Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
New occurrences of Palaeopascichnus from the Stáhpogieddi Formation, Arctic Norway, and their bearing on the age of the Varanger Ice Age
Journal: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences
Manuscript ID cjes 2018 0035.R1
Manuscript Type: Article
Date Submitted by the Author: 15 Apr 2018
Complete List of Authors: Jensen, Soren; Area de Paleontologia Högström, Anette; Tromsø University Museum Høyberget,Draft Magne; Rennesveien 14 Meinhold, Guido; Keele University Department of Geography Geology and the Environment McIlroy, Duncan; Department of Earth Sciences Ebbestad, Jan Ove; Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University Taylor, Wendy; Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town Agić, Heda; University of California Santa Barbara Palacios, Teodoro; Universidad de Extremadura
Keyword: Palaeopascichnus, Norway, Ediacaran, glaciation
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1 New occurrences of Palaeopascichnus from the Stáhpogieddi Formation, Arctic Norway,
2 and their bearing on the age of the Varanger Ice Age
3
4 Sören Jensen1, Anette E.S. Högström2, Magne Høyberget3, Guido Meinhold4,5, Duncan
5 McIlroy6, Jan Ove R. Ebbestad7, Wendy L. Taylor8, Heda Agić9, and Teodoro Palacios1
6
7 1Área de Paleontología, University of Extremadura, E-06006 Badajoz, Spain.
8 2Tromsø University Museum, UiT the Arctic University of Norway, N-9037 Tromsø, Norway.
9 3Rennesveien 14, N-4513 Mandal, Norway.
10 4Geoscience Center, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077 Göttingen,
11 Germany. 12 5School of Geography, Geology and Draftthe Environment, Keele University, Keele, 13 Staffordshire, ST5 5BG, UK.
14 6Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1B
15 3X5, Canada.
16 7Museum of Evolution, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 16, SE-752 36 Uppsala, Sweden.
17 8Department of Geological Sciences, University of Cape Town, Rondebosch 7701, Cape
18 Town, South Africa.
19 9Department of Earth Science, University of California at Santa Barbara, 1006 Webb Hall,
20 CA 93106 Santa Barbara, USA.
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23 Corresponding author: Sören Jensen (email: [email protected])
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25
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27 Abstract: We report on new occurrences of the late Ediacaran problematicum
28 Palaeopascichnus (Protista?) from the Stáhpogieddi Formation, Arctic Norway. The
29 stratigraphically lowest occurrences are in beds transitional between the Lillevannet and
30 Indreelva members: the highest in the second cycle of the Manndrapselva Member,
31 stratigraphically close to the lowest occurrences of Cambrian type trace fossils. This
32 establishes a long stratigraphical range of Palaeopascichnus on the Digermulen Peninsula,
33 as has been previously documented from Newfoundland, South Australia and elsewhere in
34 Baltica. The age range of Palaeopascichnus in Avalonia and Baltica is ~565 to 541 Ma.
35 Since the transition from the Mortensnes Formation to the Stáhpogieddi Formation is
36 without a major break in sedimentation, this supports the inference that the underlying 37 glacigenic Mortensnes Formation is ca.Draft 580 Ma, and therefore Gaskiers equivalent, or 38 younger.
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44 Key Words: Palaeopascichnus, Norway, Ediacaran, glaciation
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52 Introduction
53 Palaeopascichnids are Ediacaran bedding plane parallel modular fossils consisting of
54 simple or more complex series of closely spaced millimetric circular, sausage or kidney
55 shaped units (e.g., Fedonkin 1981; Palij et al. 1983; Jensen 2003; Seilacher et al. 2003).
56 Each unit has walls forming sub spherical or cylindrical chambers (Wan et al. 2014;
57 Golubkova et al. 2017). Earlier interpretations of palaeopascichnids as trace fossils, as
58 evidenced by names such as Palaeopascichnus and Yelovichnus, are now considered
59 unlikely (e.g., Haines 2000; Gehling et al. 2000; Jensen 2003), most obviously because of
60 branching in which wider units divide into two narrower ones. Palaeopascichnids have
61 been interpreted as xenophyophoran protists (Seilacher et al. 2003; Seilacher and Gishlik 62 2015) or protists of uncertain affinity (AntcliffeDraft et al. 2011), and Grazhdankin (2014) 63 included Palaeopascichnida within Vendobionta, which he considered to be an extinct
64 group of protists. Gehling et al. (2000) noted possible connections between
65 palaeopascichnids and the discoidal Ediacara type fossil Aspidella in Newfoundland, but
66 this has not been observed elsewhere. Palaeopascichnids are among the Ediacaran
67 fossils with the longest stratigraphical ranges, spanning from ~565–541 Ma (e.g., Gehling
68 and Droser 2013; Xiao et al. 2016), with rare possible early Ediacaran examples (Lan and
