18 research outputs found
Precambrian Animal Life: Probable Developmental and Adult Cnidarian Forms from Southwest China
The evolutionary divergence of cnidarian and bilaterian lineages from their remote metazoan ancestor occurred at an unknown depth in time before the Cambrian, since crown group representatives of each are found in Lower Cambrian fossil assemblages. We report here a variety of putative embryonic, larval, and adult microfossils deriving from Precambrian phosphorite deposits of Southwest China, which may predate the Cambrian radiation by 25–45 million years. These are most probably of cnidarian affinity. Large numbers of fossilized early planula-like larvae were observed under the microscope in sections. Though several forms are represented, the majority display remarkable conformity, which is inconsistent with the alternative that they are artifactual mineral inclusions. Some of these fossils are preserved in such high resolution that individual cells can be discerned. We confirm in detail an earlier report of the presence in the same deposits of tabulates, an extinct crown group anthozoan form. Other sections reveal structures that most closely resemble sections of basal modern corals. A large number of fossils similar to modern hydrozoan gastrulae were also observed. These again displayed great morphological consistency. Though only a single example is available, a microscopic animal remarkably similar to a modern adult hydrozoan is also presented. Taken together, the new observations reported in this paper indicate the existence of a diverse and already differentiated cnidarian fauna, long before the Cambrian evolutionary event. It follows that at least stem group bilaterians must also have been present at this time
Cambrian Small Bilaterian Fossils from 40 to 55 Million Years Before the Cambrian
Ten phosphatized specimens of a small (<180 micrometers) animal displaying clear bilaterian features have been recovered from the Doushantuo Formation, China, dating from 40 to 55 million years before the Cambrian. Seen in sections, this animal (Vernanimalcula guizhouena gen. et sp. nov.) had paired coeloms extending the length of the gut; paired external pits that could be sense organs; bilateral, anterior-posterior organization; a ventrally directed anterior mouth with thick walled pharynx; and a triploblastic structure. The structural complexity is that of an adult rather than a larval form. These fossils provide the first evidence confirming the phylogenetic inference that Bilateria arose well before the Cambrian
Phosphatized Polar Lobe-Forming Embryos from the Precambrian of Southwest China
In developing embryos of some extant spiralian animals, polar lobe formation is one of the symmetry-breaking mechanisms for segregation of maternal cytoplasmic substances to certain blastomeres and not others. Polar lobe formation leads to unique early cleavage morphologies that include trilobed, J-shaped, and five-lobed structures. Fossil embryos similar to modern lobeforming embryos are recognized from the Precambrian Doushantuo Formation phosphates, Weng'an, Guizhou Province, China. These embryos are abundant and form a developmental sequence comparable to different developing stages observed in lobe-forming embryos of extant spiralians. These data imply that lobe formation is an evolutionarily ancient process of embryonic specification
Sustained increases in atmospheric oxygen and marine productivity in the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic eras
A geologically rapid Neoproterozoic oxygenation event is commonly linked to the appearance of marine animal groups in the fossil record. However, there is still debate about what evidence from the sedimentary geochemical record—if any—provides strong support for a persistent shift in surface oxygen immediately preceding the rise of animals. We present statistical learning analyses of a large dataset of geochemical data and associated geological context from the Neoproterozoic and Palaeozoic sedimentary record and then use Earth system modelling to link trends in redox-sensitive trace metal and organic carbon concentrations to the oxygenation of Earth’s oceans and atmosphere. We do not find evidence for the wholesale oxygenation of Earth’s oceans in the late Neoproterozoic era. We do, however, reconstruct a moderate long-term increase in atmospheric oxygen and marine productivity. These changes to the Earth system would have increased dissolved oxygen and food supply in shallow-water habitats during the broad interval of geologic time in which the major animal groups first radiated. This approach provides some of the most direct evidence for potential physiological drivers of the Cambrian radiation, while highlighting the importance of later Palaeozoic oxygenation in the evolution of the modern Earth system
Data from: Substrate adaptations of sessile benthic metazoans during the Cambrian radiation
Many marine benthic metazoans must stabilize themselves upon the seafloor for survival, and as a result their morphologies are controlled in part by local substrate conditions. The Agronomic Revolution (AR), spurred by increasing vertical bioturbation during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition, permanently altered the nature of shallow marine substrate conditions and led to a major shift in adaptive strategies among benthic metazoans. These ecological and evolutionary changes, known as the Cambrian Substrate Revolution (CSR), are generally understood from observations of benthic metazoan fossils across the Ediacaran/Cambrian boundary, but the timing and geographic extent of this transition are less well known. This analysis attempts to constrain the temporal and spatial pattern of the AR and CSR by performing a global-scale paleoecological analysis of the adaptive strategies of benthic fauna living during the Cambrian. This analysis focused on Burgess Shale-type (BST) faunas because of their exceptional preservation, and was conducted through direct observation of fossil specimens, analysis of data compiled from the Paleobiology Database, and literature review. From these analyses, faunal groups are assigned a metric, the Substrate Adaptability Index (SAI), that relates the overall affinity the fauna demonstrates toward either Proterozoic-style (SAI=0) or Phanerozoic-style (SAI=1) substrate conditions. The results of this analysis demonstrate that most early and middle Cambrian faunas were mixtures of Phanerozoic- and Proterozoic-style adaptive strategists, suggesting that Proterozoic-style substrates were still influential in controlling adaptive strategies in marine environments until at least that time. This is further supported by ichnofabric analysis of many of these localities, where overall bioturbation levels are exceedingly low, indicating a lack of mixed-layer development and the prevalence of firm Proterozoic-style substrates well into the Cambrian
The Cambrian Substrate Revolution
The broad marine ecological
settings prevalent during the late Neoproterozoic–
early Phanerozoic (600–500
Ma) interval of early metazoan body
plan origination strongly impacted the
subsequent evolution and development
of benthic metazoans. Recent work
demonstrates that late Neoproterozoic
seafloor sediment had well-developed
microbial mats and poorly developed,
vertically oriented bioturbation, thus
producing fairly stable, relatively low
water content substrates and a sharp
water-sediment interface. Later in the
Cambrian, seafloors with microbial
mats became increasingly scarce in
shallow-marine environments, largely
due to the evolution of burrowing
organisms with an increasing vertically
oriented component to their bioturbation.
The evolutionary and ecological
effects of these substrate changes on
benthic metazoans, referred to as the
Cambrian substrate revolution, are
presented here for two major animal
phyla, the Echinodermata and the
Mollusca