carpenter
et al. 2015).
A major breakthrough was the discovery of petrographic fabrics
consistent with stenohaline marine faunas (brachiopods, echinoderms) in
Published Online: November 2015
Copyright
E
2015, SEPM (Society for Sedimentary Geology) 0883-1351/15/030-779/$03.00
limestone beds at four horizons in the lower Joggins Formation, which
proved that fully marine transgressions did, in fact, make brief incursions
into the basin (Fig. 2; Grey et al. 2011) in the early Langsettian (Utting et al.
2010). Here, we document a second marine occurrence and its biota from
a site in southern New Brunswick, and discuss its implications for the
paleogeography, stratigraphy and paleoecology of the Maritimes Basin.
GEOLOGICAL CONTEXT
Evidence for the Pennsylvanian marine transgression documented here
was discovered in a coastal section along the Bay of Fundy, on the east
side of Emerson Creek, near St Martins, southern New Brunswick,
Canada (45u15937.990N; 65u46949.750W; Fig. 1C). In paleogeographic
context, the site is close to the northwestern edge of the Cumberland sub-
basin, associated with areas of strong deformation and greenschist facies
metamorphism within the orogen (Rast et al. 1984; Nance 1986, 1987).
Rocks exposed at Emerson Creek belong to the ,700 m thick
Tynemouth Creek Formation (Cumberland Group), a red-bed-dominat-
ed terrestrial succession of Early Pennsylvanian (Langsettian) age based
on megafloral and palynofloral content (Fig. 3; Utting et al. 2010;
Falcon-Lang et al. 2010; Bashforth et al. 2014). The unit conformably
overlies the Boss Point Formation (Plint and van de Poll 1984; Rygel et
al. 2015), and correlates (at least in part) with one or more of the Little
River, Joggins and Springhill Mines Formations in the eastern/central
part of the Cumberland sub-basin (Fig. 3; Calder et al. 2005; Davies et al.
2005; Utting et al. 2010; Rygel et al. 2014), and the Lancaster Formation
further to the west (Falcon-Lang and Miller 2007).
In the region of deposition of the Tynemouth Creek Formation, crustal
rotation caused by strike-slip movement was restrained by a bend in the
Cobequid-Chedabucto Fault, resulting in oblique-slip thrusting along
part of the southern edge of the Cumberland sub-basin (Fig. 1B; Plint
and van de Poll 1984; Nance 1986, 1987). The Tynemouth Creek
Formation, which lies to the north of the fault zone and shows a large-
scale upward-coarsening trend, was interpreted as an alluvial fan sourced
from this active thrust-front (Plint and van de Poll 1982; Rast et al. 1984;
Plint 1985). Evidence for syntectonic sedimentation is widespread,
including a remarkable series of buried fault scarps that evidently broke
the paleosurface (Plint 1985).
F
IG
. 1.—Location details and geological context of study site. A) Southwestern outcrop belt of the Maritimes Basin of Atlantic Canada. B) Cumberland sub-basin of
central Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick on the edge of the Appalachian Orogen. C) Outcrop belt of the Pennsylvanian (Langsettian) Tynemouth Creek
Formation of southern New Brunswick. Note position of the study locality at Emerson Creek on the southwestern margin of the coastal exposure. (After van de Poll et al.
1995; Plint and van de Poll 1982; Falcon-Lang 2006; Bashforth et al. 2014).
780 H.J. FALCON-LANG ET AL.
PALAIOS
Some of us have recently re-examined the architecture and facies of the
Tynemouth Creek Formation (Bashforth et al. 2014), and argued that the
predominance of channelized sandstone and pedogenically altered
mudstone in the coarsening-upward succession is best explained in terms
of a fluvial megafan model (cf. Hartley et al. 2010; Weissmann et al.
2011). The depositional model envisioned involves proximal gravel-bed
fluvial systems that passed basinward into a distributive system of mixed-
load fixed-channels and various interfluve facies (Bashforth et al. 2014),
with accumulation occurring under a seasonally dry tropical climate (cf.
Nichols 1987; Wells and Dorr 1987; Hirst 1991). A modern analogue
might be the Kosi megafan of India (Singh et al. 1993). The Emerson
Creek section (the focus of this paper) exposes the lowermost part of the
Tynemouth Creek Formation (Fig. 3; Falcon-Lang 2006), and represents
the most distal deposits of the fluvial megafan.
EMERSON CREEK SUCCESSION
The study interval at Emerson Creek contains sedimentary and biotic
associations that are highly unusual (or possibly unique) in the Tynemouth
Creek Formation. The section comprises a predominantly gray, horizontally
laminated, coarsening-upward succession, 4.5 m thick, which overlies one
paleosol and is capped by a second paleosol (Fig. 4A, 4B). The interval can
only be traced laterally for about 11m, as it is truncated by normal faults on
both sides.However, the beds show noindication of channelization over this
distance. Fossils collected from the section, and illustrated here, are
accessioned in the collections of the New Brunswick Museum, Saint John
(NBMG 16046–16047, 16831–16834, 18584 – 18602, 18860).
Sedimentary Facies
Five sedimentary units (1–5) are recognized in the studied succession
(Fig. 4A, 4B):
Unit 1: The lowermost unit is a #0.56 m thick paleosol (Fig. 4C) with
a hackly fracture, concave-up joints, scattered carbonate nodules, and
gray/green or red mottling. The upper surface is highly irregular, with
hollows, small downward-tapering cracks, and undercut paleo-ledges.
Unit 2: Above the paleosol is a #0.18 m thick, dark gray limestone
that contains a marine fauna (Fig. 4C, 4D), and which infills the
underlying irregular paleo-surface. The limestone shows symmetrical
ripples on its upper surface.
Unit 3: Overlying the limestone is a sharp-based unit of medium gray
laminated siltstone, 1.3 m thick, which contains a few thin beds of dark
gray carbonaceous shale. The siltstone unit comprises several stacked,
coarsening-upward cycles, rare siderite nodules, symmetrical ripple
marks, and ripple cross-lamination. Small woody trees, 30–50 mm in
diameter, (Fig. 4E) are rooted in growth position at two horizons. Other
fossils include indeterminate fish scales, ostracods, trace fossils (Ichno-
coenosis A) and megafloral remains (Assemblage 1).
Unit 4: Coarsening up from the gray, laminated shales is a succession, 2.1
m thick, dominated by thinly bedded, fine- to medium-grained sandstone
(Fig. 4A, 4B). These beds contain symmetrical ripples, shallow scours, and
F
IG
. 2.—Paleogeographical setting of the ‘brackish seas’ developed at Joggins, Nova Scotia (After Falcon-Lang 2005). A) Global paleogeography showing putative
connection of Maritimes Basin to the Tethys Ocean during marine maximum flooding. B) Reconstruction of central tropical Pangaea at maximum sea level, showing an
extensive brackish embayment into the Maritimes Basin. Transgression direction inferred from the inverse of fluvial paleocurrents (after Gibling et al. 1992).
F
IG
. 3.—Stratigraphic relationships of Lower Pennsylvanian (Langsettian)
lithostratigraphic units of the Cumberland sub-basin, Nova Scotia and New
Brunswick (after Davies et al. 2005; Falcon-Lang 2006; Bashforth et al. 2014),
and their approximate relationship to European regional chronostratigraphic
boundaries.