69 Chen 2012; Wan et al. 2014).
70 The Cryogenian to lower Cambrian sedimentary succession of the Vestertana
71 Group in eastern Finnmark, northern Norway (Fig. 1C), is comprised in stratigraphical
72 order of the Smalfjorden, Nyborg, Mortensnes, Stáhpogieddi and Breidvika formations
73 (e.g., Banks et al. 1971). Trace fossils, palaeopascichnids and organic walled microfossils
74 place the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition in the upper part of the Stáhpogieddi Formation,
75 with Ediacara type fossils occurring deeper in the same formation (Banks 1970; Farmer et
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76 al. 1992; McIlroy and Logan 1999; Högström et al. 2013; McIlroy and Brasier 2017; Jensen
77 et al. in press). Glacial deposits of the Smalfjorden and Mortensnes formations, separated
78 by the interglacial Nyborg Formation, are collectively known as the Varanger Ice Age (e.g.,
79 Nystuen 1985). Studies over the last several decades (e.g., Halverson et al. 2005; Rice et
80 al. 2011) have placed the Smalfjorden Formation within the globally developed Marinoan
81 glaciation of Cryogenian age (~645–635 Ma, Rooney et al. 2015; Shields Zhou et al. 2016)
82 and the Mortensnes Formation within the Ediacaran Gaskiers glaciation, which is probably
83 regional and of short duration (~580 Ma, Pu et al. 2016). The cap dolostones at the base
84 of the Nyborg Formation are considered to reliably associate the Smalfjorden Formation
85 with the Marinoan glaciation (Halverson et al. 2005; Rice et al. 2011). Furthermore, low
86 δ13C values in the Nyborg and Mortensnes formations have been compared to those of the 87 Shuram Wonoka anomaly (Rice et al.Draft 2011), in most models with a nadir at about 580 Ma 88 (see Xiao et al. 2016). Other scenarios for the age of the Varangerian glacial deposits
89 have been proposed (e.g., Nystuen et al. 2016; Grazhdankin and Maslov 2015; see below)
90 and resolution to this problem is hampered by the lack of reliable radiometric dates and
91 biostratigraphical data from the lower part of the Vestertana Group.
92 Here, we report new occurrences of palaeopascichnids from the Stáhpogieddi
93 Formation, discovered during field trips of the Digermulen Early Life Research group in
94 2015, 2016 and 2017. Of particular interest is the discovery of Palaeopascichnus close to
95 the base of the Stáhpogieddi Formation, which provides biostratigraphical age constraints
96 for rocks in close stratigraphical proximity to the glacial diamictites of the Mortensnes
97 Formation.
98
99 Geological setting
100 The Cryogenian to lower Cambrian Vestertana Group comprises approximately 1.4 km of
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101 essentially siliciclastic sedimentary rocks preserved within the Gaissa Thrust Belt and
102 para autochthonous and autochthonous rocks in the Tanafjorden Varangerfjorden region,
103 eastern Finnmark (Fig. 1; Rice 2014). The base of the Vestertana Group is a major
104 unconformity cutting into Cryogenian or Tonian age sedimentary rocks. The Smalfjorden
105 Formation consists of several alternations of lodgement tillite and laminites representing
106 successions of glacial retreat, which is overlain by the shale, siltstone and sandstone
107 dominated shallow marine to basinal interglacial Nyborg Formation. The basal Nyborg
108 Formation locally consists of a buff yellow dolostone (Edwards 1984) that has been
109 interpreted as a cap carbonate. The Nyborg Formation is overlain, with a regional angular
110 unconformity, by the glacigenic Mortensnes Formation (Edwards 1984; Rice et al. 2011).
