Ediacaran biota on Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada

Hofmann, Hans; O’Brien, S. J.; King, A. F.

doi:10.1666/06-087.1

Cited by 119 publications

(165 citation statements)

References 58 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

161

Contrasting

Unclassified

Order By: Relevance

“…7a, b, i-l; MPLDs 50-1000 km). For the Ediacaran, this result is a reflection of the numerous albeit geospatially concentrated collection points of Ediacara-type fossils provided at bed level in primary literature (Hofmann et al, 2008). Conversely, for the Cretaceous, it may reflect geographic concentrations of localities in China and the UK, where the Jehol (Wang et al, 2012) and Purbeck Limestone (Coram, 2003) groups respectively contain exceptional insects at numerous sites.…”

Section: Trends In Occurrences Of Clusters Through Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages through geologic time and space

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Geologic deposits containing fossils with remains of non-biomineralized tissues (i.e. Konservat-Lagerstätten) provide key insights into ancient organisms and ecosystems. Such deposits are not evenly distributed through geologic time or space, suggesting that global phenomena play a key role in exceptional fossil preservation. Nonetheless, establishing the influence of global phenomena requires documenting temporal and spatial trends in occurrences of exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages. To this end, we compiled and analyzed a dataset of 694 globally distributed exceptional fossil assemblages spanning the history of complex eukaryotic life (~610 to 3 Ma). Our analyses demonstrate that assemblages with similar ages and depositional settings commonly occur in clusters, each signifying an ancient geographic region (up to hundreds of kilometers in scale), which repeatedly developed conditions conducive to soft tissue preservation. Using a novel hierarchical clustering approach, we show that these clusters decrease in number and shift from open marine to transitional and nonmarine settings across the Cambrian-Ordovician interval. Conditions conducive to exceptional preservation declined worldwide during the early Paleozoic in response to transformations of near-surface environments that promoted degradation of tissues and curbed authigenic mineralization potential. We propose a holistic explanation relating these environmental transitions to ocean oxygenation and bioturbation, which affected virtually all taphonomic pathways, in addition to changes in seawater chemistry that disproportionately affected processes of soft tissue conservation. After these transitions, exceptional preservation rarely occurred in open marine settings, excepting times of widespread oceanic anoxia, when low oxygen levels set the stage. With these patterns, nonmarine cluster count is correlated with non-marine rock quantity, and generally decreases with age. This result suggests that geologic processes, which progressively destroy terrestrial rocks over time, limit sampling of non-marine deposits on a global scale. Future efforts should aim to assess the impacts of such phenomena on evolutionary and ecological patterns in the fossil record.

show abstract

Section: Trends In Occurrences Of Clusters Through Timementioning

confidence: 99%

Exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages through geologic time and space

et al. 2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Fifty-three specimens are referable to Primocandelabrum ( Fig. 1b -i), a taxon first described from the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland (Hofmann et al 2008); nine specimens conform to the 'dumbbell-like taxon' of Wilby et al (2011;Fig. 1a); and two specimens (Fig.…”

Section: Multifoliate Rangeomorphs From Charnwood Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Primocandelabrum is principally diagnosed by its coarse branching and the triangular outline of its crown, with P. hiemaloranum being separately distinguished on the basis of its Hiemalora-like holdfast, which has numerous sinuous to linear rays (Hofmann et al 2008). The type material from Bonavista consists of just eight specimens, all of which are poorly preserved.…”

Section: Multifoliate Rangeomorphs From Charnwood Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As such, no formal diagnosis of the branching pattern exists by which this genus or its constituent species may be definitively identified at other localities. The Bonavista specimens are often reconstructed as a two-dimensional fan or candelabrum in life (Hofmann et al 2008), while the single specimen assigned to Primocandelabrum from NW Canada suggests a more brush-like appearance (Narbonne et al 2014). In the specimens from Charnwood Forest that fit the broad diagnosis of Primocandelabrum, it is clear that the crown consists of three first order branches that split from the main stem at a single point (Fig.…”

Section: Multifoliate Rangeomorphs From Charnwood Forestmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Rangeomorph classification schemes and intra-specific variation: are all characters created equal?