MARINE INCURSION INTO THE PENNSYLVANIAN MARITIMES BASIN 781
PALAIOS
sediment-cast calamitalean trees in growth position surrounded by mounded
bedforms, and megafloral remains (Assemblage 2). Two trace fossil
assemblages (Ichnocoenoses B and C) are present. Some evidence of red/
gray pedogenic weathering is observed, manifest as mottling that penetrates
downward from surfaces at 3.2 m and 4.3 m in the section (Fig. 4B).
Unit 5: The succession is capped by a red/gray paleosol, #0.37 m thick,
which is not as well-developed as Unit 1, showing color alteration but no
pedogenic fabric.
Limestone Petrology and Fauna
The petrology, faunal composition and diagenesis of the limestone bed
(Unit 2) were examined using transmitted light microscopy. Percentages
of bioclastic, terrigenous, authigenic, and diagenetic components were
estimated as rare (,5%), common (5–30%), or abundant (.30%) using
a modal abundance chart. Descriptions and abundances of limestone
components are given in Table 1.
F
IG
. 4.—Geology of the study locality at Emerson Creek. A) Photograph of the measured section lying between two paleosols, with location of ichnocoenoses marked
as IA, IB and IC. Logged section in B shown by line. Scale 5hammer (0.4 m long). B) Stratigraphic log of 4.5 m thick succession that contains marine limestone (Unit 2)
near base. C) Limestone (Unit 2) infilling irregularities on paleosol surface (Unit 1) at 0.5 m on log. D) Gastropods in limestone (Unit 2) at 0.6 m on log. Scale 55 mm. E)
Base of a small (gymnosperm?) stem with roots at 1.2 m on log (Unit 3).
782 H.J. FALCON-LANG ET AL.
PALAIOS
In thin section, Unit 2 comprises a fine-grained intraclastic- and
bioclastic-rich wackestone (Fig. 5A). Intraclasts include silt- to granule-
sized fragments of lime mudstone, and the bioclastic component comprises
abundant echinoderm fragments attributed to echinoids, crinoids and/or
blastoids (Fig. 5B, 5C, 5E), common ostracods (Fig. 5B) and bryozoans
(Fig. 5C), and rare pseudopunctate brachiopods (Fig. 5D), gastropods,
bivalves, and fish scales. Authigenic and diagenetic components include
rare framboidal pyrite, francolite and sucrosic dolomite (Fig. 5F).
Ichnocoenoses
Three ichnocoenoses occur in the study section. Ichnocoenosis A, at 1.9
m in the section (Unit 3; Fig. 4B), occurs in beds of gray, ostracod-rich
siltstone with symmetrical ripples that show a microbial ‘elephant skin’
texture (Schieber et al. 2007) on their upper surfaces (Fig. 6B). The
assemblage includes bilobed trails of Didymaulichnus lyelli,#1 mm wide,
associated with similar-sized ‘bean’ shaped Lockeia siliquaria, some of
which also are bilobed (Fig. 6A), irregular trails of Helminthoidichnites
tenuis,#1 mm wide (Fig. 6B), Arenicolites, and small, crescent marks of
cf. Selenichnites isp. (Fig. 6C). Ichnocoenoses B and C, at 2.8 m and 3.9 m
in the section (Unit 4; Fig. 4B), respectively, occur in red fine-grained
sandstone that locally exhibits small scours or symmetrical ripples. These
depauperate assemblages include a crosier-like burrow that represents one
partial whorl (Fig. 6D), bilobed trails of Didymaulichnus lyelli,#2mm
wide, which are somewhat larger than examples in Ichnocoenosis A
(Fig. 6E), Cochlichnus anguineus (Fig. 6F), and shallowly impressed
tetrapod footprints cf. Baropezia.
Megafloral Assemblages
Two megafloral assemblages occur in the section. Megafloral
Assemblage 1, between 1.2 and 1.7 m in the section (Unit 3; Fig. 4B),
occurs in gray shale beds associated with small, upright, woody stems.
The relatively diverse assemblage is dominated by adpressed foliage of
medullosalean pteridosperms, including Alethopteris sp. cf. A. lancifolia
(n 55; Fig. 7A), Paripteris pseudogigantea (n 511; Fig. 7B), and
Laveineopteris sp., cf. L. hollandica (n 52; Fig. 7G), typically preserved
as isolated pinnules or small pinnae fragments. Taxa of enigmatic affinity,
including cf. Pseudadiantites rhomboideus (n 514; Fig. 7C) and
“Sphenopteris”valida (n 51; Fig. 7D) also are present, as are rare
lycopsid remains, represented by Lepidostrobophyllum sp. (n 51;
Fig. 7F). Megafloral Assemblage 2 occurs in gray shale at 2.3 m in the
section (Unit 4; Fig. 4B), and comprises rare and poorly preserved
sphenopsid fragments including Calamites sp. (n 51) and Annularia sp.,
cf. A. sphenophylloides (n 51; Fig. 7E), and cordaitaleans, represented by
Cordaites sp. leaves (n 57; Fig. 7H).
INTERPRETATION OF PALEOENVIRONMENT AND ECOSYSTEMS
The ,700 m thick Tynemouth Creek Formation is dominated by thick
conglomerate and sandstone beds, interpreted as the deposits of braided
and fixed-channel belts, and predominantly red mudstone and planar
sandstone beds with cumulative Vertisol-like paleosols, interpreted as
interfluve deposits, developed within a seasonally dry, syntectonic, fluvial
megafan setting (Bashforth et al. 2014). In contrast, the succession at
Emerson Creek, which comprises gray, laminated, upward-coarsening
beds and contains aquatic (ichno)faunas, was deposited in a standing
body of water (Bashforth et al. 2014). Traverses of the entire 17 km long
coastal outcrop belt of the Tynemouth Creek Formation reveal only
about half a dozen examples of successions that, similarly, might have
been deposited under conditions of standing water (Plint and van de Poll
1982; Falcon-Lang et al. 2010). However, all of these packages represent
small lakes and ponds that developed within interfluve hollows
(Bashforth et al. 2014). In contrast, the Emerson Creek succession is
possibly unique in representing the deposits of a shallow marine
embayment.
Marine Bay-Fill Environments
The paleosol at the base of the Emerson Creek section (Unit 1) shows
features (concave-up joints, carbonate nodules, mottled red/gray color)
that are characteristic of calcic Vertisols formed under a dry subhumid to
semi-arid climate (Tandon and Gibling 1994; Driese et al. 2005).
The overlying limestone (Unit 2), which infills the paleotopography,
represents a marine incursion that flooded this irregular, seasonally dry
terrestrial surface. The presence of echinoderms, brachiopods, and
framboidal pyrite indicates deposition under marine salinities (Maliva
1989; Tucker and Wright 1990; Schieber 2002). The co-occurrence of
framboidal pyriteand authigenic francolite further impliesthat accumulating
organic matter was broken down via bacterial sulfate reduction to
supersaturate and precipitate phosphate in pore water (Arning et al. 2009;
Pufahl 2010). Mechanically broken, articulated ostracod carapaces, filled
with blocky calcite and sucrosic dolomite, suggest alteration during meteoric
and shallow burial diagenesis rather than being of paleoenvironmental
significance (James and Choquette 1984; Choquette and Hiatt 2008).
The marine body was extensive because detrital quartz grains are
relatively rare, suggesting that the shoreline was distant (Gibling and
Kalkreuth 1991). Nonetheless, the water was shallow given the presence
of symmetrical ripples, indicative of formation above normal wave base.
The dominance of wave processes is consistent with the microtidal nature
of peripheral embayments of the North Variscan Sea inferred from
modeling (Wells et al. 2005).