111 The succeeding Stáhpogieddi Formation starts with the Lillevannet Member consisting of 112 sandstone and shale interpreted as aDraft transgressive interval. The overlying mudstone and 113 sandstone dominated Indreelva Member yields Ediacara type fossils dominated by
114 discoidal taxa (Farmer et al. 1992; Högström et al. 2013, 2014). The highest member in
115 the Stáhpogieddi Formation, the Manndrapselva Member, consists of a basal sandstone
116 dominated part and two upwards coarsening cycles. The second cycle yields a moderate
117 diversity of trace fossils among which can be noted horizontal spiral forms (Banks 1970;
118 McIlroy and Brasier 2017). A late Ediacaran age is indicated by the presence of Harlaniella
119 and Palaeopascichnus (McIlroy and Brasier 2017). Trace fossils, including Treptichnus
120 pedum and Gyrolithes, and organic walled microfossils place the Ediacaran–Cambrian
121 boundary close to the base of the upper cycle of the Manndrapselva Member (Högström et
122 al. 2013; McIlroy and Brasier 2017; Jensen et al. in press). The Vestertana Group
123 terminates with the Terreneuvian Breidvika Formation, from which diverse trace fossils and
124 a sparse record of skeletal fossils, including Platysolenites, have been reported (Banks
125 1970; Føyn and Glaessner 1979; McIlroy et al. 2001; Högström et al. 2013; McIlroy and
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126 Brasier 2017). On the Digermulen Peninsula the Vestertana Group is conformably overlain
127 by the siliciclastic Digermulen Group, which ranges from Cambrian Series 2 (McIlroy and
128 Brasier 2017) to the Tremadocian (Henningsmoen and Nikolaisen 1985).
129 The Vestertana Group was deposited along the margin of the Fennoscandian
130 Shield, with a thinner pericratonic succession and a thicker basinal succession (Rice 2014).
131 The original position of Digermulen Peninsula rocks within the Gaissa Thrust Belt is
132 believed to have been north of the Trollfjorden–Komagelva Fault Zone, with up to 200 km
133 of dextral displacement along the fault (Rice 2014). Palaeocurrents and detrital zircon U–
134 Pb ages both suggest southerly sediment sources for the lower part of the Vestertana
135 Group, whereas the upper part of the Vestertana Group shows the addition of a northern,
136 younger sediment source, related to the Timanide Orogeny (e.g., Banks et al. 1971; Zhang 137 et al. 2015). The Stáhpogieddi FormationDraft has been interpreted as a foreland basin 138 succession (e.g., Nielsen and Schovsbo 2011; Zhang et al. 2015).
139
140 Material and sections
141 Palaeopascichnids were recovered from three horizons within the Stáhpogieddi Formation
142 along the southeastern portion of the Digermulen Peninsula (Fig. 1C).
143 The stratigraphically lowest palaeopascichnids originate from coastal outcrops
144 along the northern part of Árasulluokta Cove (locality A in Fig. 1D) at UTM (WGS 84) 35W
145 0541640E, 7829770N. This locality, in older literature (e.g., Reading and Walker 1966),
146 known as the Areholmen (now Árasuolu) section from its location opposite the so named
147 island, exposes the transition from coarse and fine grained siliciclastic sediments of the
148 upper part of the Lillevannet Member to the red and purple mudstone dominated lower
149 Indreelva Member (Fig. 2). The level with palaeopascichnids is within a channelized
150 interval of siltstone and sandstone beds (Fig. 2C, D), ~10 m stratigraphically below the
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151 lowest occurrences of discoidal Ediacara type fossils. It is underlain by 5 m of micaceous
152 siltstone with thin sandstone beds, coarser grained close to contact with a sandstone
153 dominated interval that forms the lowest accessible outcrop (Fig. 2A). This siltstone
154 dominated interval contains linear and curved structures (Fig. 2E, F) of uncertain
155 interpretation. Reading (1965, p. 177) defined the base of the Indreelva Member at the
156 base of the first more than 50 cm thick horizon of red violet “slate”. It is at the present
157 debatable if the palaeopascichnid bearing level should be placed within the uppermost
158 part of the Lillevannet Member or the basal part of the Indreelva Member. Of greater
159 importance is that the transition between the two members is gradual (e.g., Reading 1965).
160 Palaeopascichnids were also collected 8.5 m above the base of the Manndrapselva
161 Member in outcrops along the Manndrapselva River at UTM (WGS 84) 35W 0541858E, 162 7830555N (locality B in Fig. 1D) in alternationsDraft of red mudstone and sandstone. Banks 163 (1970) reported "meander trails" from the basal part of the Manndrapselva Member, which
164 he compared with forms reported by Glaessner (1969) from South Australia that are now
165 attributed to Palaeopascichnus.
