An exceptional caradoc sponge fauna from the llanfawr quarries, central wales and phylogenetic implications

Molecular paleobiology of early-branching animals: integrating DNA and fossils elucidates the evolutionary history of hexactinellid sponges

“…6, Supplementary Table 1). Instead, according to our results the sponges described by Botting (2004) fall on the lineage leading to a late Silurian (ca. 420 Ma) Dactylocalycidae/ Lyssacinosida split (assuming they are indeed hexasterophorans).…”

“…Because these fossils show a lyssacine skeletal organization, this supports the hypothesis that dictyonal frameworks of Dactylocalycidae are not homologous to those of Sceptrulophora but evolved independently from a lyssacine condition. However, the CrIs for this node include the age of Botting's (2004) fossils (Fig. 6, Supplementary Table 1), so we cannot completely rule out that they were stem-group Lyssacinosida.…”

An outline of the distribution and diversity of Porifera in the Ordovician Builth Inlier (Wales, UK)

“…1, see also Appendix); sponges are dominant in abundance and diversity at a minimum of five sites (e.g., . The currently recognised total sponge diversity of the Builth Inlier is at least 128 species (see Appendix), of which 29 have been formally described (Botting, 2004(Botting, , 2005) and a few others illustrated or mentioned (Botting et al, 2011;.…”

“…In the latter group, the body wall thickness is a significant proportion of the diameter of the sponge, and individual spicules are generally much more robust; this group may include stemgroup hexactinellids and stem-group siliceans. The other groups used in this analysis are protomonaxonids (Group 1 of Botting et al, 2013b, but including the systematically uncertain Xylochos Botting, 2004), demosponges (crown-group; in this study consisting of 'keratosan' groups and anthaspidellid lithistids; Group 2 of Botting et al, 2013b), and heteractinids (presumed stem-group Calcarea and perhaps stem-group Porifera; Botting and Butterfield, 2005). In a few cases, relevant only to the total diversity discussed below, there are sponges that are not easily assignable to one of the above groups at this stage.…”

Comment on supposed holothurian body fossils from the middle Ordovician of Wales (Botting and Muir, Palaeontologia Electronica: 15.1.9A)

“…No such elements were found in Oesolcucumaria. Elements in the body wall in Oesolcucumaria are sparse and difficult to make out under SEM but appear to be very fine, simple, solid, acicular rods or crosses (Figure 1.2), like those found in many Palaeozoic sponges (e.g., Rigby and Gutschick, 1976;Rigby and Toomey, 1978;Schallreuter, 1991;Kozur et al, 1996;Maletz and Reich, 1997;Mehl and Lehnert, 1997;Botting, 2003Botting, , 2004. Rodlike and/or cruciform elements do occur in holothurians ( A synapomorphy uniting all holothurians is the presence of a ring of large skeletal elements sur- rounding the pharynx (Figure 3).…”