T
ABLE
1.— Limestone petrography at Emerson Creek locality, southern
New Brunswick. Abundance index: rare (
,
5%), common (5–30%),
abundant (
.
30%).
Composition Frequency Description
Detrital component
Lime mud Abundant Matrix
Intraclasts Common Silt to granule-size lime mudstone clasts
Detrital quartz Common Sub-rounded to angular, silt to fine-
grained sand
Detrital chert Rare Rounded, silt size grains
Muscovite Rare
Bioclastic component
Echinoderms Abundant Echinoids, crinoids and/or blastoids; silt
to fine-grained sand size fragments with
unit extinction; some with epitaxial
cement
Ostracods Common Mostly disarticulated and fragmented,
but rarely articulated; articulated
carapaces occluded with blocky calcite
Bivalves Rare Recrystallized shell fragments
Brachiopods Rare Unrecrystallized, pseudopunctate shell
fragments
Bryozoans Rare Fine-grained sand size fragments
Echinoid spines Rare Characteristic radial arrangement of
pores within individual spines
Fish scales Rare Individual scales are honey-brown color
and slightly abraded
Gastropods Rare Recrystallized shell fragments
Authigenic component
Francolite Rare Apatite peloids; characteristic honey-
brown color
Framboidal pyrite Rare
Diagenetic component
Sucrosic dolomite Rare Silt-sized, sucrosic dolomite rhombs
MARINE INCURSION INTO THE PENNSYLVANIAN MARITIMES BASIN 783
PALAIOS
Siderite-rich, gray, laminated shale (Unit 3) that coarsens-up into thinly
bedded sandstone with symmetrical ripples (Unit 4) records the
progradation of coastal sediments during a relative highstand following
a marine incursion, with the eventual infilling of the marine embayment.
These bodies may have consisted of several small deltaic lobes or thin
shoreface units that coalesced to form a single coastal package. Red/gray
vertic paleosol(s) that cap the succession (Unit 5) mark a resumption of
sub-aerial weathering under a seasonal tropical climate and terrestrial
conditions more typical of the Tynemouth Creek Formation as a whole.
Significance of Ichnocoenoses
Analysis of the ichnocoenoses helps to improve the resolution of this
marine bay-fill interpretation. Ichnocoenosis A, associated with micro-
bially wrinkled surfaces in gray, siderite-rich shale, records the activity of
invertebrate communities in permanently submerged parts of the bay.
Lockeia and Didymaulichnus represent the resting and grazing traces of
ostracods, judging by their very small size and bilobed structure.
Helminthoidichnites, which was produced by a short-bodied animal such
F
IG
. 5.—Micrographs of shelly fauna and other features in limestone at 0.6 m on log in Figure 4B. All images in plane-polarized light, NBMG 18860. A) Fine-grained,
ostracod-rich, intraclastic wackestone; scale 51 mm. B) Articulated ostracod (o) infilled with blocky calcite. In addition to carbonate intraclasts and lime mud, the matrix
contains rare echinoid spines (s) and sucrosic dolomite rhombs (d); scale 5100
m
m. C) Bryozoan fragment (b) and echinoderm clasts (e); scale 5200
m
m. D)
Pseudopunctate brachiopod shell; scale 5100
m
m. E) Echinoderm fragments (e), scale 5100
m
m. F) Framboidal pyrite (f). Shell fragments are ostracods; scale 5200
m
m.
784 H.J. FALCON-LANG ET AL.
PALAIOS
as an arthropod given its angular portions, represents another grazing
trace (Buatois et al. 1998). Arenicolites was the living burrow of an
annelid. Cf. Selenichnites is the resting trace of a xiphosurid (Romano and
Whyte 1987).
Ichnocoenoses B and C, found within symmetrically rippled sandstone
with paleosol exposure surfaces, represent the communities of a period-
ically emergent shoreline. Cochlichnus was formed by an animal with an
elongate vermiform body that moved in a sinuous fashion, such as an
annelid (Hitchcock 1858), nematode (Moussa 1970) or possibly an insect
larva (Metz 1987). Also present is a larger type of Didymaulichnus formed
by a grazing arthropod, and crozier-like traces that are very similar to
feeding traces produced by extant unionid bivalves in temporarily
emergent fluvial bar-top settings (Lawfield and Pickerill 2006). Baropezia
are tetrapod tracks (Falcon-Lang et al. 2010) with faint toe prints that
suggest wading in shallow water.
Collectively, the ichnocoenoses at Emerson Creek are characteristicof the
Mermia and/or Scoyenia Ichnofacies (Butaois et al. 1998), which have been
considered freshwater associations. However, the associations reportedhere
are unusually depauperate and noteworthy for their co-occurrence with
microbial textures. Similar types of trace fossil assemblages, with limited
behavioral repertoires and activities restricted to the epifaunal and shallow
infaunal tiers, are common in late Paleozoic freshwater environments. They
F
IG
. 6.—Ichnocoenoses at the Emerson Creek site. All images show the base of bedding surface except (C), which shows broken surface. A) Small bilobed trails of
Didymaulichnus lyelli (1) and similar-sized ‘bean’ shaped Lockeia, some of which are bilobed (2), NBMG 16047, Ichnocoenosis A, scale 55mm.B) Irregular trails of
Helminthoidichnites tenuis, which move up and down relative to bedding. Some surfaces show microbial wrinkling (arrow), Ichnocoenosis A, NBMG 16046, scale 55mm.C)
cf. Selenichnites isp., Ichnocoenosis A, not collected, scale 510 mm. D) Crosier-like burrow, Ichnocoenosis B, not collected, scale 55mm.E) Small bilobed trails of
Didymaulichnus lyelli, but somewhat larger than in (A), Ichnocoenosis C, not collected, scale 55mm.F)Cochlichnus isp., Ichnocoenosis C, not collected, scale 55mm.
MARINE INCURSION INTO THE PENNSYLVANIAN MARITIMES BASIN 785
PALAIOS
are also more broadly recurrent across space and time in a variety of post-
colonization environments, representing the initial exploitation of under-
utilized ecospace, a phenomenon termed the ‘De´ja` vu Effect’ (Buatois and
Ma´ngano 2011). While the stratigraphic proximity to marine deposits raises
the possibility of some brackish influence, ichnocoenoses lack many
characteristic ichnotaxa of coeval brackish deposits (Buatois et al. 2005;
Prescott et al. 2014), although they do contain euryhaline xiphosurans
suggesting that marine waters were relatively close by. Thus, we interpret
ichnocoenoses as near-freshwater associations, more closely associated with
overlyingterrestrialpaleosols (in Units 4 and 5) than withunderlying marine
limestone (Unit 2).
Coastal Vegetation
Megafloral assemblages associated with the bay-fill facies shed light on
the vegetation of Early Pennsylvanian freshwater forests that fringed the
coast. Slender upright trees, rooted in ostracod-rich gray shale (Unit 3),
are most likely medullosalean pteridosperms given their close association
with the foliage of Alethopteris,Laveineopteris, and Paripteris. These
three genera (or their close relatives) have been reconstructed as small
trees and shrubs (Pfefferkorn et al. 1984; Shute and Cleal 2002; Zodrow
et al. 2007), consistent with the observed woody stumps, and the same
three genera have been interpreted as fringing coastlines in the Lower
Pennsylvanian Lancaster Formation (‘Fern Ledges’) in New Brunswick
(Falcon-Lang and Miller 2007). To what degree this medullosalean-
dominated coastal vegetation was saline-tolerant is uncertain (Stull et al.