166 Palaeopascichnids from the mid portion of the second cycle of the Manndrapselva
167 Member were recovered from thin partings of fine sandstone and mudstone from coastal
168 outcrops at UTM (WGS 84) 35W 0544342E, 7832483N. This is close to the transition from
169 heterolithic facies of the lower part of the cycle to the sandstone dominated higher parts
170 and approximates the level from which palaeopascichnids were reported by McIlroy and
171 Brasier (2017).
172 Figured material from the Digermulen Peninsula is deposited in the Tromsø
173 University Museum collections (TSGf).
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175 Note on palaeopascichnid taxonomy
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176 Palaeopascichnid taxonomy is in need of thorough investigation (cf. Grazhdankin 2014)
177 but morphological end members can be accommodated in either Palaeopascichnus, with
178 forms composed of elongate units, or Orbisiana, with circular units (Fig. 1E). In
179 Palaeopascichnus delicatus Palij, units typically are elongate and often sausage shaped
180 (e.g., Palij et al. 1983; Fedonkin 1985). Forms with wider units have been assigned to
181 Yelovichnus gracilis Fedonkin (Fedonkin 1985). Fedonkin (1985) also noted irregular
182 development within the units but it is not clear if this justifies separation on the generic
183 level. In particular, palaeopascichnids from the Wonoka Formation, South Australia,
184 suggest that P. delicatus and Y. gracilis are transitional, although the latter could be
185 retained as a species of Palaeopascichnus. Curviacus from the Dengying Formation,
186 South China, has wide and curved units and notably differs in that some chambers have 187 conical projections (Shen et al. 2017).Draft 188 The majority of palaeopascichnids with circular units can be included in Orbisiana
189 simplex. In its type area of the Moscow syneclise, as well as material from the Ladoga
190 area, western Russia, this form is preserved in shale as pyritized husks (Sokolov 1976;
191 Jensen 2003; Golubkova et al. 2017). Forms described as the trace fossil taxon
192 Neonereites biserialis preserved in sandstone from the White Sea region, northern Russia,
193 (Fedonkin 1981), appear to be identical to Orbisiana but in different preservation. The
194 possibility that some of the palaeopascichnid taxa found in different styles of preservation
195 may be synonymous is further supported by the recent illustration (Golubkova et al. 2017,
196 part 4 of figure in their paper) of what is here interpreted as pyritized Palaeopascichnus.
197 Some material of Harlaniella may be transitional with Palaeopascichnus (Palij 1976),
198 but other material described as Harlaniella may be discrete non palaeopascichnid taxa
199 (Ivantsov 2013).
200
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201 Palaeopascichnids in the Stáhpogieddi Formation
202 See Figure 1E for definition of dimension measurements in palaeopascichnid units.
203
204 Lillevannet Member–Indreelva Member transition
205 Among the palaeopascichnids from the northern part of Árasulluokta Cove, three are
206 detailed below. Specimen TSGf 18401 (Fig. 3A) consists of 1.2 to 1.7 mm long and up to
207 14 mm wide units, in a somewhat fan shaped arrangement, in places with units draping
208 the terminal parts of earlier units. A different image of this material was figured in
209 Høyberget et al. (2017). Fedonkin (1985, pl. 27:2) described forms of this morphology from
210 the Verkhovka Formation of the White Sea region as Yelovichnus gracilis. As discussed
211 above this form likely should be assigned to Palaeopascichnus as a species distinct from 212 P. delicatus. Specimen TSGf 18402 (Fig.Draft 3B) consists of ovoid units 1.1 to 1.2 mm long 213 and 2.2 to 2.5 mm wide. Identical material has been described from the Verkhovka
214 Formation as Palaeopascichnus delicatus (Fedonkin 1981, pl. 15:4). Specimen TSGf
215 18403 (Fig. 3C) has elongate to kidney shaped units 1.5 to 1.6 mm long and 3.3 to 4 mm
216 wide, although there is indication that portions of the specimen consists of more than one
217 row. This makes it comparable to palaeopascichnids from the White Sea region (Fedonkin
218 1981, pl. 15:2, 5).
219
220 Manndrapselva Member, first cycle
221 Rare Palaeopascichnus from outcrops along Manndrapselva River consist of poorly
222 preserved series of kidney shaped units preserved on the base of a sandstone bed (Fig.
223 4A; TSGf 18404). This material can be assigned to Palaeopascichnus delicatus. Another
224 specimen shows clear ovate to lunate units also attributable to P. delicatus (Fig. 4B; TSGf
225 18405) in similar preservation to material from the White Sea region (Fedonkin and
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226 Vickers Rich 2007, fig. 297).
