1  Cover

      2  Title Page

      3  Copyright Page

      4  List of Contributors

      5  Introduction References

      6  Section I: Remote Origins 1 The Opening of the North Atlantic Plate Tectonic Résumé Magnetic Anomalies Mantle Plumes The Iceland Plume Early Palaeocene Before the North Atlantic Opening The Geographical Pattern of Break‐Up Micro‐continent Formation Magmatism Heralding the Birth of the New Ocean Flood Basalt Eruptions Seaward Dipping Reflectors Ash Beds of Western and Central Europe The Palaeocene–Eocene Thermal Maximum Iceland Evidence for Plume Pulsing Continental Uplift after Ocean Formation Summary Acknowledgements References 2 Cenozoic Vegetation and Phytogeography of the Sub‐arctic North Atlantic Introduction Paleogene Floras and Vegetation Neogene Floras and Vegetation Biogeographic Implications Conclusion and Future Research References 3 Interglacial Biotas from the North Atlantic Islands Introduction The Faroe Islands Iceland Greenland Discussion and Conclusions References

      7  Section II: Origins of the Present Biota 4 Origin and Dispersal of the North Atlantic Vascular Plant Floras North Atlantic Endemics – A History of Over‐Description and Rapid Hybrid Speciation Colonisation History of North Atlantic Plants Genetic and Floristic Relationships Among Five Atlantic Floras Some Glacial Survivors After All? Concluding Remarks Acknowledgements References 5 The Aquatic Fauna of the North Atlantic Islands with Emphasis on Iceland Introduction Aquatic Invertebrates Endemism Discussion References 6 The Vascular Floras of High‐Latitude Islands with Special Reference to Iceland Introduction A Survey of High‐Latitude Islands Patterns of Species Richness Iceland and Its Vascular Flora Summary Acknowledgements References 7 Quaternary Vertebrates from the North Atlantic Islands Introduction Fish Birds Pre‐Holocene Mammal Remains Holocene Marine Mammals Holocene Terrestrial Mammals Discussion and Conclusions Acknowledgements References 8 North Atlantic Insect Faunas, Fossils and Pitfalls Introduction The