2012) because, as noted above, associated ichnological evidence for
brackish-influence is limited. Other taxa found in the wave-rippled
shoreline deposits positioned farther inland include calamitaleans and
cordaitaleans, both of which are associated with coastlines of broadly the
same age, and with similar ichnocoenses (Falcon-Lang 2005, 2015).
Still other taxa found in the bay-fill deposits include Pseudadiantites
rhomboideus and “Sphenopteris”valida, plants of uncertain affinity that
Bashforth et al. (2014) included in their ‘enigmatic dryland flora’. Wagner
(2001) noted that P. rhomboideus shares features with some progymno-
sperms, and “S.” valida is similar to the putative noeggerathialean
Palaeopteridium michiganensis (cf. Arnold 1949; A
´lvarez-Va´zquez 1995).
One hypothesis is that these unusual plants may have been transported
into the bay from better-drained, elevated catenas more distant from the
F
IG
. 7.—Megafloral remains at the Emerson Creek site (in part, EC-1 of Bashforth et al. 2014). A)Alethopteris sp. cf. A. lancifolia, specimen on right, NBMG18590,
scale 55 mm. B)Paripteris pseudogigantea, NBMG16831, scale 54 mm. C) cf. Pseudadiantites rhomboideus, NBMG16833B, scale 57 mm. D)“Sphenopteris”valida,
NBMG18586, scale 56 mm. E)Annularia sp. cf. A. sphenophylloides, not collected, scale 510 mm. F)Lepidostrobophyllum sp., NBMG16834, scale 510 mm. G)
Laveineopteris sp. cf. L. hollandica, not collected, scale 510 mm. H)Cordaites sp. (?), not collected, scale 525 mm.
786 H.J. FALCON-LANG ET AL.
PALAIOS
coast. Such upland/dryland plants are disproportionately abundant in
marine flooding surfaces (Scott et al. 1997), interpreted to reflect the
proximity of upland/dryland environs to the shoreline during highstand
(Chaloner 1958). However, the direct association of the upland/dryland
elements with plants typical of Pennsylvanian wetland habitats suggests
that the enigmatic floras most likely occupied coastal habitats. Many of
these upland/dryland taxa have been interpreted as edaphic specialists
that occupied thin, nutrient-poor, and alkaline soils (cf. White 1931;
DiMichele et al. 2010), a hypothesis that is consistent with their close
association with calcic paleosols at the study site.
DISCUSSION
The paralic context of the Pennsylvanian Maritimes Basin of Atlantic
Canada has been recently proved by the discovery of limestone beds that
contain stenohaline marine faunas in the Joggins Formation of Nova
Scotia (Grey et al. 2011). This discovery is remarkable given that marine
bands had never before been recorded in the Pennsylvanian basin fill
despite nearly 200 years of intensive study. The marine bed documented
herein—the second known example from the Maritimes Basin—has
important implications for developing our understanding of the
paleogeography, stratigraphy and paleoecology of the basin during the
Pennsylvanian. The discovery of a stenohaline biota at the Emerson
Creek site is all the more surprising because the limestone is not
a prominent, distinctive unit and because it is present within a relatively
coarse-grained fluvial megafan succession.
Paleogeographic Implications
The Maritimes Basin lay in the collisional zone of Pangea, with marine
zones progressively narrowed and eliminated through the late Paleozoic.
In such a setting, large low-elevation basins would have become
increasingly isolated from ocean circulation, with only occasional marine
incursions (Averbuch et al. 2005; Wells et al. 2005), and the youngest
long-lived marine interval in the Maritimes Basin is represented by the
Mississippian (Vise´an) Windsor Group (Gibling et al. 2008).
As noted above, compilations of Pennsylvanian fluvial paleocurrent
data for the Maritimes Basin indicate that drainage (and hence regional
slope) was towards the east and northeast during that time (Gibling et
al. 1992), implying that the marine transgression documented here
would have advanced in a westerly direction, presumably from a ‘mid-
European sea’ (Fig. 2; Calder 1998), towards southern New Brunswick
(Fig. 8). Being positioned some 120 km southwest of marine deposits of
the broadly similar-aged Joggins Formation (Grey et al. 2011), the
Emerson Creek marine band of the Tynemouth Creek Formation
therefore records the most inland extension of the sea into the
Maritimes Basin during the Pennsylvanian. Lying even farther to the
west, the Lancaster Formation contains a brackish water assemblage at
the ‘Fern Ledges’ site (Falcon-Lang and Miller 2007), suggesting that
transgressions eventually ran out into freshwater facies (Fig. 8). All
three formations are Langsettian in age. Of course, entry points for
marine incursions may have been generated or cut off due to tectonic
events, and an alternative line of connection closer to the Cumberland
sub-basin cannot be ruled out.
Stratigraphic Implications
The general absence of marine bands in the Pennsylvanian fill of the
Maritimes Basin (Calder 1998) has hindered direct correlation of the
stratigraphic units with marine-based conodont and goniatite biozones
that define IUGS global stage boundaries (Heckel and Clayton 2006;
Heckel et al. 2007). Although index fossils have yet to be recovered from
the Emerson Creek marine band, future analyses of this rare occurrence
F
IG
. 8.—Schematic block diagram illustrating a marine incursion into the Cumberland sub-basin of central Nova Scotia and southern New Brunswick (after Falcon-
Lang 2006). Arrows show direction of transgression. Red dotted line delineates the current coastline of the Bay of Fundy.
MARINE INCURSION INTO THE PENNSYLVANIAN MARITIMES BASIN 787
PALAIOS
may permit more precise biostratigraphic correlations with other units in
the Cumberland sub-basin at Joggins, and more widely across eastern
Pangea. Nonetheless, the evidence of sea-level fluctuations alone might
also be significant for correlation.
The limestone unit documented here from the lower Tynemouth Creek
Formation is the only bed that can, to date, be confidently attributed to
a marine incursion. Plint and van de Poll (1982) described rare, 20–150
mm thick limestone beds (their facies 6) near Giffin Pond and east and
west of Tynemouth Creek, both situated in lower parts of the formation,
and interpreted the beds as representing freshwater sediment-starved
lakes. However, Plint and van de Poll (1982) briefly remarked that the
limestone beds contained ostracods, gastropods, ‘spirorbids’ (micro-
conchids), and phylloid algae, the latter two components of which are
considered brackish to marine indicators (Baars and Torres 1991;
Schultze 2009; Gierlowski-Kordesch and Cassle 2015). Despite targeted
searches, we were unable to relocate the limestone beds, but these records
suggest that additional marine bands may await discovery in the lower
part of the formation.
Marine limestone beds that contain abundant echinoderms and
brachiopods also occur at four horizons in the lower 190 m of the
932.4 m thick type section of the Joggins Formation (Grey et al. 2011).
Given that both the Tynemouth Creek and Joggins Formations are of
general Langsettian age, the occurrence of multiple closely spaced marine
bands in the lower part of both units—which are unique in the
Pennsylvanian basin fill—may allow sequence stratigraphic correlation
of these intervals (Fig. 9).
In the Joggins Formation, marine bands comprise flooding surfaces
that mark the base of sedimentary cycles, which represent the complex
interplay of glacio-eustasy and rapid basinal subsidence (Davies and
Gibling 2003). In the Tynemouth Creek Formation, the single occurrence
of a marine band occurs above a degraded paleosol surface overlain by an
aggradational package of fluvial strata. Such paleosol-bound packages of
aggradational fluvial deposits are a characteristic motif of the Tynemouth
Creek Formation (Bashforth et al. 2014), and may be onshore expressions
of the sequence stratigraphic cycles documented in more basinal areas at
Joggins (Davies and Gibling 2003). At Emerson Creek, the maximum
flooding surface probably occurs within the marine limestone itself
because overlying strata contain near-freshwater ichnotaxa and upright
trees. It is possible that progradation of these freshwater coastal plain
deposits suppressed the development of underlying marine biofacies, as
has been demonstrated in the Appalachian Basin (Bennington 1996,
2002).
