A new Early Cretaceous articulate brachiopod from the Northwest Territories, Canada, and its paleobiogeographic significance

Abstract

A new terebratellid brachiopod species, Modestella jeletzkyi n. sp., is described from the Early Cretaceous of Prince Patrick Island, Northwest Territories, Canada. The occurrence extends the paleobiogeographic range of Modestella from northwest Europe into the northern high-latitudes of the North American continent. This new record of Modestella suggests brachiopod dispersal between northwest Europe and North America via the East Greenland Seaway, probably during the Albian. The occurrences of two other Cretaceous terebratellid genera, Advenina and Psilothyris, are updated. They are both homeomorphic with Modestella. Advenina, from the Tethyan and Jura regions of Europe, is now recorded from the Early Cretaceous of Sardinia. The occurrence of Psilothyris in North America and Europe is best explained by dispersal through the opening central Atlantic Ocean, indicating the continuation of Hispanic Corridor-type faunal links established during the Jurassic.