Molluscan biostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of Campanian strata

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Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
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Cretaceous Research
journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/CretRes
Molluscan biostratigraphy and paleomagnetism of Campanian strata,
Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia: implications for
Pacific coast North America biochronology
James W. Haggart a, *, Peter D. Ward b, Timothy D. Raub c, Elizabeth S. Carter d,1, Joseph L. Kirschvink c
a
Geological Survey of Canada, 625 Robson Street, Vancouver, British Columbia V6B 5J3, Canada
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195-1310, USA
Division of Geological and Planetary Science, California Institute of Technology 170-25, Pasadena, CA 91125, USA
d
Department of Geology, Portland State University, Portland, OR 97207-0751, USA
b
c
a r t i c l e i n f o
a b s t r a c t
Article history:
Received 9 June 2008
Accepted in revised form 13 February 2009
Available online 3 March 2009
A previously uncollected fauna of ammonites, bivalves, and other molluscs, associated with radiolarian
microfossils, has been newly recognized near Lawn Hill on the east coast of central Queen Charlotte
Islands, British Columbia. The regional biostratigraphic zonation indicates that the Lawn Hill fauna is
correlative with the Nostoceras hornbyense zonule of the Pachydiscus suciaensis ammonite biozone,
recognized in the Nanaimo Group of southeast Vancouver Island. The Nostoceras hornbyense Zone (new)
is herein proposed for strata of Pacific coast Canada containing the zonal index. Several molluscan taxa
present in the Lawn Hill section are new to British Columbia and the ammonite fauna suggests that the
Nostoceras hornbyense Zone is late Campanian in age, supported by radiolarian taxa present in the
section. Strata sampled in the Lawn Hill section preserve reversed-polarity magnetization, considered
likely correlative with Chron 32r. The presence of the Nostoceras hornbyense Zone on Queen Charlotte
Islands is the first recognition of this zone in Canada north of central Vancouver Island and represents the
youngest Cretaceous known in this region. Campanian radiolarians identified from the Lawn Hill section
are also the first recognized from the Pacific coast of Canada.
Crown Copyright Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Keywords:
Campanian
Maastrichtian
Ammonite
Inoceramid
Magnetostratigraphy
Queen Charlotte Islands
1. Introduction
Cretaceous strata are distributed widely across Queen Charlotte
Islands, British Columbia (Haggart, 1991, 2004), with major outcrop
belts found in the Langara Island to White Point region on the
northwest coast, and in the Skidegate Inlet and Cumshewa Inlet
areas of the central part of the islands (Fig. 1). Cretaceous strata are
inferred to be distributed also in the offshore regions adjacent to
Queen Charlotte Islands and collectively, these deposits accumulated in the Hecate basin (Hunt, 1958; Haggart, 1993; Mossop et al.,
2004), inferred to have developed in a fore-arc setting westward of
an active magmatic arc (Haggart, 1991, 1993; Higgs, 1991; Thompson et al., 1991; Lewis et al., 1991; Lyatsky and Haggart, 1993).
The Hecate basin accumulated on a varied topography of older
Mesozoic and Paleozoic(?) sedimentary, volcanic, and plutonic
rocks collectively assigned to the Insular belt. This feature is one of
* Corresponding author.
E-mail address: [email protected] (J.W. Haggart).
1
Mailing address: 69745 Old Wagon Road, Sisters Oregon 97759, USA.
several morphogeological provinces of the Canadian Cordilleran
region and includes the offshore island systems of western British
Columbia and Alaska, including the island systems of Queen
Charlotte Islands and Vancouver Island in British Columbia, and
parts of the southeastern Alaska archipelago (Fig. 1).
The principal geological components of the Insular belt are the
Wrangellia and Alexander terranes, the former well developed on
Queen Charlotte Islands, the latter in southeast Alaska. The Baja
British Columbia (‘‘Baja BC’’) hypothesis proposes large-magnitude
northward translation of, at minimum, the Wrangellia terrane of
the Insular belt relative to the North American craton during Late
Cretaceous and Early Tertiary time. The hypothesis remains
controversial (Mahoney et al., 2000; Enkin, 2006) as the paleomagnetic data upon which it is based (i.e., Bogue et al., 1995; Ague
and Brandon, 1996; Irving et al., 1996; Ward et al., 1997; Housen and
Beck, 1999; Enkin et al., 2001, 2003; Haskin et al., 2003; Housen
et al., 2003; Bogue and Gromme, 2004; but see Stamatakos et al.,
2001 and others) are methodologically sound yet seemingly contradicted by numerous geological and paleobiogeographical inferences (i.e., Mahoney et al., 1999; Butler et al., 2001a,b, 2006;
Kodama and Ward, 2001; but see Miller et al., 2006).
0195-6671/$ – see front matter Crown Copyright Ó 2009 Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2009.02.005
940
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
Fig. 1. Location map of Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia, showing location of Cretaceous (Campanian) outlier at Lawn Hill. Area of Cretaceous Hecate basin indicated in
grey in inset. AT ¼ Alexander terrane, WT ¼ Wrangellia terrane. Note inferred paleo-high separating Cretaceous Hecate and Nanaimo basins of west coast Canada.
