Some middle Permian bryozoans from Svalbard, Arctic Norway

The middle to ?upper Permian (Ufimian-?Kazanian) succession of Svalbard comprises the upper part of the Kapp Starostin Formation (above the Vøringen Member) in western and central Spitsbergen, and the Miseryfjellet Formation of Bjørnøya ? both units within the Tempelfjorden Group. The Ufimian-?Kazanian part of the Kapp Starostin Formation consists of silicified spiculitic shales (?cherts?), partly silicified limestones and locally developed glauconitic sandstones in the uppermost part. The Miseryfjellet Formation is made up of partly silicified sandy limestones and more sandy units. The fossils in the investigated sections are typical middle to late Permian cold water forms ? sponges, brachiopods, echinoderms and bryozoans. Corals and trilobites are rare, ammonoids are extremely rare and other temperate to warm-water forms, such as fusulinid foraminiferans are absent. The shaley parts of the Kapp Starostin Formation are dominated by abundant delicate trepostomids, rhabdomesids, cryptostomids and fenestellids. The partly silicified limestone units are dominated by more robust trepostomids, and robust species of Polypora, Acanthocladia and Reteporidra. This division may reflect the recurrent changing depositional environments (quiet/¬rough waters), sea level changes or a selection through transport. The identified faunas resemble Ufimian-Kazanian faunas descri¬bed from adjacent Boreal (Arctic) regions, and are significantly different from Tethys (equatorial) faunas.