227
228 Manndrapselva Member, second cycle
229 In addition to relatively poorly preserved material a slab with well preserved small
230 Palaeopascichnus with units 0.5 to 0.6 mm long and 0.6 to 2.5 mm wide was collected (Fig.
231 3D; TSGf 18406). Some specimens show progressive increases in segment width along a
232 series before dividing into two narrower series of units. Some of this material falls below
233 the reported size range of Palaeopascichnus delicatus but is morphologically identical. In
234 places a slightly oblique arrangement of successive units is seen, suggestive of Harlaniella
235 podolica, a fossil also found at this outcrop (McIlroy and Brasier 2017, fig. 4A, and
236 unpublished observations). This would be further evidence that Palaeopascichnus includes 237 some Harlaniella like morphotypes. Draft 238 McIlroy and Brasier (2017, fig. 4b, e) reported Palaeopascichnus and Yelovichnus
239 from the second cycle of the Manndrapselva Member that are comparable to the White
240 Sea morphotypes. This includes the presence of wide, sausage shaped, units (Fig. 4C).
241
242 Global stratigraphical range of palaeopascichnids
243 Although no tuffs have been reported from the Digermulen succession the occurrence of
244 Palaeopascichnus through some 350 m of stratigraphy is comparable to the long
245 stratigraphical range previously reported from Newfoundland and South Australia. The
246 occurrence of Palaeopascichnus in the second cycle of the Manndrapselva Member is
247 stratigraphically close to the lowest occurrences of Treptichnus pedum and Gyrolithes,
248 suggesting a very latest Ediacaran age (McIlroy and Brasier 2017; Jensen et al. in press).
249 There is greater uncertainty in the age of the Palaeopascichnus from the Lillevannet–
250 Indreelva transition, but it is certainly Ediacaran in age—by comparison with other
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251 localities with chonostratigraphical data .
252 Palaeopascichnids have been widely reported from the late Ediacaran strata of
253 Baltica (Fig. 1B). In the White Sea region, palaeopascichnids extend both below and
254 above ashes dated at 555 and 558 Ma (Martin et al. 2000; Grazhdankin 2003). The type
255 region and stratum for Palaeopascichnus delicatus is the Kanilov Formation of the Dniestr
256 River area, Ukraine (Palij 1976). Fedonkin (1983) lists Palaeopascichnus delicatus found
257 in the Komarovo Member of the Kanilov Formation, the Bernashev Member of the
258 Yaryshev Formation (U–Pb zircon age of 553 Ma, Grazhdankin 2014), and the Yampol
259 and Lomozovo members of the Mogilev Formation. Palaeopascichnids have also been
260 reported from the Urals—under a variety of names—from the Basa and Zigan formations
261 of the Asha Group (see Kolesnikov et al. 2015). An ash from the lower part of the Basa 262 Formation gave a zircon U–Pb age ofDraft 547.6±3.8 Ma (Levashova et al. 2013). Grazhdankin 263 et al. (2009) also documented palaeopascichnids from the Perevalok Formation and the
264 lower and middle part of the overlying Chernyi Kamen Formation, of the central Urals.
265 Grazhdankin et al. (2011) obtained a zircon U–Pb age of 567.2±3.9 Ma from a volcanic tuff
266 low in the Perevalok Formation, which provides a maximum age for palaeopascichnids in
267 the Urals and the East European Craton in general (cf. Grazhdankin et al. 2011, fig. 2).
268 The stratigraphical range of palaeopascichnids from the East European Platform is
269 therefore from between ~541 and 565 Ma (Grazhdankin and Maslov 2009, 2015).
270 Avalonian palaeopascichnids are best known from Newfoundland, where the
271 youngest occurrences approach the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary in the Chapel Island
272 Formation (Narbonne et al. 1987). Older occurrences are known from the Fermeuse
273 Formation (Gehling et al. 2000; Liu and McIlroy 2015; Liu et al. 2015), which has been
274 considered to be ~560 Ma based on the stratigraphic thickness between the well dated
275 Mistaken Point Formation and the Fermeuse Formation (e.g., Liu and McIlroy 2015; Pu et
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276 al. 2016).
277 In southern Australia Palaeopascichnus is known from the upper part (Unit 8) of the
278 Wonoka Formation (Haines 2000). By global carbon isotope correlation, the upper part of
279 the Wonoka Formation is younger than ~560 Ma (Bowring et al. 2007). Younger
280 palaeopascichnids are present in the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite, but
281 without radiometric age constraint. The potentially oldest Australian Palaeopascichnus
282 were reported by Lan and Chen (2012) from the Johnny Cake Shale of the Ranford
283 Formation, east Kimberley, Northern Territory. These overlie glacial deposits of supposed
284 Marinoan age. Higher in the stratigraphy, the Boonall Dolomite has been correlated with
285 the glacigenic Egan Formation (Corkeron 2007), which has been considered a local event
286 or a possible time equivalent to the Gaskiers glaciation (Grey et al. 2011). The Ranford 287 Formation specimens have units up toDraft 5 cm wide and 9 mm long making them the largest 288 described. Additional material with better preservation is needed to confirm that these are
289 comparable to late Ediacaran palaeopascichnids. Another record of a possibly early
290 Ediacaran palaeopascichnid is the report of Orbisiana from Member II of the Lantian
291 Formation of South China (Wan et al. 2014). The main age constraint on this occurrence is
292 a pronounced negative δ13C excursion in Member III of the Lantian Formation,
293 corresponding to the EN 3 excursion in the Doushantuo Formation and considered
294 equivalent to the Shuram Wonoka anomaly. Wan et al. (2014) considered Member II to be
295 between 635 Ma and 576 Ma and Cunningham et al. (2017) reported the Lantian biota as
296 ~600 Ma. As alternative models position the nadir of Shuram Wonoka anomaly at ~ 580
297 Ma or ~ 555 Ma (see Narbonne et al. 2012; Xiao et al. 2016; Fig. 5) a younger age
298 remains possible.