In the tectonic and paleogeographic setting of the Maritimes Basin, and
the Cumberland sub-basin in particular, only the highest amplitude
glacio-eustatic sea-level fluctuations might have resulted in marine
incursions. In the well-studied Pennsylvanian strata of Britain, which
F
IG
. 9.—Patterns of marine and brackish transgressions in the Cumberland sub-basin (compiled from various paleontological data in Dawson 1868; Calder et al. 2005;
Falcon-Lang and Miller 2007; Grey et al. 2011; Rygel et al. 2014, 2015; Carpenter et al. 2015; this paper) compared with patterns in the cratonic Pennine Basin of the UK
(Waters and Condon 2012). The relative extent (area covered in the Pennine Basin) and salinity of marine incursion is shown. Key: transgressions: blue5fully marine;
purple 5brackish; dotted purple 5possible brackish. In the Pennine Basin dataset, salinity of brackish bands is inferred to increase from (E) Estheria band to (F)
foraminifer band to (L) Lingula band to (B) brachiopod band (Waters and Condon 2012).
788 H.J. FALCON-LANG ET AL.
PALAIOS
were deposited in a basin undergoing steady thermal subsidence, the most
prominent episode of high-amplitude glacio-eustatic marine cycles is in
the Yeadonian–early Langsettian interval, whereas only subdued cycles
occur in the late Langsettian interval above the Gastrioceras listeri Marine
Band (Fig. 9; Waters and Condon 2012). Comparing this pattern with
data compilations of marine and brackish bands in the Pennsylvanian fill
of the Cumberland sub-basin (Fig. 9), there is no straightforward way to
correlate the two successions, presumably due to different paleogeo-
graphic settings and basin subsidence rates. However, applying the
biostratigraphic framework proposed by Calder et al. (2005), a working
hypothesis—requiring testing with conodont-based biozonation—is that
the lower Tynemouth Creek and Joggins Formations correlate with
marine cycles in the basal and early Langsettian of the British Coal
Measures, near the level of the regionally important Gastrioceras
subcrenatum and G. listeri marine bands (Fig. 9).
Paleoecologic Implications
Establishing a tentative framework for marine connection between
western European basins and the Maritimes Basin has important
paleoecologic implications. Marine limestone occurrences in the Joggins
and Tynemouth Creek formations both are echinoderm-dominated with
a minor ostracod and brachiopod component, but apparently lack
goniatites (Grey et al. 2011; this paper). Crinoids with ostracods and
productid brachiopods are dominant components of the shallower facies
of the Gastrioceras subcrenatum marine band of central England (Calver
1968), whereas goniatites were restricted to deeper water settings.
Echinoderm-dominance in marine bands in the Maritimes Basin is
therefore consistent with paleogeographic interpretations as peripheral
embayments of European marine bands. Distal dispersal of echinoderms
and brachiopods would have been facilitated through their planktonic
larval stage and circulation patterns (Wells et al. 2005).
More broadly, systematic studies of aquatic faunal groups (fish,
bivalves, ostracods, microconchids, eurypterids, carideans, xiphosurans)
found in the Pennsylvanian fill of the Maritimes Basin have emphasized
their unusually cosmopolitan and euryhaline nature (Calder 1998; Zaton
et al. 2014; Carpenter et al. 2015), showing strong similarities with same-
aged faunas of both western and eastern Pangea. The occurrence of
widespread but cryptic marine transgressions throughout the Maritimes
Basin is an obvious mechanism for the dispersal of aquatic biota, and
helps explain the compositional congruity of these faunas both west and
further east of the Appalachian drainage divide (Falcon-Lang et al.
2006).
CONCLUSIONS
1. We report only the second confirmed example of a stenohaline
marine suite in the Pennsylvanian fill of the Maritimes Basin of
Atlantic Canada, despite nearly 200 years of investigation in the
succession.
2. The marine band, which comprises an echinoderm-rich wackestone
occurs in the distal deposits of a seasonally dry, syntectonic fluvial
megafan represented by the Lower Pennsylvanian (Langsettian)
Tynemouth Creek Formation of southern New Brunswick.
3. Pteridosperm- and cordaite-rich plant communities, interspersed
with plants of enigmatic affinity, fringed the margins of this marine
embayment, rooted in shallow, coastal muds that probably were of
near-freshwater salinities based on the depauperate ichnofaunas.
4. A stratigraphic hypothesis that requires testing with conodont-
based biozonation is that the marine band correlates with similar
units in the Langsettian Joggins Formation of Nova Scotia, and
with levels near the Gastrioceras subcrenatum and G. listeri marine
bands in western Europe.
5. Recognition of marine transgressions in the Maritimes Basin helps
to explain the congruence of aquatic faunas with those seen in other
paralic basins of tropical Pangea.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS
HFL gratefully acknowledges receipt of a Natural Environment Research
Council (NERC) Advanced Fellowship (NE/F014120/2), the G.F. Matthew
Fellowship (2005) of the New Brunswick Museum, the J.B. Tyrell Fund
(2009) of the Geological Society of London, and a Winston Churchill
Memorial Trust Travelling Fellowship (2011). NJM acknowledges funding
through the Government of Canada Postdoctoral Research Fellowship under
the Commonwealth Scholarship Programme, and the G.F. Matthew Fellow-
ship (2013) of the New Brunswick Museum. RFM acknowledges the support
of the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada-CURA
project (833-2003-1015) to study the history of geology in the Saint John,
New Brunswick region. ARB acknowledges receipt of the G.F. Matthew
Fellowship (2008) of the New Brunswick Museum, a Canada Graduate
Scholarship and a Postdoctoral Fellowship from the Natural Sciences and
Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC), and an Izaak Walton
Killam Predoctoral Scholarship from Dalhousie University. MRG and PKP
acknowledge funding from their respective NSERC Discovery Grants. We
thank the two anonymous reviewers.
REFERENCES
A
´
LVAREZ
-V
A
´ZQUEZ
, C., 1995, Macroflora del Westfaliense inferior de la Cuenca de
Pen˜ arroya-Belmez-Espiel (Co´ rdoba): Ph.D. Thesis, Universidad Oviedo, Spain.
A
RCHER
, A.W., C
ALDER
, J.H., G
IBLING
, M.R., N
AYLOR
, R.D., R
EID
, D.R.,
AND
W
IGHTMAN
, W.G., 1995, Invertebrate trace fossils and agglutinated foraminifera
as indicators of marine influences within the classic Carboniferous section at
Joggins, Nova Scotia, Canada: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 32, p. 2027–
2039.
A
RNING
, E.T., B
IRGEL
, D., B
RUNNER
,B.,
AND
P
ECKMANN
, J., 2009, Bacterial formation of
phosphatic laminites off Peru: Geobiology, v. 7, p. 295–307.
A
RNOLD
, C.A., 1949, Fossil flora of the Michigan Coal Basin: Contributions from the
Museum of Paleontology, University of Michigan, v. 7, p. 131–269.
