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opencc-zeroDec 2019View details →

The Burgess Shale paleocommunity with new insights from Marble Canyon, British Columbia

The middle (Wuliuan Stage) Cambrian Burgess Shale is famous for its exceptional preservation of diverse and abundant soft-bodied animals through the "thick" Stephen Formation. However, with the exception of the Walcott Quarry (Fossil Ridge) and the stratigraphically older Tulip Beds (Mount Stephen) which are both in Yoho National Park (British Columbia), quantitative assessments of the Burgess Shale have remained limited. Here we first provide a detailed quantitative overview of the diversity and structure of the Marble Canyon Burgess Shale locality based on 16,438 specimens. Located 40 km southeast of the Walcott Quarry in Kootenay National Park (British Columbia), Marble Canyon represents the youngest site of the "thick" Stephen Formation. We then combine paleoecological datasets from Marble Canyon, Walcott Quarry, Tulip Beds and for the first time, the Raymond Quarry, which lies ca. 20 m directly above the Walcott Quarry, to yield a combined species abundance dataset of 77,179 specimens encompassing 234 taxa. Material from the Tulip Beds comes from talus slopes whereas material from all the other localities was collected in situ and comes from stratigraphically constrained intervals of at least 2 m. Marble Canyon shows significant temporal changes in both taxonomic and ecological groups, suggesting periods of stasis followed by rapid turnover patterns at local and short temporal scales. At wider geographic and temporal scales, the different Burgess Shale sites occupy distinct areas in multivariate space. Overall, this suggests that the Burgess Shale palaeocommunity is far patchier than previously thought and varies at both local and regional scales through the "thick" Stephen Formation. This underscores that our understanding of Cambrian diversity and ecological networks, particularly in early animal ecosystems, remains limited and highly dependent on new discoveries.

opencc-zeroJul 2021View details →

Synchrotron imagery of phosphatized eggs in Waptia cf. W. fieldensis from the middle Cambrian (Miaolingian; Wuliuan) Spence Shale of Utah

Exceptionally preserved fossil eggs and embryos provide critical information regarding paleoembryogenesis, reproductive strategies, and the early ontogeny of early arthropods, but the rarity of preservation of both eggs and egg-bearing organisms in situ limits their use in detailed evo-devo studies. Burgess Shale-type deposits preserve rare instances of egg-bearing arthropods as carbonaceous compressions, however, the eggs are usually poorly preserved with no compelling evidence of embryos. We describe the first record of a brooding specimen of Waptia cf. fieldensis from the Spence Shale, a Cambrian (Wuliuan stage) Burgess Shale-type deposit in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. This is the first record of an egg-bearing arthropod from the Spence Shale and it exhibits two distinct modes of preservation among eggs within the single clutch: carbonization and phosphatization. Unlike the egg-bearing Burgess Shale specimens, many eggs of this Utah specimen are also preserved three-dimensionally. In addition, synchrotron radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy reveals internal distributions of mineral phases, along with potential remnants of the egg membrane and attachment structures but, as in the Burgess Shale, no explicit traces of developing embryos. The distinct modes of preservation highlight the existence of diagenetic microenvironments within some eggs but not in others during fossilization.

opencc-zeroMar 2023View details →

New soft-bodied panarthropods from diverse Spence Shale (Cambrian; Miaolingian; Wuliuan) depositional environments

The Cambrian (Miaolingian; Wuliuan) Spence Shale Lagerstätte of northern Utah and southern Idaho is one of the most diverse Burgess Shale-type deposits of Laurentia. It yields a diverse fauna consisting of abundant biomineralized and locally abundant soft-bodied fossils, along a range of environments from shallow water carbonates to deep shelf dark shales. Panarthropods are the dominant component throughout the deposit, both in time and space, but while the trilobites and agnostoids are abundant, most of the soft-bodied taxa are only known from very few specimens. Additionally, the knowledge of the soft-bodied panarthropods is currently largely limited to locations in the Wellsville Mountains of northeastern Utah. This contribution describes 21 new soft-bodied panarthropods from six locations, including the first occurrences of soft-bodied panarthropods in the High-Creek, Smithfield Creek, Spence Gulch, and Two-Mile Canyon localities. Additionally, we report the presence of bradoriids, Branchiocaris pretiosa, Perspicaris? dilatus, Naraoia? sp., Thelxiope cf. T. palaeothalassia, and Tuzoia guntheri for the first time from the Spence Shale Lagerstätte, the first occurrence reported outside of the Burgess Shale for Thelxiope cf. T. palaeothalassia and the first Wuliuan occurrence of Tuzoia guntheri. We also report on a new hurdiid carapace element and additional specimens of Buccaspinea cooperi?, Dioxycaris argenta, Hurdia sp., and Tuzoia retifera. This new material improves our understanding of the panarthropod fauna of the Spence Shale Lagerstätte and substantially increases our understanding of the distribution of the described taxa in time and space.

