Taphonomic traits of clay-hosted early Cambrian Burgess Shale-type fossil Lagerstätten in South China

Forchielli, Angela; Steiner, Michael; Kasbohm, Jörn; Hu, Shixue; Keupp, Heiner

doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.08.001

Cited by 79 publications

(63 citation statements)

References 112 publications

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“…These three areas of the exoskeleton were characterized by a tight fold called the doublure; organic material may have been more protected against decay in these areas. Spherical aggregates of iron oxides are most frequently preserved in the crop cavities ( Fig 4); these aggregates are in the same size range as those reported from other Guanshan fossils [46]. Occasionally iron oxide framboids are present (Fig 3B and 3C).…”

Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 69%

“…Burgess Shale-type exceptional preservation has been the focus of considerable research, particularly the eponymous site in southwestern Canada and the Chengjiang biota of south China [38,[41][42][43][44][45]. The taphonomy of the Guanshan biota is most similar to that of the Chengjiang biota [46,47]. Both the Chengjiang and Guanshan biotas are unusual among BurgessShale type fossils for having limited pyritization of non-mineralized features [38], although pyrite framboidal crystals and spherical aggregates have typically been replaced with iron oxide pseudomorphs, especially in weathered specimens [46].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The taphonomy of the Guanshan biota is most similar to that of the Chengjiang biota [46,47]. Both the Chengjiang and Guanshan biotas are unusual among BurgessShale type fossils for having limited pyritization of non-mineralized features [38], although pyrite framboidal crystals and spherical aggregates have typically been replaced with iron oxide pseudomorphs, especially in weathered specimens [46]. Pyrite precipitation usually occurs in anoxic conditions where there is a release of sulfides from decaying organic tissues [41].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Oldest Known Digestive System Consisting of Both Paired Digestive Glands and a Crop From Exceptionally Preserved Trilobites of the Guanshan Biota (Early Cambrian, China)

Hopkins

Chen

et al. 2017

Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs

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The early Cambrian Guanshan biota of eastern Yunnan, China, contains exceptionally preserved animals and algae. Most diverse and abundant are the arthropods, of which there are at least 11 species of trilobites represented by numerous specimens. Many trilobite specimens show soft-body preservation via iron oxide pseudomorphs of pyrite replacement. Here we describe digestive structures from two species of trilobite, Palaeolenus lantenoisi and Redlichia mansuyi. Multiple specimens of both species contain the preserved remains of an expanded stomach region (a "crop") under the glabella, a structure which has not been observed in trilobites this old, despite numerous examples of trilobite gut traces from other Cambrian Lagerstätten. In addition, at least one specimen of Palaeolenus lantenoisi shows the preservation of an unusual combination of digestive structures: a crop and paired digestive glands along the alimentary tract. This combination of digestive structures has also never been observed in trilobites this old, and is rare in general, with prior evidence of it from one juvenile trilobite specimen from the late Cambrian Orsten fauna of Sweden and possibly one adult trilobite specimen from the Early Ordovician Fezouata Lagerstätte. The variation in the fidelity of preservation of digestive structures within and across different Lagerstätten may be due to variation in the type, quality, and point of digestion of food among specimens in addition to differences in mode of preservation. The presence and combination of these digestive features in the Guanshan trilobites contradicts current models of how the trilobite digestive system was structured and evolved over time. Most notably, the crop is not a derived structure as previously proposed, although it is possible that the relative size of the crop increased over the evolutionary history of the clade.

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Section: Resultssupporting

confidence: 69%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Oldest Known Digestive System Consisting of Both Paired Digestive Glands and a Crop From Exceptionally Preserved Trilobites of the Guanshan Biota (Early Cambrian, China)

Hopkins

Chen

et al. 2017

Geological Society of America Abstracts With Programs

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“…Understanding the preservational modes of soft-bodied fossils in the EBS is hindered by the extensive surficial weathering, as is the case in deposits such as those of Chengjiang (Gabbott et al 2004;Forchielli et al 2014). This was one of the reasons why Gaines (2014) excluded the EBS as a Burgess Shale-type deposit, which is defined by the occurrence of soft-bodied fossils preserved as 2D, primary carbonaceous remains.…”

Section: Preservation Of Emu Bay Shale Fossilsmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Emu Bay Shale Konservat-Lagerstätte: a view of Cambrian life from East Gondwana

Paterson

García‐Bellido

Jago

et al. 2015

JGS

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Recent fossil discoveries from the lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale (EBS) on Kangaroo Island, South Australia, have provided critical insights into the tempo of the Cambrian explosion of animals, such as the origin and seemingly rapid evolution of arthropod compound eyes, as well as extending the geographical ranges of several groups to the East Gondwanan margin, supporting close faunal affinities with South China. The EBS also holds great potential for broadening knowledge on taphonomic pathways involved in the exceptional preservation of fossils in Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten. EBS fossils display a range of taphonomic modes for a variety of soft tissues, especially phosphatization and pyritization, in some cases recording a level of anatomical detail that is absent from most Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten.

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“…Elevated kaolinite input may well have played a role but is difficult to demonstrate in particular BST settings because of instances due to secondary alteration of original clay minerals (cf. Powell 2003;Forchielli et al 2013).…”

Section: Implications For Bst Preservationmentioning

confidence: 99%

Sediment Effects on the Preservation of Burgess Shale-Type Compression Fossils

Wilson

Butterfield

2014

PALAIOS

106

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Experimental burial of polychaete (Nereis) and crustacean (Crangon) carcasses in kaolinite, calcite, quartz, and montmorillonite demonstrates a marked effect of sediment mineralogy on the stabilization of nonbiomineralized integuments, the first step in producing carbonaceous compression fossils and Burgess Shale-type (BST) preservation. The greatest positive effect was with Nereis buried in kaolinite, and the greatest negative effect was with Nereis buried in montmorillonite, a morphological trend paralleled by levels of preserved protein. Similar but more attenuated effects were observed with Crangon. The complex interplay of original histology and sediment mineralogy controls system pH, oxygen content, and major ion concentrations, all of which are likely to feed back on the preservation potential of particular substrates in particular environments. The particular susceptibility of Nereis to both diagenetically enhanced preservation and diagenetically enhanced decomposition most likely derives from the relative lability of its collagenous cuticle vs. the inherently more recalcitrant cuticle of Crangon. We propose a mechanism of secondary, sediment-induced taphonomic tanning to account for instances of enhanced preservation. In light of the marked effects of sediment mineralogy on fossilization, the Cambrian to Early Ordovician taphonomic window for BST preservation is potentially related to a coincident interval of glauconite-prone seas.

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Taphonomic traits of clay-hosted early Cambrian Burgess Shale-type fossil Lagerstätten in South China

Cited by 79 publications

References 112 publications

The Oldest Known Digestive System Consisting of Both Paired Digestive Glands and a Crop From Exceptionally Preserved Trilobites of the Guanshan Biota (Early Cambrian, China)

The Oldest Known Digestive System Consisting of Both Paired Digestive Glands and a Crop From Exceptionally Preserved Trilobites of the Guanshan Biota (Early Cambrian, China)

The Emu Bay Shale Konservat-Lagerstätte: a view of Cambrian life from East Gondwana

Sediment Effects on the Preservation of Burgess Shale-Type Compression Fossils

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