Kenchington

Wilby

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Rangeomorphs from the Ediacaran of Avalonia are among the oldest known complex macrofossils and our understanding of their ecology, ontogeny and phylogenetic relationships relies on accurate and consistent classification. There are a number of disparate classification schemes for this group, which dominantly rely on a combination of their branching characters and shape metrics. Using multivariate statistical analyses and the diverse stemmed, multifoliate rangeomorphs in Charnwood Forest (UK), we assess the taxonomic usefulness of the suite of characters currently in use.

show abstract

“…3) fossil Oldhamia flabellata (Hofmann et al 2008;Liu et al 2015). However, there is no evidence that Harvey's presumed Oldhamia fossils could have been referable to P. bonavistensis.…”

Section: Other Studies Of the Fossils At Issuementioning

confidence: 99%

Who Was the First Person Known to Have Discovered Fossils of the Precambrian (Ediacaran) Organism Aspidella terranovica?

Minicucci

2017

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

This article briefly examines the possible confusion pertaining to the discoveries of Precambrian (Ediacaran) fossils made in the self-governing British colony of Newfoundland in 1868 by the amateur naturalist, the Reverend Moses Harvey, and the subsequent description and naming of the fossil organism Aspidella terranovica in 1872 by Elkanah Billings, the father of Canadian paleontology. Both events could be misinterpreted as one transaction that began with the former event and ended with the latter event. Accounts published by Alexander Murray, the director of the Geological Survey of Newfoundland at the time, arguably may have inadvertently exacerbated the possibility for confusion. The determination of who first discovered fossils of A. terranovica and whose fossil material Billings primarily relied upon when he first described and named the taxon could be placed into doubt as a consequence. Although the confusion does not affect the undisputed priority that Billings holds in having described and named A. terranovica, the opportunity to remedy the confusion serves to benefit the historical record. The incomplete or ambiguous ascertaining and documenting of contextual information whenever an historically significant fossil discovery is made arguably may precipitate subsequent misinterpretations, distortions or omissions in the resulting historical narrative as it develops and becomes entrenched or mythologized in its retelling.RÉSUMÉCet article examine brièvement la confusion possible concernant les découvertes de fossiles Précambriens (Ediacaran) fabriqués dans la colonie Britannique autonome de Terre-Neuve en 1868 par le naturaliste amateur, le Révérend Moses Harvey, et la description et l'appellation suivantes de l'organisme fossile Aspidella terranovica en 1872 par Elkanah Billings, le père de la paléontologie Canadienne. Les deux événements pourraient être mal interprétés comme une transaction qui a commencé avec l'événement précédent et s'est terminée avec le dernier événement. Les comptes publiés par Alexander Murray, le directeur de la Commission Géologique de Terre-Neuve à l'époque, ont sans doute peut-être exacerbé par mégarde la possibilité de confusion. La détermination de qui a découvert les fossiles d'abord de A. terranovica et dont Billings s'appuyait principalement sur le matériel fossile dont il a d'abord décrit et nommé le taxon pourrait être mis en doute en conséquence. Bien que la confusion ne porte pas atteinte à la priorité incontestée que Billings détient en ayant décrit et nommé A. terranovica, la possibilité de remédier à la confusion sert à bénéficier du dossier historique. La constatation et la documentation incomplètes ou ambiguës de l'information contextuelle chaque fois qu'une découverte fossilifère historiquement significative peut être faite peut précipiter des interprétations, des distorsions ou des omissions subséquentes dans le récit historique résultant au fur et à mesure qu'il se développe et devient ancré ou mythologisé dans son récit.

show abstract

Ediacaran biota on Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada

Cited by 119 publications

References 58 publications

Exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages through geologic time and space

Exceptionally preserved fossil assemblages through geologic time and space

Rangeomorph classification schemes and intra-specific variation: are all characters created equal?

Who Was the First Person Known to Have Discovered Fossils of the Precambrian (Ediacaran) Organism Aspidella terranovica?

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About