Trilobite biogeography and Cambrian tectonic models

Abstract

The biogeographic patterns of Cambrian trilobites are almost impossible to explain on an Early Palaeozoic Pangaea but may be explained by relative movements of several continental blocks separated by wide ocean basins. Realms, regions, provinces and sub-provinces are recognised by progressively agglomerating 450 faunal lists, based on 1371 genera, distributed through eleven time segments. The agglomerating method proposed, is a simple one that may be performed by hand or computer and provides Medial Cambrian results similar to those of Jell (1974) who used principal components and cluster analyses. Simplified results are obtained when time segments are combined or when only the largest list from each 10° (lat. × long.) tessera is used or when only illustrated papers are used or when only lists containing ⩾ 3, 5 or 10 genera are used. The program was also run with all of the presumably planktonic miomerids removed resulting in smaller, better defined provinces with few links between tectonic blocks. The number of polymerid-only realms is three in Albertella Zone times, four in Glossopleura Zone and Eluinia/Conaspis Zone times and five in all other time segments. The average five realms recognised tend to be restricted to one (or rarely two) of the major tectonic blocks: America (excluding Boston and maritime Canada), Europe (including Morocco), Siberia, China and Australia. The existence of the American realm in Argentina through most of the Cambrian and the unlikelihood of a dismembered Gondwanaland necessitates using the latitudinal control hypothesis of Palmer (1972). This hypothesis places the European realm in high palaeolatitudes, the American realm in low palaeolatitudes in the Southern Hemisphere, the Australian realm in low palaeolatitudes in the Northern Hemisphere and the Siberian realm in temperate palaeolatitudes in the Southern Hemisphere. When the miomerids are included, connections between the peripheral ocean-facing regions of one tectonic block are frequently strong with other tectonic blocks. Some of these connections are preserved even when the miomerids are excluded suggesting that many polymerids were pelagic. Connections between Siberia and ocean-facing regions of North America are particularly strong throughout most of the Cambrian.