Yochelcionella (Mollusca, Helcionelloida) from the lower Cambrian of North America

Abstract

Five named species of the helcionelloid mollusc genus Yochelcionella Runnegar & Pojeta, 1974 are recognized from the lower Cambrian (Cambrian Series 2) of North America: Yochelcionella erecta (Walcott, 1891), Y. americana Runnegar & Pojeta, 1980, Y. chinensis Pei, 1985, Y. greenlandica Atkins & Peel, 2004 and Y. gracilis Atkins & Peel, 2004, linking lower Cambrian outcrops along the present north-eastern seaboard. Yochelcionella erecta, an Avalonian species, is described for the first time; other species are derived from Laurentia. A revised concept of the Chinese species, Y. chinensis, is based mainly on a large sample from the Forteau Formation of western Newfoundland and the species may have stratigraphic utility between Cambrian palaeocontinents.