We present herein new paleontological and paleomagnetic data
from Upper Cretaceous (Campanian to lowermost Maastrichtian?)
strata of Queen Charlotte Islands. The faunal data establish for the
first time the presence of upper Campanian strata on Queen
Charlotte Islands, with correlatives exposed in southern Alaska and
on Vancouver Island and associated islands of southwestern British
Columbia, some 650 km south of Queen Charlotte Islands. In
addition, while the paleomagnetic data are considered of insufficient quality and number to establish a paleolatitude suitable for
paleogeographic analysis, recovery of reversed-polarity magnetization in calcareous concretions sampled in the section is considered most likely correlative with Chron 32r (ca. 71–73 Ma).
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
2. Regional geological setting
Wrangellia terrane hosts sedimentary basins of various ages
built on a distinctive and characteristic Upper Triassic massive
volcanic succession (basalts of the Karmutsen Formation and
equivalents), possibly erupted onto pre-existing oceanic basement
(Jones et al., 1977). On Queen Charlotte Islands, these oceanic
basalts are succeeded by fringing reef carbonates and deeper water
calcareous clastic facies of the Upper Triassic to lowermost Jurassic
Kunga Group (Fig. 2) (see Lewis et al., 1991). Overlying, Lower
Jurassic clastic-rich sedimentary strata of the Maude Group reflect
deposition at some distance from active volcanic activity. By Middle
to early Late Jurassic time, the locus of magmatism occupied the
Queen Charlotte Islands region; Yakoun and Moresby groups
preserve extensive active arc volcanic and associated epiclastic
rocks, respectively, in geographic and temporal association with
widespread plutonism. Middle to Late Jurassic magmatic activity
may reflect the initiation of subduction in the region (Lewis and
Ross, 1989; Thompson et al., 1991; Lewis et al., 1991).
The Cretaceous stratigraphic succession of Queen Charlotte
Islands records a prolonged period of basin subsidence and sediment
941
accumulation in a stable tectonic setting (Haggart, 1991, 1993; Lewis
et al., 1991). Continuous deposition initiated in Valanginian time and
continued unabated until the Campanian. Cretaceous strata are
dominantly shelf-related clastic deposits, with minor, geographicallyrestricted shallow-marine to subaerial(?) Upper Cretaceous volcanic
rocks and deeper-water, slope turbidite facies (Haggart, 1991).
Calcareous concretions are found at numerous levels in the stratigraphic succession; these often contain well-preserved fossil materials, especially in Santonian and Campanian deposits.
Correlation of Cretaceous successions of Queen Charlotte Islands
has relied principally on ammonites and other molluscan fossil
groups (McLearn, 1972; Jeletzky, 1970a, 1977; Haggart, 1991, 1995;
Haggart and Higgs, 1989), although recent studies of radiolarian
faunas (Haggart and Carter, 1993; Carter and Haggart, 2006) have
demonstrated the correlation potential of this fossil group, especially for poorly-fossiliferous deep-water strata of the islands.
Paleogene plutonic rocks are distributed widely on Queen
Charlotte Islands (Haggart, 2004) and may document final amalgamation of Wrangellia terrane with North America (Lewis et al.,
1991), although this is by no means established. Subsequently, the
Mio-Pliocene Masset Formation represents widespread volcanic
activity that accompanied regional extension, and initiated Queen
Charlotte Islands’ modern trans-tensional setting (Hickson, 1991).
3. Lithostratigraphy
Fig. 2. Mesozoic and Tertiary stratigraphic succession of Queen Charlotte Islands; FM/
fm ¼ Formation/formation, L ¼ level of Lawn Hill stratigraphic section.
The stratigraphic succession at Lawn Hill is exposed in
a geographically-restricted (w 250 m long) outcrop in the intertidal
region on the east coast of Graham Island, Queen Charlotte Islands
(Fig. 1; NTS 103G/05: Lawnhill 1:50,000-scale topographic map).
The Lawn Hill outcrop is an outlier of Cretaceous rocks on the east
side of the Sandspit fault (Fig. 1) and comprises the easternmost
outcrop of the informally named Tarundl formation (Haggart,
2002), the youngest unit of the Lower-Upper Cretaceous Queen
Charlotte Group (Haggart, 1991) found on Queen Charlotte Islands
(Fig. 2). The Tarundl formation has limited geographic distribution
across central Queen Charlotte Islands and includes strata from
Santonian through Campanian (Haggart and Higgs, 1989; Haggart,
1991, 2002, 2004).
