Abstract
The German mining term lagerstatten, referring to a rock of any composition containing constituents of economic interest, has been widely applied to occurrences of abundant or unusually well preserved fossils (cf. Seilacher et al., 1985). The Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of western Canada is perhaps the most famous of all fossil-lagerstatt, with many of the approximately 140 known species preserving exquisite details of the soft anatomy of members of a community of organisms that was fossilised more than 500 million years ago (Whittington, 1985: Conway Morris, 1979, 1986; Gould, 1989). Other well known examples include the Upper Cambrian 'Orsten' of southern Sweden, the Lower Devonian Hunsruck Slate and the Jurassic Solnhofen Limestone of Germany (Stürmer et al.. 1980; Muller, 1985; Barthel et al. 1990; summary in Briggs & Crowther, 1990, pp. 266–297). The term can be applied aptly to the Sirius Passet fauna of central North Greenland, where a wealth of exceptionally preserved fossils (e.g. Fig. 1) from tile Lower Cambrian Buen Formation has been recorded from a small locality in western Peary Land, near the south-western end of the broad valley known as Sirius Passet (Fig. 2). The locality yielding the Sirius
Highlights
The locality yiclding the Sirius Passet fauna \\'as discovered in 1984, but substantial cullecting was first possiblc in 1989 (Conway Morris rI al.. 1987; Conway Morris & Peel, 1990; Peel, 1990)
Transport hoth to and \vithin North Greenland was co-ordinatcd with scvcral Dlher grollps from Dnnish SCiCfltific institutions under a logisIie umbrelln providcd by Dansk Polarcen~ t
Thc stccply-dipping fossiliferous mudstoncs uf the Buen Fonnation occur in dase proximity to horizontally-bcdclcJ platform carhonates of tlle stratigraphically older Portfjeld Fonnation; this contact has hcen inlerpreted pn.:viously as a slruclural feature, citllcr a down-Io-basill normal fault Ol' a back-thrllst
Summary
The locality yiclding the Sirius Passet fauna \\'as discovered in 1984, but substantial cullecting was first possiblc in 1989 (Conway Morris rI al.. 1987; Conway Morris & Peel, 1990; Peel, 1990). During July - e(}r!y August IYYI,
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