Graptolite Island

Graptolite Island is an island 0.8 km (0.50 mi) long in the north-east part of Fitchie Bay, lying off the south-east portion of Laurie Island in the South Orkney Islands of Antarctica. James Weddell's chart published in 1825 shows two islands in essentially this position. Existence of a single island was determined in 1903 by the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition under William Speirs Bruce, who so named it because what were thought to be graptolite fossils were found there.[1][2] Later analysis showed that the fossils on Graptolite Island were merely the remains of ancient plants.[3][4]

  1. ^ "Graptolite Island". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 3 May 2012.
  2. ^ Stewart, J., 2011. Antarctica: An Encyclopedia, 2nd ed. Jefferson, North Carolina and London, McFarland & Company, Inc. 1771 pp. ISBN 978-0-7864-3590-6
  3. ^ Stone, P., 2003, Fossils from the South Atlantic: the geological legacy of the Scottish National Antarctic Expedition, 1902-1905. The Edinburgh Geologist. 41, pp. 10–15.
  4. ^ Dalziel, I. W. D. 1979. The mythical graptolites of the South Orkney Islands. The Edinburgh Geologist. 6, pp. 2-9.