A
VERBUCH
, O., T
RIBOVILLARD
, N., D
EVLEESCHOUWER
, X., R
IQUIER
, L., M
ISTIAEN
,B.,
AND
VAN
V
LIET
-L
ANOE
, B., 2005, Mountain building-enhanced continental weathering and
organic carbon burial as major causes for climatic cooling at the Frasnian–Famennian
boundary (c. 376 Ma)?: Terra Nova, v. 17, p. 25–34.
B
AARS
, D.L.
AND
T
ORRES
, A.M., 1991, Late Paleozoic phylloid algae—a pragmatic
review: PALAIOS, v. 6, p. 513–516.
B
ASHFORTH
, A.R., C
LEAL
, C.J., G
IBLING
, M.R., F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J.,
AND
M
ILLER
,R.F.,
2014, Paleoecology of Early Pennsylvanian vegetation on a seasonally dry tropical
landscape (Tynemouth Creek Formation, New Brunswick, Canada): Review of
Palaeobotany and Palynology, v. 200, p. 229–263.
B
ENNINGTON
,J.B
RET
, 1996, Stratigraphic and biofacies patterns in the Middle
Pennsylvanian Magoffin Marine Unit in the Appalachian Basin, U.S.A.: International
Journal of Coal Geology, v. 31, p. 169–194.
B
ENNINGTON
,J.B
RET
, 2002, Eustacy in cyclothems is masked by loss of marine biofacies
with increasing proximity to a detrital source: An example from the Central
Appalachian Basin, U.S.A., in Hills, L.V., Henderson, C.M., and Bamber, E.W.
(eds.), Carboniferous and Permian of the World: Canadian Society of Petroleum
Geologists Memoir, v. 19, p.12–21.
B
RAND
, U., 1994, Continental hydrology and climatology of the Carboniferous Joggins
Formation (lower Cumberland Group) at Joggins, Nova Scotia: evidence from the
geochemistry of bivalves: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 106,
p. 307–321.
B
UATOIS
, L.A.
AND
M
A
´NGANO
, M.G., 2011, The de´ja` vu effect: recurrent patterns in
exploitation of ecospace, establishment of the mixed layer, and distribution of
matgrounds: Geology, v. 39, p. 1163–1166.
B
UTAOIS
,L.A.,M
A
´NGANO
, M.G., G
ENISE
,J.F.,
AND
T
AYLOR
, T.N., 1998, The
ichnological record of the continental invertebrate invasion: evolutionary trends,
environmental expansion, ecospace utilization, and behavioral complexity: PA-
LAIOS, v. 13, p. 217–240.
B
UATOIS
, L.A., G
INGRAS
, M.K., M
AC
E
ACHERN
, J., M
A
´NGANO
, M.G., Z
ONNEVELD
,J.P.,
P
EMBERTON
, S.G., N
ETTO
, R.G.,
AND
M
ARTIN
, A., 2005, Colonization of brackish-
water systems through time: evidence from the trace-fossil record: PALAIOS, v. 20, p.
321–347.
C
ALDER
, J.H., 1998, The Carboniferous evolution of Nova Scotia, in Blundell, D.W. and
Scott, A.C. (eds.), Lyell: The Past is the Key to the Present: Geological Society of
London, Special Publication, v. 143, p. 261–302.
MARINE INCURSION INTO THE PENNSYLVANIAN MARITIMES BASIN 789
PALAIOS
C
ALDER
, J.H., R
YGEL
, M.C., H
EBERT
, B.L.,
AND
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., 2005, Sedimen-
tology and stratigraphy of Pennsylvanian red beds near Joggins, Nova Scotia: the
proposed Little River Formation with redefinition of the Joggins Formation: Atlantic
Geology, v. 41, p. 143–167.
C
ALVER
, M.A., 1968, Distribution of Westphalian marine faunas in northern England
and adjoining areas: Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, v. 37, p. 1–72.
C
ARPENTER
, D., F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., B
ENTON
, M.J.,
AND
G
REY
, M., 2015, Early
Pennsylvanian (Langsettian) fish assemblages from the Joggins Formation, Canada,
and their paleoecological and palaeogeographic implications: Palaeontology, v. 68,
661–690.
C
HALONER
, W.G., 1958, The Carboniferous upland flora: Geological Magazine, v. 95, p.
261–262.
C
HANDLER
, F.W., 1998, Geology of and climatic indicators in the Westphalian A New
Glasgow Formation, Nova Scotia, Canada: implications for the genesis of coal and of
sandstone-hosted lead deposits: Atlantic Geology, v. 34, p. 39–56.
C
HOQUETTE
, P.W.
AND
H
IATT
, E.E., 2008, Shallow-burial dolomite: a major component
of many ancient sucrosic dolomites: Sedimentology, v. 55, p. 423–460.
D
AVIES
, S.J.
AND
G
IBLING
, M.R., 2003, Architecture of coastal and alluvial deposits in an
extensional basin: the Carboniferous Joggins Formation of eastern Canada:
Sedimentology, v. 50, p. 415–439.
D
AVIES
, S.J., G
IBLING
, M.R., R
YGEL
, M.C., C
ALDER
, J.H.,
AND
S
KILLITER
, D.M., 2005,
The Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation of Nova Scotia: sedimentological log and
stratigraphic framework of the historic fossil cliffs: Atlantic Geology, v. 41, p.
115–142.
D
AWSON
, J.W., 1868, Acadian Geology: The Geological Structure, Organic Remains,
and Mineral Resources of Nova Scotia, New Brunswick, and Prince Edward Island,
Second Edition: Oliver and Boyd, Edinburgh and Montreal, 694 p.
D
I
M
ICHELE
, W.A., C
ECIL
, C.B., M
ONTAN
˜EZ
, I.P.,
AND
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., 2010, Cyclic
changes in Pennsylvanian paleoclimate and effects on floristic dynamics in tropical
Pangaea: International Journal of Coal Geology, v. 83, p. 329–344.
D
RIESE
, S.G., N
ORDT
, L.C., L
YNN
, W., S
TILES
, C.A., M
ORA
, C.I.,
AND
W
ILDING
, L.P.,
2005, Distinguishing climate in the soil record using chemical trends in a Vertisol
climosequence from the Texas Coastal Prairie, and application to interpreting
Paleozoic paleosols in the Appalachian basin: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 75,
p. 340–353.
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., 2005, Small cordaitalean trees in a marine-influenced coastal
habitat in the Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia, Canada: Journal of the
Geological Society, London, v. 162, p. 485–500.
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., 2006, Vegetation ecology of Early Pennsylvanian alluvial fan and
piedmont environments in southern New Brunswick, Canada: Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 233, p. 34–50.
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., 2015, A calamitalean forest preserved in growth position in the
Pennsylvanian (late Langsettian) coal measures of South Wales: implications for
coastal palaeoecology and stem-cast taphonomy: Review of Palaeobotany and
Palynology, v. 214, p. 51–67.
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J.
AND
M
ILLER
, R.F., 2007, Palaeoenvironments and palaeoecology of
the Pennsylvanian Lancaster Formation (“Fern Ledges”) of Saint John, New
Brunswick, Canada: Journal of the Geological Society, London, v. 164, p. 945–958.
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., B
ENTON
, M.J., B
RADDY
,S.J.,
AND
D
AVIES
, S.J., 2006, The
Pennsylvanian tropical biome reconstructed from the Joggins Formation of Canada:
Journal of the Geological Society, London, v. 163, p. 561–576.
F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., G
IBLING
, M.R., B
ENTON
, M.J., M
ILLER
, R.F.,
AND
B
ASHFORTH
,
A.R., 2010, Diverse tetrapod trackways in the Lower Pennsylvanian Tynemouth
Creek Formation, southern New Brunswick, Canada: Palaeogeography, Palaeocli-
matology, Palaeoecology, v. 296, p. 1–13.
