Biostratigraphic significance of lower Paleozoic microfaunas from eastern Canada

Chitinozoan studies recently carried out in the “Appalachian Forelands and St. Lawrence Platform” as part of the National Geoscience Mapping Program (NATMAP) project have confirmed the regional biostratigraphic value of several chitinozoan species and improved the understanding of their stratigraphic and geographic distribution in eastern Canada. Microfaunas first described from the Table Head Group of western Newfoundland, including Conochitina chydaea, are now recognized in the Rivière Ouelle Formation at Les Méchins, Gaspé Peninsula. In the Upper Ordovician, Conochitina primitiva is indicative of the multidens–pre-americanus graptolite zone. Other significant species include Hercochitina spinifera, Cyathochitina vauclairensis, and Eisenackitina dolioliformis, which are valuable for biostratigraphic correlation in eastern Canada.