299
300
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301 Implications from palaeopascichnids for the age of the Mortensnes Formation
302 glacigenic sediments
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304 Age constraints on the Varanger Ice Age
305 Neoproterozoic glacigenic units are scattered along the Caledonian margin of Scandinavia
306 from the Moelv Formation in southern Norway to the Smalfjorden and Mortensnes
307 formations in Arctic Norway with a number of intermediate units in Sweden and Norway
308 (e.g., Kumpulainen 2011; Kumpulainen and Greiling 2011; Nystuen and Lamminen 2011;
309 Rice et al. 2011). Collectively, these are known as the Varanger Ice Age (e.g., Nystuen
310 1985). Age constraints on the Varangerian glacial deposits are poor and the relationship to
311 Neoproterozoic glacial events is equivocal. 312 The Moelv Formation in southernDraft Norway has been tentatively correlated with the 313 Gaskiers glaciation on the basis of detrital zircon ages and acritarch biostratigraphy.
314 Bingen et al. (2005) record detrital zircons with an U–Pb age of 620 ±14 Ma from
315 sandstones of the Rendalen Formation, well below the Moelv Formation. Reports of
316 acanthomorphic organic walled microfossils, including Papillomembrana and
317 Ericiasphaera from clasts in the Biskopåsen Formation, which underlies the Moelv
318 Formation, suggest a post Marinoan age on the basis of their stratigraphical range in
319 China and Australia (see Zhang et al. 1998; Knoll 2000). Adamson and Butterfield (2014)
320 report a greater diversity of acanthomorphic acritarchs from the Biskopåsen Formation and
321 they note considerable overlap with the Ediacaran Tanarium conoideum–Hocosphaeridium
322 scaberfacium–Hocosphaeridium anozos biozone of South China. Furthermore, Hannah et
323 al. (2014) report Re–Os ages of 559 ±6 Ma from the Biri Formation, which underlies the
324 Moelv Formation, suggesting a regional glaciation event that is younger than the Gaskiers.
325 Arguments for a post Marinoan age for the Mortensnes Formation, Finnmark, are
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326 based on cap carbonate features at the base of the Nyborg Formation and δ13C values
327 from the upper part of the Nyborg Formation (~ 8‰ to 10‰) and the matrix of the
328 Mortensnes Formation (~ 10‰) (Halverson et al. 2005; Rice et al. 2011). Within the
329 Neoproterozoic such low δ13C values are found only in the Ediacaran Shuram Wonoka
330 anomaly, and those of the Nyborg and Mortensnes formations have been suggested to
331 post date the nadir of this excursion (Halverson et al. 2005; Rice et al. 2011). However,
332 the duration, timing and relative spatial extent of the Shuram Wonoka anomaly remain
333 uncertain. In some models the Shuram Wonoka anomaly approximates the Gaskiers, in
334 others it post dates the Gaskiers (see Narbonne et al. 2012; Xiao et al. 2016; Fig. 5). On
335 the other hand, Kumpulainen et al. (2016) and Nystuen et al. (2016) concluded that the
336 Varangerian glacial units of Scandinavia correlate with the Marinoan glaciation (Fig. 5, 337 Alternative 1). This was based on a 596Draft Ma U–Pb baddeleyite age from a dyke cross 338 cutting two Varangerian glacial levels of the Lillfjället Formation in Härjedalen, Sweden. In
339 a further scenario presented by Grazhdankin and Maslov (2015) both the Smalfjorden and
340 Mortensnes formations were deposited between ~600 and 580 Ma (Fig. 5, Alternative 2).
341 This, however, was based on Rb–Sr dating of burial diagenesis of illite (Gorokhov et al.
342 2001) and so entails some uncertainties, and it would additionally implicate a cap
343 carbonate younger than that associated with Marinoan glaciations.
