The first remopleuridioidean trilobite and the earliest Parabolinella species recorded in the Furongian of Scandinavia

Abstract

The furongian of Mount Kinnekulle, Västergötland, Sweden (Fig. 1) is exposed in a number of road cuts, stream cuts, and abandoned alum shale quarries scattered around the mountain (e.g., Westergård, 1922, fig. 18; Müller and Hinz, 1991, fig. 2). Stratigraphically, the exposed successions span the Olenus gibbosus Zone through the Peltura paradoxa Zone (Fig. 2), and they have a maximum thickness of ca 12 m (Westergård, 1943). The strata consist of interfingering layers of alum shale and bituminous limestone (colloquially referred to as “orsten”). Trilobites, predominantly olenids, occur frequently throughout the succession, although they are generally restricted to the limestones. During an investigation of trilobites in the Lotagnostus americanus Zone (Fig. 2) at two localities on Kinnekulle, the second author (JA) recovered two unusual trilobites. After a closer examination they could be assigned to Elkanaspis Ludvigsen, 1982 and Parabolinella Br⊘gger, 1882, both of which are extremely rare in the Furongian of Scandinavia.