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Typical papers dealing with new species and assemblages include one by P.-Y. Gagnier et al. on a new acanthodian found in Lower Devonian strata northern Canada during IGCP 406-related field work in 1996. M. Otto reported on a new antiarch from the Devonian of Ellesmere Island, Arctic Canada, while D. Goujet demonstrated higher than expected diversity of placoderms after IGCP 328 - sponsored field work in 1994 and 1995 that in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. R. Carr and E. Mark-Kurik presented results of their joint research on systematics and palaeogeography of arthrodires, and Mark-Kurik reported 7 chronological placoderm assemblages in the Lower and Middle Devonian of Severnaya Zemlya. O. Afanassieva presented her recent findings on osteostracans from Severnaya Zemlya. T. Märss et al. correlated thelodont bearing Llandovery-Wenlock boundary beds of Selwyn-Root and Franklinian basins. H.-P. Schultze presented exciting findings on the early actinopterygian fish Dialipina, based on IGCP 406-related field work at the Anderson River, northern Canada, in 1997.

New results in sedimentological and palaeogeographical studies include those by A. Antoshkina about stages in the history of Palaeozoic reef formations in the Pechora Urals. V. Karatajute-Talimaa compared Silurian and Devonian vertebrate faunas in the Circum-Arctic region and found that the late Silurian - early Devonian vertebrate assemblages from Timan-Pechora, Northern and Polar Urals, Novaya Zemlya and Severnaya Zemlya belong to the Cephalaspid Vertebrate Province, pointing to the close relationship of these regions to the Baltica and Laurentia palaeocontinents. On the other hand, the early Devonian vertebrates from Taimyr and Novosibirsk Islands represent the Amphiaspid Vertebrate Province characteristic of the Siberian palaeocontinent. Data about the distribution of shelly fauna and conodonts support these conclusions.

M. Lewandowski presented a series of palaeogeographic maps for Gondwana, Baltica, and Laurentia for the early Ordovician - early Permian time span. T. Modzalevskaya reported on similar isotopic signatures in Ludlow brachiopods from the Timan-Pechora region and Gotland. T. Märss added that the carbon isotope curve found by T. Martma, Tallinn, in sections from Baillie-Hamilton and Cornwallis islands is very similar to that which T. Modzalevskaya presented. P. Männik contributed conodont age data for the Canadian island sections, and recognized in the Telychian two conodont faunal provinces - one connected with the northern and northeastern parts of Baltica and Laurentia, and the other with the southeastern parts of the same palaeocontinents.

Workshops at the Warsaw Meeting

Two workshops, one on Lower and Middle Palaeozoic geology of the Timan-Pechora region, and another one on the early fossil record of chondrichthyans were organized.

(1) Timan-Pechora Workshop
The main topics of discussion were: 1) the state of studies of Lower-Middle Palaeozoic strata in the region. 2) publication. 3) IGCP 406 future meeting in Syktyvkar and excursions to the Timan-Pechora region.

During recent decades extensive geological studies have been carried out in the Timan-Pechora region. A large amount of information about palaeontology, sedimentology, mineralogy, geochemistry etc. is available. Many outcrops and core sections have been studied in detail. The results of these studies have been discussed in a number of conferences and field-meetings (e.g. 1983, 1987), and published in many papers. Several monographic studies have been published (T. Beznosova) or prepared (A. Abushik and L. Shamsutdinova; S. Melnikov in press). Unfortunately, at the moment, almost all published geological information available about this region is in Russian. All participants in the discussions agreed that the main task in the near future will be to publish the general information about the region in English. To begin with, 4-5 papers dealing with general problems of Silurian and Devonian palaeontology, stratigraphy, sedimentology and palaeogeography will be published at the end of 1999 in Estonia (in the Proceedings of the Estonian Academy of Sciences, Geology Series). Also, some authors are thinking about the possibility of re-publishing their monographs in English.

As the Timan-Pechora region is one of the easiest, and least expensive of the Arctic regions to reach, and as the Palaeozoic strata are well exposed and studied there, it will be the best region for IGCP 406 to organize a field meeting. The specialists working in the region accepted this suggestion enthusiastically and have started with preparations. The First Circular of the IGCP 406 Meeting "Palaeozoic pan-Arctic Tectonics, and Evolution of Basins and Fauna" Syktyvkar, Russia, July 12-15, 2000 (CAPV-2000) has already been prepared (see Appendix of project report).

(2) Workshop on Early Fossil Record of Chondrichthyans
This workshop attracted many scientists and graduate students with interests in early fossil chondrichthyans, including several who had not previously partipated in IGCP 406 meetings. Participants had the opportunity to examine each other's specimens as well as the chondrichthyan microvertebrate collections of the Geology