A Late Devonian Porolepiform fish (Holoptychius) and the age of the Kennebecasis Formation, southern New Brunswick, Canada

Authors

  • Randall F. Miller Steinhammer Palaeontology Laboratory, New Brunswick Museum, Saint John, New Brunswick E2K 1E5 Canada
  • Martin D. Brazeau Subdepartment of Evolutionary Organismal Biology, Department of Physiology and Developmental Biology, Evolutionary Biology Centre, Uppsala University, Norbyvägen 18A, SE-752-36, Uppsala, Sweden

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4138/5650

Abstract

The occurrence of Holoptychius from southern New Brunswick, Canada, adds a new locality to eastern North America and suggests the assignment of a Late Devonian age for the Kennebecasis Formation. The formation has been considered Early Carboniferous based on a plant assemblage including Lepidodendron corrugatum and Aneimites acadica. Plant fossils likely originate from rocks overlying the Kennebecasis Formation, and are part of an unmapped westward extension of the Carboniferous Albert Formation to the Saint John area. The palaeobiogeographic implications of Holoptychius suggest the cryptic presence of a classic Late Devonian fish assemblage in southern New Brunswick and the possibility that tetrapod or near-tetrapod remains may be recovered from fossil-bearing horizons within the Kennebecasis Formation. RÉSUMÉ La manifestation de l’Holoptychius dans le Sud du Nouveau-Brunswick, Canada, ajoute un nouvel emplacement dans l’Est de l’Amérique du Nord et permet d’attribuer l’âge du Dévonien tardif à la Formation de Kennebecasis. La Formation était considérée comme une unité du Carbonifère précoce d’après un assemblage végétal comprenant le Lepidodendron corrugatum et l’Aneimites acadica. Les fossiles végétaux proviennent probablement de roches recouvrant la Formation de Kennebecasis et font partie d’un prolongement non cartographié de la Formation carbonifère d’Albert en direction ouest jusqu’à la région de Saint-Jean. Les répercussions paléobiogéographiques de la manifestation de l’Holoptychius laissent supposer la présence cryptique d’un assemblage de poissons classique du Dévonien tardif dans le Sud du Nouveau-Brunswick et la possibilité d’une récupération de restes de tétrapodes ou de quasi-tétrapodes des horizons fossilifères à l’intérieur de la Formation de Kennebecasis.

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How to Cite

Miller, R. F., & Brazeau, M. D. (2007). A Late Devonian Porolepiform fish (Holoptychius) and the age of the Kennebecasis Formation, southern New Brunswick, Canada. Atlantic Geoscience, 43, Pages 187 – 196. https://doi.org/10.4138/5650

Issue

Vol. 43 (2007)

Section

Articles

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