Chitinozoan biostratigraphy of the Upper Ordovician Greenscoe section, Southern Lake District, UK

Nineteen samples taken in the Upper Ordovician Kirkley Bank Formation at the recent Greenscoe section yielded a rich and moderately to well preserved chitinozoan assemblage, in spite of a high Conodont Colour Alteration Index. Within the assemblage, the Baltoscandian Fungochitina spinifera Biozone could be recognized, indicating a strong faunal exchange between the Baltica palaeocontinent and the Avalonian palaeomicrocontinent during the Late Ordovician. This biozone allowed a strong correlation with new chitinozoan biozonations in the Cautley district and Cross Fell Inlier, resulting in a late Onnian to early Cautleyan age for the Kirkley Bank Formation at Greenscoe.