The Cretaceous strata at Lawn Hill dip gently to the south and
include approximately 60 m of silty mudstone and muddy siltstone hosting calcareous concretions (Fig. 3). The exposures are
not continuous and are generally covered with cobbles and small
boulders, the arrangement of which varies from year to year,
depending on storm activity. Section thickness was determined
using a metal tape and accounting for stratigraphic dip. The base
of the section, on the north side of the outcrop, is not seen and is
presumed to be faulted. Similarly, the top of the section is cut off
by feeder dikes to Neogene volcanic deposits which are inferred to
unconformably overlie the Cretaceous strata at Lawn Hill, based
on adjacent exposures on Graham Island just above the intertidal
zone (Haggart, 2004). The Cretaceous strata are homogeneous in
composition and lack distinctive marker beds. Fossils are common
throughout the section, both in the matrix as well as in large
(w 0.5–1 m) and elongate calcareous concretions, and include
molluscs, crustaceans, and wood. Fossils are generally fragmentary, both in the matrix and in concretions, but visually-uncompacted. Early diagenetic concretions are sometimes marked by
doubly-deformed shale laminae draping both concretion tops and
bottoms.
The Lawn Hill Cretaceous strata are faulted locally and contorted
on a sub-outcrop scale. Regionally, the Sandspit fault, striking
approximately 140 azimuth, crosses the shoreline of Graham
Island approximately 10 km south of the Lawn Hill exposure
(Sutherland Brown, 1968; Haggart, 2004). Multiple splays of this
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J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
Fig. 3. Stratigraphic section of Tarundl formation exposed at Lawn Hill, Graham Island, Queen Charlotte Islands, showing levels of fossil collections and paleomagnetic sampling.
Fossil locality details available from senior author or Chief of Paleontology, Geological Survey of Canada, Calgary, Alberta. PM ¼ Paleomag Sample [No.], m ¼ meters above base of
section.
regional-scale fault separate exposures of older, Jurassic and
Cretaceous rocks on the west from dominantly Miocene volcaniclastic strata to the east. Recognizable movement on the Sandspit
fault is primarily east side-down, with throw of hundreds to
thousands of meters (Sutherland Brown, 1968; Yorath and Chase,
1981). As a possible consequence of its hanging-wall block affinity,
the Tarundl formation exposure at Lawn Hill appears to have
escaped the thermochemical alteration that pervasively affects
Cretaceous strata in the footwall block (Haggart and Verosub, 1994).
In addition, Mesozoic organic-rich strata exposed on Queen
Charlotte Islands are generally overmature (Vellutini and Bustin,
1991) and most Jurassic and Cretaceous fossil materials from Queen
Charlotte Islands are altered to black calcite, reflecting thermal
alteration effects likely associated with Jurassic or Eocene pluton
emplacement. Local replacement of shell aragonite by (Mg, Fe)-rich
chlorite at many localities suggests penetrative chemical mobilization and mineral replacement by fluids passing through widespread Upper Triassic Karmutsen Formation basalts (Haggart and
Bustin, 1999). This diagenetic alteration could have accompanied
post-Eocene extension and exhumation along low-angle normal
faults: Eocene and Oligocene volcanic stocks tilt consistently by
w11–16 to the north (Lewis and Ross, 1991; Wynne et al., 1992;
Irving et al., 2000). Significantly, Cretaceous exposures at Lawn Hill
are geographically distant from surface exposures of the Karmutsen
Formation, and Tarundl formation strata do not show evidence of
the chlorite replacement typical elsewhere on Queen Charlotte
Islands.
Fossils found in the Tarundl formation at Lawn Hill preserve
original aragonite shell material and display iridescent lustre, often
(but not always) characteristic of organic macromolecules incorporated systematically into a biomineralized shell matrix. Since the
near-surface structural inversion of aragonite to calcite proceeds at
low temperature (<100 C), and since fluid exchange alters shell
matrix proteins and destroys iridescence, aragonitic, iridescent
fossils are recognized as markers of locally and regionally unaltered
outcrops suitable for study in areas of otherwise remagnetized
sedimentary (Filmer and Kirschvink, 1989; Ward et al., 1997).
Despite this rule-of-thumb, the ‘‘biomineral alteration’’ test is not
a paleomagnetic field test that provides a direct constraint on the
character of remanent magnetization, and normal-polarity viscous
(partial thermal) remanent overprints plague similarly low-grade
sedimentary rocks of similar lihology throughout the Insular
superterrane (e.g. Enkin et al., 2001; Kim and Kodama, 2004).
4. Molluscan biostratigraphy
Representative examples of the Lawn Hill Cretaceous fauna are
shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and the stratigraphic distribution of
important taxa is summarized in Fig. 3. Although the molluscan
fauna is not especially diverse, it does contain important
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
943
Fig. 4. Fossils from the Tarundl formation at Lawn Hill, Queen Charlotte Islands; all fossils 1and coated with ammonium chloride before photography. A–C. Gaudryceras denmanense Whiteaves, 1901; A, B. GSC No. 132348, GSC Loc. C-304212, A Latex peel of external mold of inner part of umbilicus, right flank; B. Lateral view of right flank; C. GSC No.