344
345 Palaeopascichnus and the transition from the Mortensnes Formation to the Stáhpogieddi
346 Formation
347 Taking into consideration palaeogeographical context, and the morphological similarity of
348 the Digermulen and White Sea palaeopascichnids an age not in excess of ~565 Ma is
349 suggested for the Lillevannet Member to Indreelva Member transition. This provides new
350 age constraints on the postglacial succession and so may help in evaluating the different
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351 scenarios for the age of the Mortensnes Formation (Fig. 5).
352 The sedimentological nature of the Mortensnes to Stáhpogieddi transition must be
353 considered as the various scenarios predict significant differences in the duration of
354 lithostratigraphical units, in particular the Lillevannet Member and Nyborg Formation and
355 likely breaks in sedimentation. Edwards (1984) interpreted the upper part of the
356 Mortensnes Formation to show transition from lodgement tillite to subaqueous glacially
357 influenced sedimentation. A thin lag conglomerate at the top of the formation in northern
358 outcrops is formed from reworking during isostatic uplift (Edwards 1984). The lower
359 submember of the Lillevannet Member is a 3 to 55 m thick coarsening up succession
360 interpreted as the progradation of a delta into marine waters. In the depocentre, dropstone
361 laminites of the Mortensnes Formation grade into laminated mudstone of the upwards 362 coarsening lower submember of LillevannetDraft Member (Edwards 1984, p. 65). Edwards 363 (1984) interpreted the ~40 m thick upper submember of the Lillevannet Member to have
364 been formed under delta plain conditions containing fluvial and shallow marine facies. The
365 base of the upper submember of the Lillevannet Member is erosive, and Edwards (1984, p.
366 68) suggested that the pebbly sandstones and conglomerates were deposited either as
367 coarse grained point bars or in braided streams at a point of maximum regression, which
368 was suggested by Banks et al. (1971, p. 220) to be the result of isostatic rebound. Any
369 major unconformity within the lower part of the Vestertana Group is likely between the
370 Nyborg and Mortensnes formations. Between the Mortensnes Formation and Stáhpogieddi
371 Formation there is evidence for relative sea level fall at the transition from the
372 Mortensnes–Lillevannet transition (McIlroy and Brasier 2017) and between the lower and
373 upper submembers of the Lillevannet Member. However, in neither of these scenarios is
374 there any obvious reason to invoke substantial (many millions of years) times of non
375 deposition and erosion. In the scenario of a Marinoan age for the Mortensnes Formation
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376 (Fig. 5, Alternative 1) the duration of the Lillevannet Member is larger than 60 Ma. This
377 seems incongruous with the known sedimentological record and would require
378 substantially larger breaks in sedimentation than that of our favoured interpretation, in
379 such case perhaps most likely at the Mortensnes–Lillevannet contact (sequence boundary
380 of McIlroy & Brasier 2017). We therefore consider the occurrence of Palaeopascichnus
381 from the Mortensnes–Lillevannet transition provides support for a Gaskiers, or younger,
382 age for the Mortensnes Formation. If the low δ13C values from the upper Nyborg and
383 Mortensnes formations are related to the Shuram Wonoka anomaly, this would—based on
384 current models—support a post Gaskiers age.
385
386 387 Draft 388 Conclusions
389 Palaeopascichnids, mainly Palaeopascichnus delicatus, are found at three horizons within
390 the Stáhpogieddi Formation. The youngest occurrences from the middle portion of the
391 Manndrapselva Member are considered to be latest Ediacaran both on associated trace
392 fossils and the fact that they underlie Cambrian type trace fossils of the Treptichnus
393 pedum Ichnozone. Palaeopascichnids from a horizon transitional between the Lillevannet
394 and Indreelva members suggest that this part of the succession is no older than ~565 Ma.
395 The absence of evidence for major breaks in sedimentation between the glacial
396 Mortensnes Formation and the Stáhpogieddi Formation is consistent with a Gaskiers
397 (~580 Ma), or younger, age for the upper Varangerian glaciation in this area. A Marinoan
398 age for the Mortensnes Formation requires the presence of hitherto unrecognized major
399 breaks in sedimentation.
