The pre‐Landnám fauna of Iceland: a palaeontological contribution

Abstract

The origins of the Icelandic biota are discussed with particular reference to recent work on Coleopteran (beetle) and Trichopteran (caddis fly) fossils from deposits which are earlier than the arrival of man (Landnám) in the country. The hypothesis of survival through Pleistocene glaciations in refugia is discounted in favour of immigration on ice floes during Late Glacial/Early Holocene deglaciation. Consideration of the nature of the insect fauna and the extent of Late Glacial ice sheets, with the evidence from ocean circulation patterns, suggests a source area in the fjords of south‐west Norway. The model is applicable to the origins of the biota on all the North Atlantic islands, east of the Davis Strait.