DOCSLIB.ORG

Lab 7: Precambrian Observations

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Lab 7: Precambrian Observations Lab 7: Precambrian Observations How This Lab Will Work 1. Open a Word doc or similar on your computer 2. At various points I will ask you to answer a question based on the activities in this lab. 3. I will indicate these points by this symbol: Please answer these questions in your Word doc. 4. After you have assembled the answers into your Word doc, go to the course Canvas page. 5. On the module for this week there is a link to TurnItIn. 6. Please upload your document using the TurnInIt. 7. That completes the lab assignment. :) Reminder on Observation Project Please remember that as we go through these, you should be using these fossils to construct your lab observation project, which was detailed last time. Easy to put off, hard to catch up. ;) Topics Today 1. Trace fossils 2. Archaeaocyathids 3. Graptolites 4. Brachiopods 5. Trilobites 6. Burgess Shale 7. Anomalocaris Trace Fossils Before we find body fossils in the Cambrian, there is a long period (nearly 10 million years) where what we primarily see are are the traces left behind by soft-bodied organisms. Trace fossils are also called ichnofossils. These can fall into a variety of shapes and classifications, as shown in this diagram: Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 1 of 9 1. What kind of organisms might have had the right body shape to make these traces? ________________________ 2. Skolithos https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/ichnofacies-skolithos-81daf7ea1f49436c89222bd4e0fd8619 Given the orientation in the 3d model and in the diagram above, what direction do you think is up? _________ What modern marine organisms make burrows in a similar way? ___________ 3. Cruziana. Trilobites leave very distinctive marks representing their “scuttling” along the bottom. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/trilobite-cruziana-8362f7f7c07a4fd1abeadf9f11e6cc1e How can we determine which direction the trilobite was going? _________________ Please answer these questions in your Word doc. Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 2 of 9 Archaeocyathids Before there were proper porifera sponges, there were archaeocyathids, an extinct line of filter feeders that occupied the same niche as modern sponges. Examine this diagram: Try to identify these body parts in the archaeocyathid 3d model https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/porifera-archaeocyathid-08ef7e500f1648528221801f1a2e2b5a 4. How do modern sponges make their living? ___________ 5. Are they plants or animals or what? _____________ 6. If archaeocyathids could make a living in the same way as modern sponges, what does that tell you about the amount of living things at this time? _________________ Please answer these questions in your Word doc. Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 3 of 9 Graptolites https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/graptolite1-fd34dc93314a45839fc6588aceda3dfd https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/graptolite2-0918f7a9dc52474dbfd9951cbfbe488b Graptolites are fascinating, poorly-understood creatures from the middle Cambrian to the Carboniferous. For a long time geologists did not comprehend the elongated, ridged shapes of these fossils. We now think these are part of a filter feeding apparatus. At first these animals were colonial and fixed to the ocean floor; later graptolites were almost exclusively free-floating. Here’s what they might have looked like in life: 7. Does this look to you like a plant? an animal? something else? ________________ 8. What about their shape suggests a filter-feeding lifestyle? ________________ Please answer these questions in your Word doc. Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 4 of 9 Brachiopods Brachs have a long, rich fossil history, and in fact are still among us today. I think of burrowing brachiopods as clam- like in their lifestyle; today they are more common in areas of the oceans not frequented by clams. The kinds of brachiopods we see here are called inarticulata. Inarticulata do not have a toothed-hinge holding together the shell, but rather do this just with muscle. They tend to make shells from chitin and calcium phosphate. Another type of brachiopod is the articulata, which do have a toothed-hinge; however, they’ll come in later in the story. living example: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/brachiopod-lingula-anatina-pri-76882- bd7e501c2c0d4a6b8b32adc6cf90fe19 example from Chengjiang: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lingulella- chengjiangensis-68b160d1bb74432ea4549300bf4ac620 fossil: https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/lingula-fossil-97ba3f63bdc14339876c0c9c071dfcf7 9. What modern animal do these most resemble? ______________ Please answer these questions in your Word doc. Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 5 of 9 Trilobites Trilobites are arthropods ubiquitous from the Cambrian (the first appearing about 530 Ma) to the Permian mass extinction (251 Ma). You have to give props and respect to critters who thrived for a quarter of a billion years. Anatomically modern humans, by contrast, have only been around for about 200,000 years. First, the “tri” thing. Trilobites are called “three lobes” not because of their head (cephalon), thorax (middle part), and pygidium (tail), which is pronounced “pie-jid-ee-um”. They are called “three lobes” because of the three-part division going from left to right, which includes the left pleural lobe, the axial (middle) lobe, and the right pleural lobe. As you examine these, please pay special attention to the shapes of their cephalons and pygidiums, as well as how the legs (if present) are visible beyond the shell itself. These diagrams may be useful to you: 10. Elrathia kingi. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/elrathia-kingi-dd13f6475e4c41f1947bbf43897641c1 11. Peronopsis interstricus. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/question-3c-peronopsis- interstricus-5c768fb4445d4c27b2eac126ecd17ee2 Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 6 of 9 12. Bathyuriscus formosus. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/question-3a-bathyuriscus- formosus-0308f81c0a2842f7a3234870bd043f08 Later on we will see many more trilobites as they evolve into a variety of shapes. Anomalocaris The Cambrian was a time of killing. The Ediacaran period had organisms that did not seem to have eyes or claws or teeth—or even mouths. Maybe everyone was cool and just chilled, filter-feeding or photosynthesizing, leaving everyone else in peace. But all this changed with the Cambrian. Life started ravenously eating other life. The Ediacarans disappear in a flash. The entire Cambrian explosion, some hypothesize, might have been driven forward so rapidly by a kind of life-death arms race between predators and prey. The Cambrian is a time period of death and murder. And this is one of the killers. What you’re seeing here is one the major killers, Anomalocaris, a manta-like organism that, when found intact, seems to have an awful lot of trilobite skeletons in its guts. Like, as if they really liked eating trilobites. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/anomalogaris-02-0542a380cc72485c89ae08b8966391b8 The coloration here is speculative; however, given the water depth and the way the water column scatters blue-range light, an organism with orange-pink hues would have been less visible, so this coloration is plausible. https://sketchfab.com/3d-models/anomalocaris-a11f71d33a024078acd4188238644a95 The first example, a reconstruction as in life, was made difficult by the fact that Anomalocaris apparently easily disarticulated into its constituents, including the grasping claws. For years it was not understood that the grasping claws, mouth parts, and body were part of the same organism. Mouth parts: https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/view-species.php?id=1&m=11& Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 7 of 9 The Burgess Shale The Burgess Shale is perhaps the most famous fossil site in the world. It is what is known as a lagerstätte, which is a German word indicating exceptional preservation conditions, especially in regards to soft tissues which do not normally preserve. In lecture we’ll get into hypotheses about why Burgess preservation was so extraordinary. One thing to look for in these pictures is the presence of dark, glossy material near the edges of the fossils. These extraordinary dark patches are actual carbon from the original organism. 13. Check out these videos of a “dive” to the Burgess from the Royal Ontario Museum: https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_1.mp4 https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_3.mp4 https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_7.mp4 https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_5.mp4 https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_4.mp4 https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_6.mp4 https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/video/sea-odyssey/seq_8.mp4 14. I’d like to turn you loose on the Royal Ontario Museum’s website, https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/index.php This has a wealth of information and you could spend pleasurable hours here. There’s a great fossil gallery (https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/fossil-gallery/list-species.php ). Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 8 of 9 Make sure to see examples of: Wiwaxia Hallucigenia Marella Aysheaia Canadia Olenoides Opabinia Pikaia Sidneyia Waptia Yohoia There’s lot of info about the site history and geology (https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/science/ burgess-shale/02-geological-background.php ). There are even splendid videos on the collection, preparing, and categorization of specimens (https://burgess-shale.rom.on.ca/en/science/fieldwork-collections/labwork-collections/ index.php ). So… spend some time looking at what interests you. :) (Note that this old site still uses Flash for videos and 3d models, and Flash is no longer supported by modern browsers. However, each video should have an MP4 alternative to view.) 15. What did you find most interesting? _____________________ Please answer these questions in your Word doc. Geology 121 Lab 7: Early Paleozoic, page 9 of 9 .
