A CORE DRILLING THROUGH FURONGIAN (UPPER CAMBRIAN) STRATA IN THE SOUTH WESTERNMOST TIP OF SWEDEN: TRILOBITES AND STRATIGRAPHICAL ASSESSMENT

A drilling made in 1972 at Håslöv, Scania, southern Sweden, penetrated a 2572 m thick succession of Phanerozoic strata. The only parts of the succession that were cored came from the Upper Ordovician and the Furongian (upper Cambrian) series. Only the uppermost part of the Furongian was recovered, comprising eight meters of alum shale with three limestone concretions. Nine species and subspecies of trilobites are identified and their succession is used for subdividing the core into two zones and three subzones. These are the Peltura scarabaeoides Zone, comprising the Parabolina lobata Subzone and the Peltura paradoxa Subzone, and the Acerocare Zone, comprising the Peltura transiens Subzone. The faunal succession is interrupted by conspicuous unfossiliferous intervals; the most extensive one measuring 3.39 m. Westergård (1944) recorded an approximately coeval barren interval in other drill cores from southern Sweden, e.g. at Södra Sandby (5.3 m), Andrarum (4.1 m), and Gislövshammar (3.9 m). Although the ecological significance of these intervals remains to be evaluated, it can be concluded that they are a regional feature in the Furongian of southern Sweden.

Reference

Westergård, A.H., 1944: Borrningar genom Skånes alunskiffer 1941–42. Sveriges Geologiska Undersökning C 459, 1–45.