Ubiquitous Burgess Shale–style “clay templates” in low-grade metamorphic mudrocks

Page, Alex; Gabbott, Sarah E.; Wilby, Philip R.; Zalasiewicz, Jan

doi:10.1130/g24991a.1

Cited by 74 publications

(73 citation statements)

References 4 publications

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“…Similar elemental compositions have been documented for non-biomineralizing fossils from Burgess Shale-type deposits, the material being preserved as carbonaceous compressions but including replication by clay minerals and overprinting by pyrite (e.g., Orr et al, 1998Orr et al, , 2009Gabbott et al, 2004;Hu, 2005;Zhu et al, 2005;Butterfield et al, 2007;Gaines et al, 2008;Page et al, 2008;Anderson et al, 2011;Cai et al, 2012;Meyer et al, 2012;Schiffbauer et al, 2014). The Utah material, however, seems to show a stronger iron overprint than non-biomineralized Burgess Shale material.…”

Section: Elemental Composition Of Utah Yuknessiamentioning

confidence: 73%

A reexamination of Yuknessia from the Cambrian of British Columbia and Utah

LoDuca¹,

Caron²,

Schiffbauer³

et al. 2015

J. Paleontol.

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Section: Elemental Composition Of Utah Yuknessiamentioning

confidence: 73%

A reexamination of Yuknessia from the Cambrian of British Columbia and Utah

LoDuca¹,

Caron²,

Schiffbauer³

et al. 2015

J. Paleontol.

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“…[93,94] Templating by clay minerals has also been invoked as a tissue specific mineralization process responsible for preservation of organisms in the Burgess Shale. [95] Such clay mineral templates are common in organic walled fossils (such as graptolites) in www.advancedsciencenews.com www.bioessays-journal.com metamorphosed fine grained siliciclastic sediments [96] and a broad survey of Burgess Shale-type localities suggest that conservation of organic tissues is the primary mode of preservation that unites these Lagerstaẗten. [94] Clay minerals have long been implicated in having a role in the processes that suppressed the breakdown of tissues in Burgess Shale type localities [97] and experimental evidence suggests that clay mineralogy has a profound impact on tissue decay.…”

Section: Authigenic Mineralization Saves Tissues Apparently Doomed Tomentioning

confidence: 99%

Soft‐Bodied Fossils Are Not Simply Rotten Carcasses – Toward a Holistic Understanding of Exceptional Fossil Preservation

et al. 2017

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Exceptionally preserved fossils are the product of complex interplays of biological and geological processes including burial, autolysis and microbial decay, authigenic mineralization, diagenesis, metamorphism, and finally weathering and exhumation. Determining which tissues are preserved and how biases affect their preservation pathways is important for interpreting fossils in phylogenetic, ecological, and evolutionary frameworks. Although laboratory decay experiments reveal important aspects of fossilization, applying the results directly to the interpretation of exceptionally preserved fossils may overlook the impact of other key processes that remove or preserve morphological information. Investigations of fossils preserving nonbiomineralized tissues suggest that certain structures that are decay resistant (e.g., the notochord) are rarely preserved (even where carbonaceous components survive), and decay-prone structures (e.g., nervous systems) can fossilize, albeit rarely. As we review here, decay resistance is an imperfect indicator of fossilization potential, and a suite of biological and geological processes account for the features preserved in exceptional fossils.

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“…Carbonaceous compression fossils are a major source of paleobiological data, in particular as it relates to capturing the early Paleozoic record of ''exceptional'' Burgess Shale-type (BST) macrofossils (Butterfield 1990(Butterfield , 1995Gaines et al 2008;Page et al 2008;Orr et al 2009) and their microscopic counterparts (Butterfield and Harvey 2012). Even so, the circumstances and processes leading to the preservation of such fossilsand thereby their paleobiological implications-have yet to be fully resolved.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

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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Ubiquitous Burgess Shale–style “clay templates” in low-grade metamorphic mudrocks

Cited by 74 publications

References 4 publications

A reexamination of Yuknessia from the Cambrian of British Columbia and Utah

A reexamination of Yuknessia from the Cambrian of British Columbia and Utah

Soft‐Bodied Fossils Are Not Simply Rotten Carcasses – Toward a Holistic Understanding of Exceptional Fossil Preservation

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

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