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A new phyllopod bed-like assemblage from the Burgess Shale of the Canadian Rockies

Author

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  • Jean-Bernard Caron

    (Royal Ontario Museum
    University of Toronto
    University of Toronto)

  • Robert R. Gaines

    (Pomona College)

  • Cédric Aria

    (Royal Ontario Museum
    University of Toronto)

  • M. Gabriela Mángano

    (University of Saskatchewan)

  • Michael Streng

    (Uppsala University)

Abstract

Burgess Shale-type fossil assemblages provide the best evidence of the ‘Cambrian explosion’. Here we report the discovery of an extraordinary new soft-bodied fauna from the Burgess Shale. Despite its proximity (ca. 40 km) to Walcott’s original locality, the Marble Canyon fossil assemblage is distinct, and offers new insights into the initial diversification of metazoans, their early morphological disparity, and the geographic ranges and longevity of many Cambrian taxa. The arthropod-dominated assemblage is remarkable for its high density and diversity of soft-bodied fossils, as well as for its large proportion of new species (22% of total diversity) and for the preservation of hitherto unreported anatomical features, including in the chordate Metaspriggina and the arthropod Mollisonia. The presence of the stem arthropods Misszhouia and Primicaris, previously known only from the early Cambrian of China, suggests that the palaeogeographic ranges and longevity of Burgess Shale taxa may be underestimated.

Suggested Citation

  • Jean-Bernard Caron & Robert R. Gaines & Cédric Aria & M. Gabriela Mángano & Michael Streng, 2014. "A new phyllopod bed-like assemblage from the Burgess Shale of the Canadian Rockies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 5(1), pages 1-6, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:nat:natcom:v:5:y:2014:i:1:d:10.1038_ncomms4210
    DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4210
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