The two phases of the Cambrian Explosion

Abstract The dynamics of how metazoan phyla appeared and evolved – known as the Cambrian Explosion – remains elusive. We present a quantitative analysis of the temporal distribution (based on occurrence data of fossil species sampled in each time interval) of lophotrochozoan skeletal species (n = 430) from the terminal Ediacaran to Cambrian Stage 5 (~545 – ~505 Million years ago (Ma)) of the Siberian Platform, Russia. We use morphological traits to distinguish between stem and crown groups. Possible skeletal stem group lophophorates, brachiopods, and molluscs (n = 354) appear in the terminal Ediacaran (~542 Ma) and diversify during the early Cambrian Terreneuvian and again in Stage 2, but were devastated during the early Cambrian Stage 4 Sinsk extinction event (~513 Ma) never to recover previous diversity. Inferred crown group brachiopod and mollusc species (n = 76) do not appear until the Fortunian, ~537 Ma, radiate in the early Cambrian Stage 3 (~522 Ma), and with minimal loss of diversity at the Sinsk Event, continued to diversify into the Ordovician. The Sinsk Event also removed other probable stem groups, such as archaeocyath sponges. Notably, this diversification starts before, and extends across the Ediacaran/Cambrian boundary and the Basal Cambrian Carbon Isotope Excursion (BACE) interval (~541 to ~540 Ma), ascribed to a possible global perturbation of the carbon cycle. We therefore propose two phases of the Cambrian Explosion separated by the Sinsk extinction event, the first dominated by stem groups of phyla from the late Ediacaran, ~542 Ma, to early Cambrian stage 4, ~513 Ma, and the second marked by radiating bilaterian crown group species of phyla from ~513 Ma and extending to the Ordovician Radiation

Microconchids of the species Microconchus valvatus (Münster in Goldfuss, 1831) from the Upper Muschelkalk (Middle Triassic) of Germany

In the present paper, the commonly mentioned but poorly recognised microconchid species Microconchus valvatus (Münster in Goldfuss, 1831) is redescribed on the basis of material from the Upper Muschelkalk of Germany. ESEM studies of the microconchid tubes with clear morphological and microstructural characters were compared to the existing known Triassic species. Microconchus valvatus is characterised by fine growth lines and transverse riblets. ESEM analysis shows that tubes which appear smooth under the binocular microscope are in fact abraded. Thus, taphonomy must be taken into account and scanning microscopy must be used during studies of microconchid tubes. Quantitative ecology shows that particular microconchid populations developed various size ranges punctuated by some gaps, have non-normal distributions as expected in time-averaged assemblages, and suggests that differences among populations may reflect distinct hydrologic settings. This study provides a multidimensional investigation of microconchids and offers compelling evidence that microconchids were an important faunal group during the post-recovery Middle Triassic interval

Boreal earliest Triassic biotas elucidate globally depauperate hard substrate communities after the end-Permian mass extinction

The end-Permian mass extinction constituted the most devastating biotic crisis of the Phanerozoic. Its aftermath was characterized by harsh marine conditions incorporating volcanically induced oceanic warming, widespread anoxia and acidification. Bio-productivity accordingly experienced marked fluctuations. In particular, low palaeolatitude hard substrate communities from shallow seas fringing Western Pangaea and the Tethyan Realm were extremely impoverished, being dominated by monogeneric colonies of filter-feeding microconchid tubeworms. Here we present the first equivalent field data for Boreal hard substrate assemblages from the earliest Triassic (Induan) of East Greenland. This region bordered a discrete bio-realm situated at mid-high palaeolatitude (> 30 degrees N). Nevertheless, hard substrate biotas were compositionally identical to those from elsewhere, with microconchids encrusting Claraia bivalves and algal buildups on the sea floor. Biostratigraphical correlation further shows that Boreal microconchids underwent progressive tube modification and unique taxic diversification concordant with changing habitats over time. We interpret this as a post-extinction recovery and adaptive radiation sequence that mirrored coeval subequatorial faunas, and thus confirms hard substrate ecosystem depletion as a hallmark of the earliest Triassic interval globally