Cambrian small shelly fossils from North Greenland (eastern Laurentia; Series 2, Stage 4) with regional and global correlations

Abstract

Cambrian Series 2 represents a key interval for documenting the evolution and diversification of early biomineralized skeletal animals. In this interval, small shelly fossils (SSF) provide an essential archive for regional biostratigraphy and intercontinental correlation. Despite its global significance, the base of Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4 has not yet been formally defined by a ratified global boundary stratotype section and point (GSSP). Well‐constrained SSF assemblages from the eastern Laurentian margin also remain relatively scarce, limiting correlation frameworks for Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4. Here we report an SSF assemblage from the Aftenstjernesø Formation of North Greenland (eastern Laurentia), comprising molluscs, hyoliths, brachiopods, ecdysozoans, and other problematic taxa. Together with detailed taxonomic descriptions of 14 molluscan species, this SSF assemblage from North Greenland enables faunal comparison with coeval assemblages from elsewhere in Laurentia, as well as from Gondwana (Australia and Antarctica), Siberia, and peri‐Gondwanan regions (North China and South China). Shared taxa with close affinities support refinement of biostratigraphic schemes for eastern Laurentia and enable more precise regional and global correlations within Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4.