F
LINT
, S., A
ITKEN
,J.,
AND
H
AMPSON
, G., 1995, Application of sequence stratigraphy to
coal-bearing coastal plain successions: implications for the UK Coal Measures:
Geological Society of London, Special Publication 82, p. 1–16.
G
IBLING
, M.R.
AND
K
ALKREUTH
, W.D., 1991, Petrology of selected carbonaceous
limestones and shales in Late Carboniferous coal basins of Atlantic Canada:
International Journal of Coal Geology, v. 17, p. 239–271.
G
IBLING
, M.R., C
ALDER
, J.H., R
YAN
, R., V
AN DE
P
OLL
, H.W.,
AND
Y
EO
, G.M., 1992,
Late Carboniferous and Early Permian drainage patterns in Atlantic Canada:
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 29, p. 338–352.
G
IBLING
, M.R., C
ULSHAW
, N., R
YGEL
, M.C.,
AND
P
ASCUCCI
, V., 2008, The Maritimes
Basin of Atlantic Canada: basin creation and destruction in the collisional zone of
Pangea, in Miall, A.D. (ed.), The Sedimentary Basins of the United States and
Canada: Elsevier, Amsterdam, p. 211–244.
G
IERLOWSKI
-K
ORDESCH
, E.H.
AND
C
ASSLE
, C.F., 2015, The ‘Spirorbis’ problem revisited:
sedimentology and biology of microconchids in marine-nonmarine transitions: Earth-
Science Reviews, v. 148, p. 229–247.
G
REY
,M.
AND
F
INKEL
, Z.V., 2011, The Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage
site: a review of recent research: Atlantic Geology, v. 47, p. 185–200.
G
REY
, M., P
UFAHL
, P.K.,
AND
A
ZIZ
, A.A., 2011, Using multiple environmental proxies
to determine degree of marine influence and paleogeographical position of the Joggins
Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site: PALAIOS, v. 26, p. 256–263.
H
ARTLEY
, A.J., W
EISSMANN
, G.S., N
ICHOLS
,G.J.,
AND
W
ARWICK
, G.L., 2010, Large
distributive fluvial systems: characteristics, distribution, and controls on development:
Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 80, p. 167–183.
H
ECKEL
, P.H.
AND
C
LAYTON
, G., 2006, Use of the new official names for the subsystems,
series and stages of the Carboniferous System in international journals: Proceedings of
the Geologists’ Association, v. 117, p. 1–4.
H
ECKEL
, P.H., A
LEKSEEV
, A.S., B
ARRICK
, J.E., B
OARDMAN
, D.R., G
OREVA
, N.B.,
N
EMYROVSKA
, T.I., U
ENO
, K., V
ILLA
,E.,
AND
W
ORK
, D.M., 2007, Cyclothem
[“digital”] correlation and biostratigraphy across the global Moscovian–Kasimo-
vian–Gzhelian stage boundary interval (Middle–Upper Pennsylvanian) in North
America and eastern Europe: Geology, v. 35, p. 607–610.
H
IBBARD
,J.
AND
W
ALDRON
, J.W.F., 2009, Truncation and translation of Appalachian
promontories: mid-Paleozoic strike-slip tectonics and basin initiation: Geology, v. 37,
p. 487–490.
H
IRST
, J.P.P., 1991, Variations in alluvial architecture across the Oligo-Miocene Huesca
fluvial system, Ebro Basin, Spain, in Miall, A.D. and Tyler, N. (eds.), The Three-
Dimensional Facies Architecture of Terrigenous Clastic Sediments and Its Implica-
tions for Hydrocarbon Discovery and Recovery: Concepts in Sedimentology and
Paleontology: Society of Economic Palaeontologists and Mineralogists, v. 3, p.
111–121.
H
ITCHCOCK
, E., 1858, Ichnology of New England. A Report on the Sandstone of the
Connecticut Valley, Especially its Fossil Footmarks: W. White, Boston, 220 p.
J
AMES
, N.P.
AND
C
HOQUETTE
, P.W., 1984, Diagenesis 9: Limestones: the meteoric
diagenetic environment: Geoscience Canada, v. 11, p. 161–194.
L
AWFIELD
, A.M.W.
AND
P
ICKERILL
, R.K., 2006, A novel contemporary fluvial
ichnocoenose: unionid bivalves and the Scoyenia-Mermia ichnofacies transition:
PALAIOS, v. 21, p. 391–396.
M
ALIVA
, R.G., 1989, Displacive calcite syntaxial overgrowths in open marine
limestones: Journal of Sedimentary Research, v. 59, p. 397–403.
M
ETZ
, R., 1987, Insect traces from nonmarine ephemeral puddles: Boreas, v. 16, p. 189–
195.
M
OUSSA
, M.T., 1970, Nematode fossil trails from the Green River Formation (Eocene)
in the Uinta Basin, Utah: Journal of Paleontology, v. 44, p. 304–307.
N
ANCE
, R.D., 1986, Late Carboniferous tectonostratigraphy in the Avalon Terrane of
southern New Brunswick: Maritimes Sediments and Atlantic Geology, v. 22, p.
308–326.
N
ANCE
, R.D., 1987, Dextral transpression and Late Carboniferous sedimentation in the
Fundy coastal zone of southern New Brunswick, in Beaumont, C. and Tankard, A.J.
(eds.), Sedimentary Basins and Basin-Forming Mechanism, Calgary, Alberta:
Canadian Society of Petroleum Geologists Memoir, v. 12, p. 363–377.
N
ICHOLS
, G.J., 1987, Structural controls on fluvial distributary systems—the Luna
System, northern Spain, in F.G. Ethridge, R.M. Flores, and M.D. Harvey (eds.),
Recent Developments in Fluvial Sedimentology: Society of Economic Paleontologists
and Mineralogists, Special Publication, v. 39, p. 269–277.
P
FEFFERKORN
, H.W., G
ILLESPIE
, W.H., R
ESNICK
, D.A.,
AND
S
CHEIHING
, M.H., 1984,
Reconstruction and architecture of medullosan pteridosperms (Pennsylvanian): The
Mosasaur, v. 2, p. 1–8.
P
LINT
, A.G., 1985, Possible earthquake-induced soft-sediment faulting and remobiliza-
tion in Pennsylvanian alluvial strata, southern New Brunswick, Canada: Canadian
Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 22, p. 907–912.
P
LINT
, A.G.
AND
VAN DE
P
OLL
, H.W., 1982, Alluvial fan and piedmont sedimentation in
the Tynemouth Creek Formation (Lower Pennsylvanian) of southern New Bruns-
wick: Maritimes Sediments and Atlantic Geology, v. 18, p. 104–128.
P
LINT
, A.G.
AND
VAN DE
P
OLL
, H.W., 1984, Structural and sedimentary history of the
Quaco Head area, southern New Brunswick: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v.
21, p. 753–761.
P
UFAHL
, P.K., 2010, Bioelemental sediments, in James, N.P. and Dalrymple, R.W.
(eds.), Facies Models, Fourth Edition: Geological Association of Canada, St Johns,
Newfoundland, p. 477–503.
P
RESCOTT
, Z., S
TIMSON
, M.R., D
AFOE
, L.T., G
IBLING
, M.R., M
AC
R
AE
, R.A., C
ALDER
,
J.H.,
AND
H
EBERT
, B., 2014, Microbial mats and ichnofauna of a fluvial-tidal channel
in the Lower Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Canada: PALAIOS, v. 29, 624–645.
