Sirius Passet

Sirius Passet is a special fossil site, a  Cambrian lagerstätte in Greenland. It is from six places on the eastern shore of a fjord in the far north of Greenland.Peel J.S. & Ineson J.R. 2011. The extent of the Sirius Passet Lagerstätte (early Cambrian) of North Greenland. Bulletin of Geosciences 535.  It was discovered in 1984. About 10,000 fossil specimens have been collected so far.

The fauna is just before that of the Burgess Shale, probably ten to fifteen million years older – 518 vs. 505 mya.Stein, Martin 2010. A new arthropod from the early Cambrian of North Greenland, with a 'great appendage'-like antennula. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society 158 (3): 477–500.  There were no vertebrates at that time: all the animals were invertebrates.

The fauna includes some arthropods and sponges, and rare representatives of other groups. A polychaete annelid from the Sirius Passet was described in 2008.Morris S.C. & Peel J.S. 2008. The earliest annelids: lower Cambrian polychaetes from the Sirius Passet lagerstätte, Peary Land, North Greenland. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 53: 137.  Polychaete annelids are a significant part of the Burgess Shale fauna, but are otherwise unknown from the other early Cambrian lagerstätten. This single species from a single place improves our knowledge of this group. 

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Category:Lagerstätten
Category:Cambrian