132349, GSC Loc. C-304212 (cf. Gaudryceras tenuiliratum Yabe, 1902); D, E. Zelandites sp. juv.; GSC No. 132350, GSC Loc. C-304212; F. Anagaudryceras politissimum (Kossmat, 1895);
GSC No. 132351, GSC Loc. C-304212; G–I. Damesites sp. cf. sugata (Forbes, 1846); GSC No. 132352, GSC Loc. C-304212; Figure G shows flank of outer whorl, figures H and I show the
inner whorl; J. Solenoceras sp. cf. mexicanum Anderson, 1958; GSC No. 132353, GSC Loc. C-304209.
biostratigraphic and biogeographic elements. The section at Lawn
Hill was previously considered to represent the lower Campanian
Submortoniceras chicoense Zone, based on a poorly-preserved
ammonite fragment identified as Submortoniceras chicoense (Trask,
1856) (Haggart, 1995). However, new collections of betterpreserved fossil materials have subsequently shown that this
specimen is better assigned to the ammonite Pachydiscus suciaensis
(Meek, 1862) (Fig. 5A, B). In addition, a number of additional
ammonite taxa are now known from the Lawn Hill site, including
Damesites sp. cf. sugata (Forbes, 1846) (Fig. 4G–I), Gaudryceras
denmanense Whiteaves, 1901 (Fig. 4A–C), Anagaudryceras politissimum (Kossmat, 1895) (Fig. 4F), Neophylloceras sp., Nostoceras
hornbyense (Whiteaves, 1895) (Fig. 5C, D), Diplomoceras sp. cf. tenuisulcatus (Forbes, 1846) (Fig. 5E), Solenoceras sp. cf. mexicanum
Anderson, 1958 (Fig. 4J), Zelandites sp. (Fig. 4D, E), and Baculites
sp. cf. occidentalis Meek, 1862 (Fig. 5F). Also found in the section are
the bivalves Cordiceramus ? sp. (Fig. 5H) and Inoceramus sp. cf.
vancouverensis Shumard, 1859 (Fig. 5G).
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J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
Fig. 5. Fossils from the Tarundl formation at Lawn Hill, Queen Charlotte Islands; all fossils 1and coated with ammonium chloride before photography. A, B. Pachydiscus suciaensis
(Meek, 1862); GSC No. 132354, GSC Loc. C-304209; C, D. Nostoceras hornbyense (Whiteaves, 1895); C. GSC No. 132355, GSC Loc. C-304209, retroversal body chamber hook; D. GSC No.
132356, GSC Loc. C-304210, retroversal body chamber hook; E. Diplomoceras sp. cf. tenuisulcatus (Forbes, 1846); GSC No. 132357, GSC Loc. C-304212; F. Baculites sp. cf. occidentalis
Meek, 1862; GSC No. 132358, GSC Loc. C-304214; G. Inoceramus sp. cf. vancouverensis Shumard, 1859; GSC No. 132359, GSC Loc. C-304209; H. Cordiceramus ? sp.; GSC No. 132360,
GSC Loc. C-304210.
5. Paleomagnetism
Twenty-seven oriented paleomagnetic sample cores were drilled in twenty-five distinct concretions belonging to seven stratigraphic levels spaced through wsixty meters of exposed section. All
samples underwent low alternating-field and progressive thermal
demagnetization in a low-field (<10 nT) shielded furnace, and
progressively decaying remanence was measured on a three-axis
SQuID magnetometer with ambient field shielded to a background
level of generally less than 100 nT and less than 5 nT in the
machine’s sense region. Paleo- and rock-magnetic measurements
were collected using an automated sample-changing system
(Kirschvink et al., 2008) and magnetization directions were
analyzed using least-squares analysis (Kirschvink, 1980) in the
software program Paleomag (Jones, 2002).
For a powdered, representative sample, acquisition of isothermal
remanent magnetization (IRM) effectively saturates between 200
and 300 mT, and alternating field (AF) demagnetization of saturation
IRM indicates a median coercivity of approximately 40 mT; together,
these parameters suggest the presence of detrital magnetite, titanomagnetite, and/or biogenic magnetite (Fig. 6). AF demagnetization
of anhysteretic remanent magnetization (ARM) reduces saturation
IRM to zero at a marginally higher field strength than AF of IRM,
suggesting the presence of single-domain crystals capable of
retaining primary magnetizations against low thermal- and viscousremagnetizing effects for significant periods of time (Cisowski, 1981).
In directional experiments, AF demagnetization up to 10 mT in
1.0 mT to 1.25 mT steps removes low-coercivity components
usually accounting for 25–50 % of net natural remanent intensity.
Post-AF magnetization is generally w5 109 Am2. Samples were
thermally demagnetized in closely-spaced steps from 100 C until
they became unstable, generally between 340 C and 425 C, and
rarely to w 550 C. These elevated unblocking temperatures are
also consistent with magnetite and/or titanomagnetite as the
magnetization carrier, unstable during thermal demagnetization
during calcination reactions.