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Early and Middle Cambrian Trilobites from Antarctica
    Early and Middle Cambrian Trilobites From Antarctica GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 456-D Early and Middle Cambrian Trilobites From Antarctica By ALLISON R. PALMER and COLIN G. GATEHOUSE CONTRIBUTIONS TO THE GEOLOGY OF ANTARCTICA GEOLOGICAL SURVEY PROFESSIONAL PAPER 456-D Bio stratigraphy and regional significance of nine trilobite faunules from Antarctic outcrops and moraines; 28 species representing 21 genera are described UNITED STATES GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE, WASHINGTON : 1972 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF THE INTERIOR ROGERS C. B. MORTON, Secretary GEOLOGICAL SURVEY V. E. McKelvey, Director Library of Congress catalog-card No. 73-190734 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Washington, D.C. 20402 - Price 70 cents (paper cover) Stock Number 2401-2071 CONTENTS Page Page Abstract_ _ ________________________ Dl Physical stratigraphy______________________________ D6 I&troduction. _______________________ 1 Regional correlation within Antarctica ________________ 7 Biostratigraphy _____________________ 3 Systematic paleontology._____-_______-____-_-_-----_ 9 Early Cambrian faunules.________ 4 Summary of classification of Antarctic Early and Australaspis magnus faunule_ 4 Chorbusulina wilkesi faunule _ _ 5 Middle Cambrian trilobites. ___________________ 9 Chorbusulina subdita faunule _ _ 5 Agnostida__ _ _________-____-_--____-----__---_ 9 Early Middle Cambrian f aunules __ 5 Redlichiida. __-_--------------------------_---- 12 Xystridura mutilinia faunule- _ 5 Corynexochida._________--________-_-_---_----_
    [Show full text]
  • Arthropod Pattern Theory and Cambrian Trilobites
    Bijdragen tot de Dierkunde, 64 (4) 193-213 (1995) SPB Academie Publishing bv, The Hague Arthropod pattern theory and Cambrian trilobites Frederick A. Sundberg Research Associate, Invertebrate Paleontology Section, Los Angeles County Museum of Natural History, 900 Exposition Boulevard, Los Angeles, California 90007, USA Keywords: Arthropod pattern theory, Cambrian, trilobites, segment distributions 4 Abstract ou 6). La limite thorax/pygidium se trouve généralementau niveau du node 2 (duplomères 11—13) et du node 3 (duplomères les les 18—20) pour Corynexochides et respectivement pour Pty- An analysis of duplomere (= segment) distribution within the chopariides.Cette limite se trouve dans le champ 4 (duplomères cephalon,thorax, and pygidium of Cambrian trilobites was un- 21—n) dans le cas des Olenellides et des Redlichiides. L’extrémité dertaken to determine if the Arthropod Pattern Theory (APT) du corps se trouve généralementau niveau du node 3 chez les proposed by Schram & Emerson (1991) applies to Cambrian Corynexochides, et au niveau du champ 4 chez les Olenellides, trilobites. The boundary of the cephalon/thorax occurs within les Redlichiides et les Ptychopariides. D’autre part, les épines 1 4 the predicted duplomerenode (duplomeres or 6). The bound- macropleurales, qui pourraient indiquer l’emplacement des ary between the thorax and pygidium generally occurs within gonopores ou de l’anus, sont généralementsituées au niveau des node 2 (duplomeres 11—13) and node 3 (duplomeres 18—20) for duplomères pronostiqués. La limite prothorax/opisthothorax corynexochids and ptychopariids, respectively. This boundary des Olenellides est située dans le node 3 ou près de celui-ci. Ces occurs within field 4 (duplomeres21—n) for olenellids and red- résultats indiquent que nombre et distribution des duplomères lichiids.
    [Show full text]
  • An Inventory of Trilobites from National Park Service Areas
    Sullivan, R.M. and Lucas, S.G., eds., 2016, Fossil Record 5. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 74. 179 AN INVENTORY OF TRILOBITES FROM NATIONAL PARK SERVICE AREAS MEGAN R. NORR¹, VINCENT L. SANTUCCI1 and JUSTIN S. TWEET2 1National Park Service. 1201 Eye Street NW, Washington, D.C. 20005; -email: [email protected]; 2Tweet Paleo-Consulting. 9149 79th St. S. Cottage Grove. MN 55016; Abstract—Trilobites represent an extinct group of Paleozoic marine invertebrate fossils that have great scientific interest and public appeal. Trilobites exhibit wide taxonomic diversity and are contained within nine orders of the Class Trilobita. A wealth of scientific literature exists regarding trilobites, their morphology, biostratigraphy, indicators of paleoenvironments, behavior, and other research themes. An inventory of National Park Service areas reveals that fossilized remains of trilobites are documented from within at least 33 NPS units, including Death Valley National Park, Grand Canyon National Park, Yellowstone National Park, and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve. More than 120 trilobite hototype specimens are known from National Park Service areas. INTRODUCTION Of the 262 National Park Service areas identified with paleontological resources, 33 of those units have documented trilobite fossils (Fig. 1). More than 120 holotype specimens of trilobites have been found within National Park Service (NPS) units. Once thriving during the Paleozoic Era (between ~520 and 250 million years ago) and becoming extinct at the end of the Permian Period, trilobites were prone to fossilization due to their hard exoskeletons and the sedimentary marine environments they inhabited. While parks such as Death Valley National Park and Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve have reported a great abundance of fossilized trilobites, many other national parks also contain a diverse trilobite fauna.