R
AST
, N., G
RANT
, R.H., P
ARKER
, J.S.D.,
AND
T
ENG
, H.C., 1984, The Carboniferous
succession in southern New Brunswick and its state of deformation, in Geldsetzer,
H.H.J. (ed.), Atlantic Coast Basins: Ninth International Congress on Carboniferous
Stratigraphy, Compte Rendu, v. 3, p. 13–22.
R
EHILL
, T.A., 1996, Late Carboniferous nonmarine sequence stratigraphy and
petroleum geology of the Central Maritimes Basin, Eastern Canada, Unpublished
Ph.D. thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, 406 p.
R
OMANO
,M.
AND
W
HYTE
, M.A., 1987, A limulid trace fossil from the Scarborough
Formation (Jurassic) of Yorkshire; its occurrence, taxonomy and interpretation:
Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, v. 46, p. 85–95.
R
YGEL
, M.C., S
HELDON
, E.P., S
TIMSON
, M.R., C
ALDER
, J.H., A
SHLEY
, K.T.,
AND
S
ALG
,
J.L., 2014, The Pennsylvanian Springhill Mines Formation: sedimentological
framework of a portion of the Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site:
Atlantic Geology, v. 50, p. 249–289.
R
YGEL
, M.C., L
ALLY
, C., G
IBLING
, M.R., I
ELPI
, A., C
ALDER
, J.H.,
AND
B
ASHFORTH
, A.R.,
2015, Sedimentology and stratigraphy of the type section of the Pennsylvanian Boss
Point Formation, Joggins Fossil Cliffs, Nova Scotia, Canada: Atlantic Geology, v. 51,
1–43.
S
CHIEBER
, J., 2002, Sedimentary pyrite: a window into the microbial past: Geology, v.
30, p. 531–534.
S
CHIEBER
, J., B
OSE
, P.K., E
RIKSSON
, P.G., B
ANERJEE
, S., S
ARKAR
, S., A
LTERMANN
,W.,
AND
C
ATUNEANU
, O., 2007, Atlas of Microbial Mat Features Preserved within the
Siliciclastic Rock Record: Amsterdam, Elsevier Science, 324 p.
S
CHULTZE
, H-P., 2009, Interpretation of marine and freshwater paleoenvironments in
Permo-Carboniferous deposits: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology,
v. 281, p. 126–136.
790 H.J. FALCON-LANG ET AL.
PALAIOS
S
COTT
, A.C., G
ALTIER
, J., M
APES
, R.H.,
AND
M
APES
, G., 1997, Palaeoecological and
evolutionary significance of anatomically preserved terrestrial plants in Upper
Carboniferous marine goniatite bullions: Journal of the Geological Society, London,
v. 154, p. 61–68.
S
HUTE
, C.H.
AND
C
LEAL
, C.J., 2002, Ecology and growth habit of Laveineopteris:
a gymnosperm from the Late Carboniferous tropical rain forests: Palaeontology, v.
45, p. 943–972.
S
INGH
, H., P
ARKASH
,B.,
AND
G
OHAIN
, K., 1993, Facies analysis of the Kosi megafan
deposits: Sedimentary Geology, v. 85, p. 87–113.
S
TULL
, G., D
I
M
ICHELE
, W.A., F
ALCON
-L
ANG
, H.J., N
ELSON
, W.J.,
AND
E
LRICK
, S., 2012,
Palaeoecology of Macroneuropteris scheuchzeri, and its implications for resolving the
paradox of ‘xeromorphic’ plants in Pennsylvanian wetlands. Palaeogeography,
Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 331–332, p. 162–176.
T
ANDON
, S.K.
AND
G
IBLING
, M.R., 1994, Calcrete and coal in late Carboniferous
cyclothems of Nova Scotia, Canada: climate and sea-level changes linked: Geology, v.
22, p. 755–758.
T
IBERT
, N.E.
AND
D
EWEY
, C.P., 2006, Velatomorpha, a new healdioidean ostracode
genus from the early Pennsylvanian Joggins Formation, Nova Scotia, Canada:
Micropaleontology, v. 52, p. 51–66.
T
UCKER
, M.E.
AND
W
RIGHT
, V.P., 1990, Carbonate Sedimentology: Blackwell Scientific
Publications, London, 482 p.
U
TTING
, J., G
ILES
,P.,
AND
D
OLBY
, G., 2010, Palynostratigraphy of Mississippian and
Pennsylvanian rocks, Joggins area, Nova Scotia and New Brunswick, Canada:
Palynology, v. 34, p. 43–89.
VAN DE
P
OLL
, H.W., G
IBLING
, M.R.,
AND
H
YDE
, R.S., 1995, Introduction: Upper
Paleozoic rocks (Chapter 5), in Williams, H. (ed.), Geology of the Appalachian-
Caledonian Orogen in Canada and Greenland: Geological Society of America, The
Geology of North America, F-1, p. 449–455.
W
AGNER
, R.H., 2001, The extrabasinal elements in lower Pennsylvanian floras of the
Maritimes Provinces, Canada: description of Adiantites, Pseudadiantites and
Rhacopteridium: Revista Espan˜ ola de Paleontologı
´a, v. 16, p. 187–207.
W
ATERS
,C.
AND
C
ONDON
, D.J., 2012, Nature and timing of Late Mississippian to Mid-
Pennsylvanian glacio-eustatic sea-level changes of the Pennine Basin, UK: Journal of
the Geological Society of London, v. 169, p. 37–51.
W
EISSMANN
,G.S.,H
ARTLEY
, A.J., N
ICHOLS
, G.J., S
CUDERI
, L.A., O
LSON
, M.E.,
B
UEHLER
, H.A.,
AND
M
ASSENGILL
, L.C., 2011, Alluvial facies distributions in
continental sedimentary basins—distributive fluvial systems, in S. Davidson, S. Leleu,
and C.P. North (eds.), From River to Rock Record: The Preservation of Fluvial
Sediments and their subsequent Interpretation: SEPM, Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA, p.
327–355.
W
ELLS
, M.R., A
LLISON
, P.A., H
AMPSON
, G.J., P
IGGOTT
, M.D.,
AND
P
AIN
, C.C., 2005,
Modelling ancient tides: the Upper Carboniferous epi-continental seaway of North-
west Europe: Sedimentology, v. 52, p. 715–735.
W
ELLS
, N.A.
AND
D
ORR
, J.A., 1987, A reconnaissance of sedimentation on the Kosi
Alluvial Fan of India, in Ethridge, F.G., Flores, R.M., and Harvey, M.D. (eds.),
Recent Developments in Fluvial Sedimentology: SEPM, Special Publication, v. 39,
p. 51–61.
W
HITE
, D., 1931, Climatic implications of Pennsylvanian flora: Illinois State Geological
Survey Bulletin, v. 60, p. 271–281.
Z
ATON
,M.,G
REY
,M.,
AND
V
INN
, O., 2014, Microconchid tubeworms (Class
Tentaculita) from the Joggins Formation (Pennsylvanian), Nova Scotia, Canada:
Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 51, p. 669–676.
Z
ODROW
, E.L., T
ENCHOV
, Y.G.,
AND
C
LEAL
, C.J., 2007, The arborescent Linopteris
obliqua plant (Medullosales, Pennsylvanian): Bulletin of Geosciences, v. 82,
p. 51–84.
Received 20 May 2015; accepted 25 August 2015.
MARINE INCURSION INTO THE PENNSYLVANIAN MARITIMES BASIN 791
PALAIOS
