The kho-nelege section of the ogon'or formation: A potential candidate for the GSSP of stage 10, Cambrian system

Abstract

The International Subcommission on Cambrian Stratigraphy (ISCS) has recommended a subdivision of the Cambrian System into four series and ten stages. The first appearance datum (FAD) of the cosmopolitan agnostoid trilobite Lotagnostus americanus has been chosen as a good indicator for the base of the uppermost Cambrian stage (Stage 10). The Khos-Nelege section located in the north-eastern Siberian Platform (Western Yakutia, Russia) is proposed as the Global Standard Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) for the base of the 'Cambrian Stage 10'. The proposed GSSP coincides with the FAD of L. americanus at 339mabove the base of the Ogon'or Formation. The section fulfills the geological and biostratigraphical requirements for a stratotype and the GSSP horizon can be constrained by a number of auxiliary marker taxa. The first appearance of L. americanus is an easily recognizable level in the Cambrian which can be recognized from all major Cambrian continents, including Baltica, Laurentia, Avalonia, South China and Australia.