opencc-zeroApr 2023View details →

Species diagnosis tables for: Crinoids from the Wooster Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation, Carboniferous (Mississippian, Tournaisian) of Northeastern Ohio

Nine crinoids are described from the Wooster Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation from Wayne and Ashland counties, Ohio, USA. Identifiable elements of the fauna include five camerate crinoids, one flexible crinoid, and three other eucladid crinoids. Five new species are described, including Cactocrinus woosterensis n. sp., Cusacrinus brushi n. sp., Agaricocrinus murphyi n. sp., Decadocrinus laevis n. sp., and Decadocrinus inordinatus n. sp. Overall, the distribution of crinoid clades in the Wooster Shale is similar to that of the stratigraphically lower Meadville Shale Member of the Cuyahoga Formation, although less diverse and with only one species (Cyathocrinites simplex) in common. Many of the Wooster Shale crinoids are completely or partially preserved with siderite in either nodules or within siderite beds. These crinoids are commonly preserved in trauma postures, which is characteristic of burial in episodic high turbulence events. The paleoenvironments and taxa of the two Cuyahoga Formation crinoid faunas more closely resemble Viséan faunas in siliciclastic settings than typical carbonate faunas of the Tournaisian. Supplemental tables included here are species diagnostic tables listing characters for differentiating species in the following Mississippian crinoid (Phylum Echinodermata) genera: Agaricocrinus, Cactocrinus, Cusacrinus, and Decadocrinus.

opencc-by-4.0Jun 2023View details →

Dataset for the manuscript of the "Investigation of CH4 permeability of microfractures in partially water-saturated shales"

Dataset for the manuscript of the "Investigation of CH4 permeability of microfractures in partially water-saturated shales"

Figure 3 in A macroscopic free-swimming medusa from the middle Cambrian burgess shale

Figure 3. Phylogenetic position of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov. Bayesian phylogenetic analysis (347 characters, 106 taxa, Mkv + Γ model) showing the position of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov. within Medusozoa. Numbers indicate the posterior probabilities; scale bar indicates the average number of substitutions per site. Nodes with 100% posterior probability are not labelled. Red lines indicate alternative placements for Burgessomedusa.

Figure 4 in A macroscopic free-swimming medusa from the middle Cambrian burgess shale

Figure 4. Medusozoan umbrella morphospace based on umbrella diameter and height. Fineness ratio is umbrella height divided by the diameter. Colour based on the medusozoan class: light purple = Hydrozoa; black = Cubozoa; grey green = Scyphozoa; purple = Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov. Data on swimming umbrella dimensions from [27].

Figure 5. Life reconstruction showing a in A macroscopic free-swimming medusa from the middle Cambrian burgess shale

Figure 5. Life reconstruction showing a cluster of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov. swimming above the benthos. This reconstruction is based on the Raymond Quarry Burgess Shale community with clusters of Vauxia sponges represented in the foreground. Artwork by C. McCall.

Figure 2 in A macroscopic free-swimming medusa from the middle Cambrian burgess shale

Figure 2. Morphological details of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov. (a) Close-up of stomach cavity, manubrium, and gonads, ROMIP65781.1. (b) Closeup of tentacles ROMIP65782.2. (c,d) specimen showing disarticulated tentacles (close up in d), ROMIP65791. (e) Close-up of tentacles showing equidistant interspaces, ROMIP65788. (f,g) ROMIP65792, with short tentacles (close up in g) placed under the oral umbrella margin. (h,i), ROMIP65793, with tentacle remnants (close up in i). (j) ROMIP65794, specimen with irregular umbrella margin. (k) ROMIP65795.1, specimen showing tetraradial symmetry. All abbreviations are as in figure 1. Scales = 1 cm.

Figure 1 in A macroscopic free-swimming medusa from the middle Cambrian burgess shale

Figure 1. Size variations and general morpho-anatomical details of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov. (a) Holotype ROMIP65781.1 (close-up in figure 2a). (b) ROMIP65782.2–3, with putative gonads (close-up in figure 2b). (c), ROMIP65783.1, with putative gonads. (d) ROMIP65784, with putative stomach cavity. e,f, specimens with putative gonads ROMIP65785 (e), ROMIP65786 (f). (g) ROMIP65787, with a contracted umbrella. (h) ROMIP65788, with putative gonads (close-up in figure 2e). (i) ROMIP65114.1–3. (j) ROMIP65789. (k) ROMIP65790.1–2. Abbreviations: bm, bell margin; go, gonads; man, manubrium; st, stomach cavity; ten, tentacles. Scale = 2 cm.

opencc-by-4.0Oct 2023View details →

Uranium isotope dataset from the Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale, Appalachian Basin

Uranium isotope data from the Lower Mississippian Sunbury Shale, Appalachian Basin, USA