Ammonite succession in the Kimmeridgian of southwestern Barents Sea, and the Amoeboceras zonation of the Boreal Kimmeridgian

Abstract

Shallow cores drilled in the southwestern Barents Sea have revealed Kimmeridgian strata with a fairly complete succession of species of the ammonite genus Amoeboceras. The taxonomical problems of these ammonites are discussed, and the new species Amoeboceras (Euprionoceras) norvegicum WIERZBOWSKI, sp.n., is established. The recognized ammonite succession is compared with these described previously from East Greenland and Spitsbergen, and the new zonal scheme based entirely on the representatives of the genus Amoeboceras is proposed for the Boreal Kimmeridgian. In this scheme four zones are distinguished: the Bauhini Zone, the Kitchini Zone (with the Subkitchini horizon, and the Modestum horizon), the Kochi Zone (with the Norvegicum horizon, and the Kochi horizon), and the Elegans Zone.