Kanguk Formation

Kanguk Formation
Stratigraphic range: Cenomanian-Maastrichtian
~99–66 Ma
TypeGeological formation
Sub-unitsEglinton Member
UnderliesExpedition Formation
OverliesHassel Formation
Thicknessup to 365 metres (1,200 ft)
Lithology
PrimaryShale, siltstone
OtherSandstone, tuff
Location
Coordinates79°14′24″N 92°21′58″W / 79.24°N 92.36613°W / 79.24; -92.36613 (Kanguk Formation)
RegionNorthwest Territories, Nunavut
CountryCanada
Type section
Named forKanguk Peninsula
Named bySouther
Year defined1963
Kanguk Formation is located in Canada
Kanguk Formation
Kanguk Formation (Canada)

The Kanguk Formation is a geological formation in the Northwest Territories and Nunavut, Canada whose strata date back to the Late Cretaceous. Dinosaur remains are among the fossils that have been recovered from the formation.

It was first described in the Kanguk Peninsula of the Axel Heiberg Island, along the shore of the Stand Fiord by Souther in 1963. The formation occurs throughout the Sverdrup Basin and the southern Queen Elizabeth Islands.

Lithology

The Kanguk Formation is composed of dark shale and siltstone with interbeds of sandstone, bentonite and tuff. Thicker sandstone and conglomerate beds occur in the western reaches in Eglinton Island.

Fossil content

The Kanguk Formation preserves an extensive record of shelf assemblages rich in benthic foraminifera that reveal numerous pulses of local hypoxia. Fish fossils have been unearthed here.

Paleobiota of the Kanguk Formation
GenusSpeciesLocationStratigraphic positionAbundanceDescriptionImages
Canadaga C. arctica A Hesperomithes
Hesperornis Indeterminate
Hadrosauridae Indeterminate
Lambeosaurinae Indeterminate
Tyrannosauroidea Indeterminate
Ornithomimidae Indeterminate
Plesiosauroidea Indeterminate
Aurorachelys A. gaffneyi
Mosasauridae Indeterminate
Champsosaurus Champsosaurus sp.

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Lexicon of Canadian Geological Units (17 Dec 2009). "Kanguk Formation". Natural Resources Canada. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
  2. ↑ Davies, Marissa A.; Schröder-Adams, Claudia J.; Herrle, Jens O.; Hülse, Peter; Schneider, Simon; Quesnel, Alex; Harwood, David M. (2018-03-28). "Integrated biostratigraphy and carbon isotope stratigraphy for the Upper Cretaceous Kanguk Formation of the High Arctic Sverdrup Basin, Canada". GSA Bulletin. 130 (9–10): 1540–1561. doi:10.1130/B31858.1. ISSN 0016-7606.
  3. 1 2 3 Weishampel, David B; et al. (2004). "Dinosaur distribution (Late Cretaceous, North America)." In: Weishampel, David B.; Dodson, Peter; and Osmólska, Halszka (eds.): The Dinosauria, 2nd, Berkeley: University of California Press. Pp. 574-588. ISBN 0-520-24209-2.
  4. ↑ Geological Survey of Canada Map 36-1959
  5. ↑ Schröder-Adams, Claudia J.; Herrle, Jens O.; Embry, Ashton F.; Haggart, James W.; Galloway, Jennifer M.; Pugh, Adam T.; Harwood, David M. (1 November 2014). "Aptian to Santonian foraminiferal biostratigraphy and paleoenvironmental change in the Sverdrup Basin as revealed at Glacier Fiord, Axel Heiberg Island, Canadian Arctic Archipelago". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 413: 81–100. Bibcode:2014PPP...413...81S. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2014.03.010. Retrieved 6 November 2022.
  6. ↑ Friedman, Matt; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B. (2003-12-01). "Fossil fishes from the high Canadian Arctic: further palaeobiological evidence for extreme climatic warmth during the Late Cretaceous (Turonian–Coniacian)". Cretaceous Research. 24 (6): 615–632. doi:10.1016/j.cretres.2003.07.001. ISSN 0195-6671.
  7. ↑ Vavrek, Matthew J.; Hills, Len V.; Currie, Philip J. (2014-03-18). "A Hadrosaurid (Dinosauria: Ornithischia) from the Late Cretaceous (Campanian) Kanguk Formation of Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada, and Its Ecological and Geographical Implications". Arctic. 67 (1): 1–9–1–9. doi:10.14430/arctic4362. ISSN 1923-1245.
  8. ↑ Gangloff, Roland A. (2012-07-10). Dinosaurs Under the Aurora. Indiana University Press. pp. 16–18. ISBN 978-0-253-00080-4.
  9. ↑ "Northernmost Dinosaur Find Was A Tough Canadian". HuffPost. 2014-04-04. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  10. 1 2 Brownstein, Chase D. (2018-02-08). "The biogeography and ecology of the Cretaceous non-avian dinosaurs of Appalachia". Palaeontologia Electronica. 21 (1): 1–56. doi:10.26879/801. ISSN 1094-8074.
  11. ↑ Currie, Philip J (2001-12-01). "Sino-Canadian Dinosaur Project / Le Projet dinosaurien sino-canadiens". Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences. 38 (12): vii–viii. doi:10.1139/e01-083. ISSN 0008-4077.
  12. ↑ McFeeters, B. (2015). "Evolution and Diversity of Ornithomimid Dinosaurs in the Upper Cretaceous Belly River Group of Alberta" (PDF). Ottawa, Ontario, Canada: Carleton University. pp. 1–253.
  13. ↑ Vandermark, Deborah; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B. (2006). "Late Cretaceous Plesiosaur Teeth from Axel Heiberg Island, Nunavut, Canada". Arctic. 59 (1): 79–82. ISSN 0004-0843.
  14. ↑ Vandermark, Deborah; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B.; Cottrell, Rory D.; Mason, Stephanie (2009-02-01). "New Late Cretaceous macrobaenid turtle with Asian affinities from the High Canadian Arctic: Dispersal via ice-free polar routes". Geology. 37 (2): 183–186. doi:10.1130/G25415A.1. ISSN 0091-7613.
  15. ↑ Sohn, Emily (2009-03-06). "Tropical turtle fossil found in Arctic". NBC News. Retrieved 2025-04-04.
  16. ↑ https://paleobiodb.org/classic/basicCollectionSearch?collection_no=118411
  17. ↑ Vandermark, Deborah; Tarduno, John A.; Brinkman, Donald B. (2007-05-14). "A fossil champsosaur population from the high Arctic: Implications for Late Cretaceous paleotemperatures". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology. 248 (1): 49–59. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2006.11.008. ISSN 0031-0182.
  18. ↑ Tarduno, J. A.; Brinkman, D. B.; Renne, P. R.; Cottrell, R. D.; Scher, H.; Castillo, P. (1998-12-18). "Evidence for Extreme Climatic Warmth from Late Cretaceous Arctic Vertebrates". Science. 282 (5397): 2241–2243. doi:10.1126/science.282.5397.2241. ISSN 0036-8075.

Further reading