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| BURGESS SHALE-TYPE FOSSILS FROM A LOWER CAMBRIAN SHALLOW-SHELF SEQUENCE IN NORTHWESTERN CANADA |
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| Author(s): BUTTERFIELD NJ |
| Source: NATURE Volume: 369 Issue: 6480 Pages: 477-479 Published: JUN 9 1994 |
| Times Cited: 54 References: 30 |
| Abstract: FOSSIL Lagerstatten comparable to that of the Burgess Shale potentially provide the detail necessary to resolve and assess the so-called Cambrian Explosion of multicellular life(1,2); distributional and taphonomic biases, however, often limit the generalizations that can be drawn. Here I report widespread occurrences of Burgess Shale-type fossils in shallow-shelf sediments of the Lower Cambrian Mount Cap Formation, District of Mackenzie, Northwest Territories, Canada. These borehole assemblages significantly expand the known geographical and ecological range of such fossil biotas and document the early appearance of both wiwaxiid polychaetes and filter-feeding crustaceans. The ability of this latter group to exploit microplanktic primary productivity marks a fundamental shift in trophic structuring and may distinguish Phanerozoic from pre-Phanerozoic ecosystems. |
| Document Type: Article |
| Language: English |
| Reprint Address: BUTTERFIELD, NJ (reprint author), UNIV CAMBRIDGE, DEPT EARTH SCI, DOWNING ST, CAMBRIDGE CB2 3EQ, ENGLAND |
| Publisher: MACMILLAN MAGAZINES LTD, PORTERS SOUTH, 4 CRINAN ST, LONDON, ENGLAND N1 9XW |
| Subject Category: Multidisciplinary Sciences |
| IDS Number: NQ286 |
| ISSN: 0028-0836 |
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| | | | | | | | | Record from Web of Science® | | | | | | | | | |