400
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401
402 Acknowledgements. We thank Jonathan Antcliffe and an anonymous reviewer for
403 constructive reviews, and Marc Laflamme for editorial assistance. In the framework of the
404 Digermulen Early Life Research Group financial support for fieldwork in Arctic Norway was
405 provided by the Research Council of Norway (Grant No. 231103). Correspondence with
406 Marc Edwards and Nigel Banks is gratefully acknowledged.
407
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726 FIGURE CAPTIONS
727
728 Fig. 1. Geographical and stratigraphical setting of Palaeopascichnus in the Stáhpogieddi
729 Formation, Arctic Norway, and basic palaeopascichnid morphology. (A) Vestertana Group
730 rocks, in grey shade, preserved within the Gaissa Thrust Belt (g) and para autochthonous
731 and autochthonous in eastern Finnmark. Circle marks study area. TKF, Trollfjorden–
732 Komagelva Fault Zone. (B) Cratonic portion of Baltica, with late Ediacaran epicontinental
733 basins (grey shading). Modified from Sliaupa et al. (2006). Principal occurrences of
734 palaeopascichnids are: 1, Digermulen Peninsula, Arctic Norway; 2, White Sea region,
735 northern Russia; 3, Ladoga region, western Russia; 4, central part of Moscow syneclise; 5,
736 the Urals; 6, Podolia, Ukraine. (C) Simplified stratigraphy of the Vestertana Group, 737 showing occurrences of palaeopascichnidsDraft and selected key fossils. CRYO, Cryogenian. 738 (D) Geology of the southeastern portion of the Digermulen Peninsula, based on Siedlecka
739 et al. (2006), showing localities yielding palaeopascichnids (see text for details). On
740 Árasuolu island rocks of the Nyborg and Smalfjorden formations are exposed. (E)
741 Schematic tracings of Palaeopascichnus type (E1) and Orbisiana type (E2)
742 palaeopascichnids, branching Palaeopascichnus (E3) and definition of dimension
743 measures (E4). E1 and E2 based on Jensen (2003, fig. 5B, C); E3 based on Haines (2000,
744 fig. 7G).
745
746 Fig. 2. Transition from the Lillevannet to Indreelva members in coastal outcrops in northern
747 portion of Árasulluokta cove. (A) General view with sandstone of the Lillevannet Member in
748 the lower left hand part and red and purple mudstone of the Indreelva Member in the
749 upper right hand. Palaeopascichnus were found in the upper part of ochre weathering
750 interval of sandstone and shale. (B) Transition from cross bedded sandstone to micaceous
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751 laminate siltstone. The latter contains thin stringers of sandstone, in places coarse
752 grained, in the lower part. (C) Transition from micaceous siltstone and fine grained
753 sandstone to ochre weathering interval of sandstone and siltstone. Note erosive contact.
754 (D) Guido Meinhold indicating level yielding Palaeopascichnus. (E) Top surface of thin
755 micaceous fine grained sandstone bed with various finger shaped structures of uncertain
756 origin. Scale bar represents 10 mm. (F) Base of thin fine grained sandstone bed with
757 tubular structures of uncertain origin. Scale bar represents 10 mm.
758
759 Fig. 3. Palaeopascichnids from the transition between the Lillevannet and Indreelva
760 members (A–C) and the Manndrapselva Member (D). (A) Yelovichnus type forms. TSGf
761 18401. (B) Palaeopascichnus delicatus. TSGf 18402 (C) Palaeopascichnus delicatus. In 762 upper right hand part of the image withDraft possible orbisianid development. TSGf 18403 (D) 763 Small Palaeopascichnus delicatus, in places showing widening units that divide into
764 narrower units. TSGf 18406. Scale bar in A represents 10 mm; scale bars in B, C and D
765 represent 5 mm.
766
767 Fig. 4. Palaeopascichnus from the first (A, B) and second (C) cycle of the Manndrapselva
768 Member. (A, B) Palaeopascichnus delicatus from the basal part of the Manndrapselva
769 Member, Manndrapselva River. (A) TSGf 18404. (B) TSGf 18405. Scale bars represent 2
770 mm. (C) Slab showing typical Palaeopascichnus delicatus and wider units of Yelovichnus
771 type. Scale bar represents 5 mm. Oxford University Museum OUM AZ 119.
772
773 Fig. 5. Global context and alternative temporal scenarios for the Vestertana Group. The
774 carbon isotope stratigraphy with two alternative placements of negative excursion EN3,
775 which is believed to correspond to the Shuram Wonoka anomaly, is based on Narbonne et
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776 al. (2012). The Lillevannet to Indreelva transition is fixed as being no older than about 565
777 Ma on the basis of Palaeopascichnus. Our preferred interpretation is similar to that of
778 Halvorsen et al. (2005) and Rice et al. (2011). However, if the Shuram Wonoka anomaly is
779 recorded in the upper Nyborg and Mortensnes formations these units are younger than
780 depicted. A Marinoan age for the Mortensnes Formation (Alternative 1; cf. Nystuen et al.
781 2016), results in a time span of ~65 Ma between the Mortensnes Formation and the lower
782 part of the Stáhpogieddi Formation (Lillevannet and Indreelva members). Alternative 2
783 follows Grazhdankin and Maslov (2015). See text for additional details.
Draft
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