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
945
6. Discussion
100
AF of ARM
6.1. Zonal assignment
% of maximum intensity
AF of IRM
80
IRM Acquisition
60
QCHS 68
0.98 g
IRM =3.94e-5 A/m
40
max
20
0
1
5
30
50
100
1000
Applied Field (mT)
Fig. 6. Representative rock-magnetic data from Tarundl formation calcareous
concretionary shale. Moderately-interacting ferromagnetic minerals, likely magnetite
and/or titanomagnetite, have median coercivity of w40 mT and mostly saturate
between w200 and w300 mT. A positive modified ‘‘Lowrie-Fuller’’ test with ARM
harder than IRM suggests substantial presence of single-domain particles. Thermal
unblocking spectra (described in the text) also support a mixture of stable singledomain with multi-domain (viscous-remagnetized) magnetite and/or titanomagnetite
particles.
Most samples exhibit a low-coercivity component uniquely
removed by alternating field demagnetization (Fig. 7A). The
mean of this component’s in-situ distribution lies near the
present local field direction (23-sample mean at D ¼ 356.4 ,
I ¼ 76.5 versus present field at D ¼ 22.8 , I ¼ 77.2 using IGRF
2000 model coefficients). Many samples also exhibit a northand moderately-down magnetization of low thermal stability
(< 290 C). Similar to both the present-field direction and to
Cenozoic volcanic magnetizations elsewhere on Graham Island
(Irving et al., 2000), this magnetization is likely a viscous
remagnetization carried by the largest fraction of magnetite/
titanomagnetite grains.
A third component is poorly expressed. A few samples record an
apparently stable endpoint magnetization unblocking above
w290 C with a reversed-polarity direction (Fig. 7C) dissimilar from
any Tertiary remagnetization. One sample yields an apparently
antipodal, north and shallow-down magnetization distinct from
the lower-temperature viscous overprint (Fig. 7B).
Other samples yield remagnetization arcs trending toward the
south and upward-directed reversed-polarity magnetization
(Fig. 7D), but due to inherent ambiguities intersecting remagnetization circle arc constraints absent sufficient reliable endpoint data
(Halls, 1978), it is not possible to determine a mean magnetization
direction with confidence, even though the polarity-call is clear.
Furthermore, the viscous remagnetization is so pervasive that
ancient normal-polarity magnetizations may be indistinct from
higher-temperature tails of viscous overprints, although at least
one sample yields an unquestionably distinct normal-field direction (Fig. 7B).
Collectively, these data nonetheless clearly indicate at least
impersistent recording of reversed-polarity magnetization.
Because latest Campanian time is dominated by normal
polarity with the exception of three short subchrons in C32,
the paleomagnetism of Tarundl formation shale constrains its
depositional age to either 73–72 Ma or else ca. 71 Ma (Ogg
et al., 2004).
Most of the Lawn Hill molluscan taxa are known from other
localities along the Pacific coast of North America. Nostoceras
hornbyense is found commonly in exposures of the upper Nanaimo
Group of British Columbia, especially at Hornby Island where it is
associated with Baculites occidentalis, Didymoceras vancouverense,
and Phyllopachyceras forbesianum (Ward, 1978); examples are also
known from southern Alaska (Jones, 1963). Anagaudryceras politissimum and Damesites sugata are also found in the upper Nanaimo
Group, commonly in association with Pachydiscus suciaensis (Haggart, 1989). The diplomoceratid ammonite Solenoceras mexicanum
is known from the Rosario Formation of Baja California (Anderson,
1958), but, to date, representatives of the genus have not been
recognized north of California (although the southern Alaskan
specimen referred to Pseudoxybeloceras? sp. indet. by Jones 1963
(pl. 16, fig. 9) is likely referable to the genus). The Lawn Hill specimen compared herein with S. mexicanum is of smaller size than the
illustrated Baja examples, although it exhibits similar morphology.
The bivalve Inoceramus vancouverensis is a common component of
Campanian assemblages of the Nanaimo Group and has also been
recognized in the Campanian of California (Matsumoto, 1960).
The ammonite specimen GSC (Geological Survey of Canada) No.
132349, herein assigned to Gaudryceras denmanense (Fig. 4C), bears
strong resemblance to material figured by Jones (1963, pl. 9, pl. 10,
figs. 1–3) as Gaudryceras tenuiliratum Yabe; the strong and dense
ribbing in the intermediate growth-stage of Jones’ specimens
stands in contrast to that of typical examples of G. denmanense (cf.
Usher, 1952, pl. 4, figs. 1–2; Haggart, 1989, pl. 8.3, fig. 1). Earlier
work on gaudryceratids of the Nanaimo Group led Haggart (1989)
to synonymize Jones’ materials within G. denmanense. The present
coarsely ribbed specimen, found at the same level as more
smoothly-ornamented forms readily assigned to G. denmanense,
thus illustrates the variability found within single populations of
Upper Cretaceous gaudryceratids and may have implications for
taxonomic assignments of gaudryceratids in other regions, as well
as the specific composition of the genus.
Based on the presence of Pachydiscus suciaensis, the strata at
Lawn Hill are broadly referable to the Pachydiscus suciaensis Zone of
western Canada. Jeletzky (1970a,b) established the Pachydiscus
suciaensis Zone for fossiliferous Upper Cretaceous strata of the
Pacific slope of Canada containing the zonal index and other taxa,
including the heteromorph Nostoceras hornbyense. The Pachydiscus
suciaensis Zone is well developed in the Nanaimo Group of Vancouver Island where it has been interpreted previously to have
a late Campanian to possibly early Maastrichtian age (Jeletzky,
1970b; Ward, 1978; Haggart, 1995; w 77–71 Ma); the zone has not
been recognized elsewhere in British Columbia prior to this report.
