Late Maastrichtian and Danian ostracode faunas from northern Alaska

Abstract

A 300-m sequence of well-exposed fossiliferous outcrops in bluffs along the Colville River, northern Aslaska, has yielded diverse, well-preserved Maastrichtian and Danian ostracode assemblages. The Maastrichtian strata are nonmarine flood-plain deposits and contain diverse terrestrial and aquatic fossils. The Danian strata are predominantly marginal-marine and shallow-marine and include an abundant and diverse invertebrate fauna. During the Maastrichtian and early Palaeocene, polar terrestrial and marine assemblages consisted predominantly of endemic organisms that were adapted to the cool temperatures, seasonal low light conditions, and geographic isolation characteristic of northern high-latitude environments. -from Authors Show more