Data from: New records of the late Pliensbachian to early Toarcian (Early Jurassic) gladius-bearing coleoid cephalopods from the Ya Ha Tinda Lagerstätte, Canada

The Ya Ha Tinda Lagerstätte from Alberta, Canada, is the first Jurassic
marine Konservat-Lagerstätte from North America and hosts a substantial
collection of exceptionally preserved fossil Vampyropoda specimens.
Vampyropods are soft-bodied cephalopods (coleoids) characterized by eight
arms and an internalized chitinous shell (gladius). Due to their lack of
hard parts, Vampyropoda have a fragmentary fossil record, largely limited
to exceptional Lagerstätten deposits. Excavations at Ya Ha Tinda have
uncovered sixteen vampyropod fossils from Pliensbachian and Toarcian
strata, making it the largest deposit of Vampyropoda found outside of the
Tethys Ocean (Europe and the Middle East) for the Jurassic. Here, we
present a taxonomic analysis of the Ya Ha Tinda Vampyropoda specimens and
the first comprehensive study of Early Jurassic vampyropods from North
America. In total, fourteen specimens have sufficient morphological
details preserved on the gladius for taxonomic descriptions. Two specimens
are identifiable only to the suborder Loligosepiina (one to the family
Geopeltidae), while the remaining twelve specimens are identified to the
genus level; six Paraplesioteuthis, three Loligosepia, one Geopeltis, one
Parabelopeltis, and one Jeletzkyteuthis. The discovery of Loligosepia cf.
aalensis within Pliensbachian strata pushes back the earliest occurrence
of this taxon from the early Toarcian to the late Pliensbachian. With the
exception of Paraplesioteuthis, this is the first time these genera have
been found outside of Europe for the Jurassic; therefore, this study
significantly expands their palaeogeographic range. Furthermore, with
established high-resolution bio and chemostratigraphy, specimens can be
assigned to ammonite zones and placed in context of the global Toarcian
Oceanic Anoxic Event.