Ward (1978, table 1) furthermore suggested that strata of the
P. suciaensis Zone on Vancouver Island and adjacent regions containing the heteromorph Nostoceras hornbyense and other ammonite taxa comprise a local zonule within the upper part of the
P. suciaensis Zone. Nostoceras hornbyense and Pachydiscus suciaensis
both occur in the Lawn Hill section at GSC Loc. 304209, approximately 4 meters above the base of the section (Fig. 3); neither taxon
is recognized higher in the stratigraphic section at Lawn Hill.
Based on the new recognition of the Nostoceras hornbyense
fauna on Queen Charlotte Islands, and the previous identification
of N. hornbyense in southern Alaska (Jones, 1963), we propose that
the N. hornbyense zonule be elevated to the status of a formal
faunal zone for the Pacific coast region of western Canada,
stratigraphically succeeding the Pachydiscus suciaensis Zone
(Fig. 8); the stratigraphic section at Lawn Hill is thus assigned to
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J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
A
LH
Geographic
coordinates
300 C
390 C
B
250 C
LH
QCHS 240
Tilt-corrected coordinates
210 C
D
LH
QCHS 53
Tilt-corrected coordinates
NRM
125 C
125 - 190 C
250 C
NRM
260 C
NRM
160 C
AF <10 mT
290 C
175 C
Tilt-corrected coordinates
QCHS 263
LH
UH
225 C
C
345 C
290 - 520 C
Fig. 7. Paleomagnetic characterization of Cretaceous strata at Lawn Hill on equal-area stereonet diagrams. A. In-situ, well-defined low-coercivity overprints removed by alternatingfield demagnetization to 10 mT. 95% confidence interval indicated, overlapping the present field direction (asterisk). B. Normal-polarity end-point magnetization distinct from
present-field viscous overprint. C. Well-defined, reversed-polarity endpoint distinct from present-field viscous overprint, approximately antipodal to normal-polarity end-point
magnetization in B and dissimilar from any plausible Tertiary remagnetization. D. Poorly-defined suggestion of reversed polarity, indicated by remagnetization arc trending away
from present-field direction at ever-higher temperature steps. Subsequent thermal steps yielded unstable magnetization behaviour, presumably associated with magnetic mineral
alteration associated with calcination reactions. LH ¼ Lower Hemisphere; UH ¼ Upper Hemisphere.
the new Nostoceras hornbyense Zone. The base of the new faunal
zone on Queen Charlotte Islands is located ca. 4 meters above the
base of the exposed section at Lawn Hill (ca. UTM Grid Reference
306475E, 5923050N, Zone 9; NAD 27), at the first occurrence in
the section of N. hornbyense. The upper limit of the zone is not
seen, but continues to the top of the exposed section (ca. UTM
Grid Reference 306450E, 5922800N, Zone 9; NAD 27), which is
cut by a Neogene dike.
The Nostoceras hornbyense Zone is the youngest ammonite
faunal zone recognized to date in the Cretaceous of Pacific coast
Canada. Exposures of the zone on Hornby Island (Fig. 1) constitute
the stratigraphically-highest fossiliferous strata within the Northumberland Formation of the Nanaimo Group. Higher Nanaimo
Group strata of the Spray Formation on Hornby Island are inferred
also to be Late Cretaceous in age (Jeletzky, 1970b; Ward, 1978), but,
to date, these submarine-fan deposits have not produced diagnostic faunal elements.
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
L
Ward (1978)
No faunas known
This paper
No faunas known
?
70.6
U
Campanian
Maastrichtian
Stage (Ma)
?
N. hornbyense
Pachydiscus
zonule
suciaensis
?
?
Metaplacenticeras
cf. pacificum
Hoplitoplacenticeras
vancouverense
L
Sant.
83.5
Nostoceras hornbyense
Pachydiscus suciaensis
Metaplacenticeras
cf. pacificum
Hoplitoplacenticeras
vancouverense
Baculites chicoensis
Baculites chicoensis
Sphenoceramus
schmidti
Eubostrychoceras
elongatum
Sphenoceramus
ex gr. schmidti
Fig. 8. Campanian-Maastrichtian molluscan biostratigraphic zonation for western
Canada proposed by Ward (1978) and that favored here. Absolute ages after Ogg et al.
(2004). Sant. ¼ Santonian.
The N. hornbyense Zone of western Canada is also broadly
correlative with the Pachydiscus kamishakensis Zone of southern
Alaska (Jones, 1963), which has been assigned to the uppermost
Campanian to lowermost Maastrichtian (Jones, 1963) and contains
similar taxonomic components, including N. hornbyense.
