Devonian and Permian fossils from the Falkland Islands in the biostratigraphy collection of the British Geological Survey

A number of fossil specimens were collected in the Falkland Islands (South Atlantic Ocean) between 1998 and 2008 during geological fieldwork by the British Geological Survey (BGS) in support of the Department of Mineral Resources, Falkland Islands Government. The specimens have now been lodged in the biostratigraphy collections of the National Geoscience Data Centre, British Geological Survey, Keyworth, Nottingham, and this report provides background information on the collection and their geological setting, and illustrates some of the specimens. Two assemblages are present. Devonian fossils, mostly brachiopods, were recovered from the Fox Bay Formation, West Falkland Group; Permian fossils, sparse bivalves and representative examples of bioturbation, were recovered from the Brenton Loch Formation, Lafonia Group. The Devonian fauna is relatively well known, having been first discovered in 1833 by Charles Darwin during his voyage on HMS Beagle. The Permian fauna is very rare, with a few small bivalves known only from a single locality that was discovered during BGS fieldwork in 2001.