Middle Ordovician (late Dapingian–Darriwilian) conodonts from the Cow Head Group and Lower Head Formation, western Newfoundland, Canada1This article is one of a series of papers published in CJES Special Issue: In honour of Ward Neale on the theme of Appalachian and Grenvillian geology.

Abstract

Middle Ordovician (late Dapingian–Darriwilian) conodonts from the Shallow Bay and Green Point formations, Cow Head Group, and the Lower Head Formation are recorded from three sections in Gros Morne National Park. The collection was investigated to clarify local age relationships between the uppermost part of the Cow Head Group and the interbedded to overlying sediments of the Lower Head Formation. Conodonts from St. Pauls Inlet North section indicate a middle Dapingian age for the upper lower Bed 13, latest Dapingian to early Darriwilian age for the upper Bed 13, an early Darriwilian (Dw 1) age for the top beds or Bed 15 of the Shallow Bay Formation at Lower Head, and the Lower Head Formation is referred to the Darriwilian. The uppermost part of the lower Bed 13 contains Periodon hankensis n. sp., Gothodus sp. A , and Diaphorodus delicatus followed by Periodon macrodentatus , Ansella longicuspica , Erraticodon n. sp. A , and Spinodus wardi n. sp. in the lowermost part of upper Bed 13. The fauna with P. macrodentatus is referred to the newly established Periodon macrodentatus conodont (phylo-)Zone, which is used for global correlation. The uppermost fauna in the Cow Head Group, i.e., Bed 15, includes Histiodella holodentata , Nealeodus martinpointensis , Oistodella pulchra , Dzikodus peavyi , and Yangtzeplacognathus n. sp. A , which are included in the Histiodella holodentata conodont (Bio-)Subzone of the Periodon macrodentatus Zone. Nealeodus is a new genus introduced here; Periodon hankensis n. sp. and Spinodus wardi n. sp. are new species described from the beds 13 and 15, respectively, in the Cow Head Group; Drepanodus aff. D. giganteus , Drepanodus aff. D. robustus , Erraticodon n. sp. A, Protopanderodus cf. P. cooperi , P. cf. P. varicostatus , and Yangtzeplacognathus n. sp. A are taxa referred to in open nomenclature.