6.2. Age
The age of the Pachydiscus suciaensis Zone, including strata of
the new Nostoceras hornbyense Zone, was previously interpreted
as latest Campanian to earliest Maastrichtian (Jeletzky, 1970b),
based on foraminiferal data from the well exposed succession of
the upper Nanaimo Group on Hornby Island (McGugan, 1979);
this interpretation for the age of the zone has been followed
subsequently by most workers (e.g. Ward, 1978; Haggart, 1989;
England and Hiscott, 1992; Mustard, 1994). Although precise
correlation of the North Pacific Upper Cretaceous sequences with
European international stratotypes is problematic, due to limited
numbers of shared taxa and long ranges of a number of species,
several of the ammonite taxa present in the Nostoceras hornbyense Zone at Lawn Hill have a restricted stratigraphic range and,
we argue, serve to establish a late Campanian age for the zone
(w 75–70 Ma).
Haggart (1989) showed that Gaudryceras denmanense is restricted
to strata of late Campanian age in the upper part of the Nanaimo
Group of the Vancouver Island area. In addition, the diplomoceratid
ammonite Solenoceras has been collected from the Lawn Hill
succession. Examples of this genus are rare from west coast of North
America, but are common in middle and, especially upper Campanian
strata of other regions, including the US Western Interior (Scott and
Cobban, 1986; Larson et al., 1997; Kennedy et al., 2000) and Gulf Coast
(Stephenson, 1941; Cobban and Kennedy, 1994), Europe (Küchler and
Odin, 2001; Naidin, 1974) and the Middle East (Lewy, 1969), Japan
(Tanaka, 1980; Matsumoto and Morozumi, 1980; Morozumi, 1985),
and Chile (Hünicken et al., 1975).
The zonal namesake of the Nostoceras hornbyense Zone is also
known from upper Campanian deposits in other regions, including
the US Gulf Coast (Cobban and Kennedy, 1994). Material compared
with N. hornbyense is known from the upper Campanian of
947
southern Alaska (Jones, 1963), and the upper Campanian of Nigeria
(Zaborski, 1985) and Angola (Howarth, 1965). Similarly, the closely
comparable Didymoceras awajiense is known from upper Campanian deposits of Japan (Morozumi, 1985). Unfortunately, the inoceramid bivalves present in the Lawn Hill assemblage must be
considered non-diagnostic, as they are only compared tentatively
with other known taxa from the west coast of North America.
Interestingly, the ammonite Pachydiscus neubergicus has not yet
been reported from Upper Cretaceous deposits of west coast
Canada and the United States. In the western Pacific region, this
worldwide index of the lower Maastrichtian (Kennedy and Summesberger, 1986; Christensen et al., 2000) is known from both
Australia (Henderson and McNamara, 1985) and Far East Russia
(Vereshchagin et al., 1965; Yazykova, 1994, 2004; Zonova et al.,
1993). We argue that the lack of this widespread marker in both the
Nostoceras hornbyense and underlying Pachydiscus suciaensis zones,
although certainly not definitive, is additional evidence that these
molluscan faunas are of late Campanian age and do not extend into
the early Maastrichtian.
The late Campanian age of the Nostoceras hornbyense Zone at
Lawn Hill is also supported by radiolarian microfossils (Fig. 9).
Calcareous nodules collected from near the top of the Lawn Hill
section yielded the first Campanian radiolarians identified from
western Canada. Included are Porodiscus cretaceus Campbell &
Clark, Pseudoaulophacus cf. floresensis Pessagno, Stichomitra carnegiensis (Campbell & Clark), S. cf. livermorensis (Campbell & Clark),
and S. sp. A, all from GSC Loc. C-210839.
Porodiscus cretaceus, Stichomitra carnegiensis, and S. livermorensis were described by Campbell and Clark (1944) from the top
of the Cretaceous series (Corral Hollow shale) of the Tesla Quadrangle east of San Francisco, California. An ammonite found with
this fauna was reported as Lytoceras (Tetragonites) aff. epigonus, now
assigned to the Campanian species Tetragonites popetensis (Matsumoto, 1959). Pseudoaulophacus floresensis was described from
lower Campanian strata in Puerto Rico (Pessagno, 1963), and is
common in the lower to upper Campanian Crucella espartoensis
Zone of the Great Valley sequence in California (Pessagno, 1976).
Stichomitra sp. A figured herein appears identical to a species
from Shikoku, Japan identified by Hashimoto and Ishida (1997, pl. 3,
fig. 10) as S. carnegiensis. This species is included in the Amphipyndax pseudoconulus Assemblage Zone of Japan, which the
authors indicate is upper Campanian based on associated Inoceramus balticus and Pravitoceras sigmoidale. Both the Japanese specimen and ours differ from Stichomitra carnegiensis in having fewer
chambers and a much simpler pattern of ornamentation on distal
chambers and are probably a different species; nevertheless the age
assignment is pertinent.
Based on the evidence presented above, the radiolarian
assemblage from Lawn Hill is probably late Campanian in age and
illustrates the wide distribution of radiolarians in Panthalassa
during the Late Cretaceous.
The age for the Lawn Hill Tarundl formation section suggested by
radiolarians thus supports the age assignment based on molluscs. The
late Campanian age indicated by molluscs and radiolarians also
supports placement of the Lawn Hill section within one of the short
reversed subchrons within or adjacent to Chron C32 (Ogg et al., 2004).
We prefer correlation of the Lawn Hill section with the stratigraphically-highest of these subchrons as the age of the Nostoceras
hornbyense Zone at Lawn Hill is assigned to the high Campanian.
Given their late Campanian age, the Tarundl formation exposures at Lawn Hill represent the youngest Cretaceous strata known
on Queen Charlotte Islands. Indeed, the next older Cretaceous fauna
known from Queen Charlotte Islands, also from the Tarundl
formation but exposed in the western Skidegate Inlet area, is of late
Santonian to early Campanian age (Haggart and Higgs, 1989).
948
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
Fig. 9. Radiolarians from upper Campanian beds at Lawn Hill, Queen Charlotte Islands; all specimens from GSC loc. C-210839. Length of scale bar ¼ 100 micrometres (mm) for each
illustration. A. Porodiscus cretaceus Campbell & Clark, GSC No. 132361. B. Pseudoaulophacus cf. floresensis Pessagno, GSC No. 132362. C. Stichomitra carnegiensis (Campbell & Clark),
GSC No. 132363. D. Stichomitra sp. A., GSC No. 132364. E. Stichomitra cf. livermorensis (Campbell & Clark), GSC No. 132365.
7. Conclusions
We have recognized the Nostoceras hornbyense zonule of the
Pachydiscus suciaensis Zone of the west coast North American Upper
Cretaceous in strata on Queen Charlotte Islands, British Columbia. A
stratigraphic section exposed in the intertidal region at Lawn Hill, on
the east coast of the islands, includes both N. hornbyense and P.
suciaensis, as well as a diverse assemblage of ammonites and inoceramids that are assigned a late Campanian age. Radiolarians
associated with the mollusc fossils also support a late Campanian
age. Calcareous concretions found in the section exhibit reversedpolarity magnetization which we correlate with Chron 32r.
The N. hornbyense Zonule of the P. suciaensis Zone was established by Ward (1978), based on limited exposures in the Nanaimo
Group of southwestern British Columbia. Based on the new data
demonstrating that N. hornbyense is more widely distributed along
the west coast of North America than previously considered, we
have proposed that this zonule be raised to zonal status. So far as
known, the N. hornbyense Zone is restricted to the upper Campanian along the west coast of North America, as diagnostic fossils of
the lower Maastrichtian, such as Pachydiscus neubergicus and its
equivalents, have yet to be found in association with the zonal
index. As well, the highest fossiliferous exposures of the Northumberland Formation at Hornby Island, British Columbia, which
are rich with N. hornbyense, can be correlated with the uppermost
Campanian, rather than the lower Maastrichtian as postulated
previously (McGugan in Jeletzky 1970b); however, stratigraphically-higher strata on Hornby Island (Geoffrey, Spray, and
J.W. Haggart et al. / Cretaceous Research 30 (2009) 939–951
Gabriola formations), which are poor in macrofossils, likely include
Maastrichtian rocks.
Acknowledgments
Fieldwork in 1998 and 1999 was supported by NSF Grant EAR9432487 to PW and JK and by Geological Survey of Canada project
880038 (JWH). An earlier version of this manuscript benefited from
comments by Randy Enkin and Ken Kodama. We thank Cory
Brimblecombe and Rod Bartlett for fossil preparation, Peter Krauss
for photography, and Hillary Taylor for technical assistance. The
manuscript benefited significantly from the reviews of two anonymous reviewers. Geological Survey of Canada contribution
20080419.
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Appendix. Fossil localities
Data from Geological Survey of Canada Paleontological Database, Vancouver,
British Columbia. All fossil localities are those of Geological Survey of Canada (GSC)
and are located on NTS Topographic Map 103G/05 (Lawnhill).
951
GSC Loc. C-187385. Zone 9, 306475E, 5923025N; near base of exposed
stratigraphic section; Coll. J.W. Haggart, 1990.
GSC Loc. C-304209. 306475E, 5923025N; 4.2 m above base of exposed stratigraphic
section; Coll. J.W. Haggart, 1998.
GSC Loc. C-304210. 306475E, 5923025N; 8.5 m above base of exposed
stratigraphic section; Coll. J.W. Haggart, 1998.
GSC Loc. C-304212. 306475E, 5923025N; 42.0 m above base of exposed
stratigraphic section; Coll. J.W. Haggart, 1998.
GSC Loc. C-304213. 306475E, 5923025N; 42.0 m above base of exposed stratigraphic
section; Coll. J.W. Haggart, 1998.
GSC Loc. C-304214. 306475E, 5923025N; 49.5 m above base of exposed
stratigraphic section; Coll. J.W. Haggart, 1998.
GSC Loc. C-210839. 53 25.430 N, 131 54.770 W; near top of exposed stratigraphic
section; Coll. E.S. Carter, 1993.