    [Show full text]
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
    SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 116, NUMBER 5 Cfjarle* £. anb Jfflarp "^Xaux flKHalcott 3Resiearcf) Jf tmb MIDDLE CAMBRIAN STRATIGRAPHY AND FAUNAS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS (With 34 Plates) BY FRANCO RASETTI The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland SEP Iff 1951 (Publication 4046) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SEPTEMBER 18, 1951 SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 116, NUMBER 5 Cfjarie* B. anb Jfflarp "^Taux OTalcott &egearcf) Jf unb MIDDLE CAMBRIAN STRATIGRAPHY AND FAUNAS OF THE CANADIAN ROCKY MOUNTAINS (With 34 Plates) BY FRANCO RASETTI The Johns Hopkins University Baltimore, Maryland (Publication 4046) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SEPTEMBER 18, 1951 BALTIMORE, MD., U. 8. A. CONTENTS PART I. STRATIGRAPHY Page Introduction i The problem I Acknowledgments 2 Summary of previous work 3 Method of work 7 Description of localities and sections 9 Terminology 9 Bow Lake 11 Hector Creek 13 Slate Mountains 14 Mount Niblock 15 Mount Whyte—Plain of Six Glaciers 17 Ross Lake 20 Mount Bosworth 21 Mount Victoria 22 Cathedral Mountain 23 Popes Peak 24 Eiffel Peak 25 Mount Temple 26 Pinnacle Mountain 28 Mount Schaffer 29 Mount Odaray 31 Park Mountain 33 Mount Field : Kicking Horse Aline 35 Mount Field : Burgess Quarry 37 Mount Stephen 39 General description 39 Monarch Creek IS Monarch Mine 46 North Gully and Fossil Gully 47 Cambrian formations : Lower Cambrian S3 St. Piran sandstone 53 Copper boundary of formation ?3 Peyto limestone member 55 Cambrian formations : Middle Cambrian 56 Mount Whyte formation 56 Type section 56 Lithology and thickness 5& Mount Whyte-Cathedral contact 62 Lake Agnes shale lentil 62 Yoho shale lentil "3 iii iv SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOL.
    [Show full text]
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
    SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 64, NUMBER 5 CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY III No. 5. CAMBRIAN TRILOBITES . (With Plates 45 to 67) BY CHARLES D. WALGOTT (Publication 2420) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION SEPTEMBER 29, 1916 C^e JSorb (^adimote (preee BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A. CAMBRIAN GEOLOGY AND PALEONTOLOGY III No. 5.—CAMBRIAN TRILOBITES By CHARLES D. WALCOTT (With Plates 45 to 67) CONTENTS PAGE Introduction 307 Descriptions of genera and species 308 Family Corynexochidae Angelin 308 Corynexochus Angelin 309 Coryncxochus bornholmicnsis Gronwall (pi. 55, figs. 2, 2a-b) 313 Corynexochus brennus, new species (pi. 57, figs. 3, 30-6) 314 Corynexochus bubaris, new species (pi. 56, figs. 2, 2a-b, 3, 3a-f) 314 Corynexochus capito, new species (pi. 57, figs. 2, 2a-e) 315 Corynexochus clavatus (Walcott) (pi. 55, figs. 4, j,a-b) 316 Corynexochus dclagei Miquel (pi. 55, figs. 2, ^a) 317 Corynexochus minor (Walcott) (pi. 55, figs. 6, 6a-d) . 319 Corynexochus senectus (Billings) (pi. 55, figs. 7, 7a-c; pi. 56, figs. I, la-g) 319 Corynexochus spinulosus Angelin (pi. 55, figs, i, la-b) 323 Corynexochus stephenensis (Walcott) (pi. 55, figs. 5, Sa-c) 324 Bonnia, new subgenus 325 Corynexochus {Bonnia) busa, new species (pi. 57, fig. la; pi. 60, figs. 3, 2,a-c) 326 Corynexochus {Bonnia) fieldensis (Walcott) (pi. 57, figs. 4, 4a-b) 327 Corynexochus {Bonnia) parvulus (Billings) (pi. 57, figs. I, ib-c; pi. 64, fig. 6) 328 Family Dolichometopinse 330 Bathyuriscus Meek 330 Comparison of Bathyuriscus with other genera 2:^2 Bathyuriscus adaus, new species (pi.
    [Show full text]
  • A New Phyllopod Bed-Like Assemblage from the Burgess Shale of the Canadian Rockies
    ARTICLE Received 30 Dec 2013 | Accepted 7 Jan 2014 | Published 11 Feb 2014 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms4210 A new phyllopod bed-like assemblage from the Burgess Shale of the Canadian Rockies Jean-Bernard Caron1,2,3, Robert R. Gaines4,Ce´dric Aria1,2, M. Gabriela Ma´ngano5 & Michael Streng6 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. 1 Department of Natural History-Palaeobiology, Royal Ontario Museum, 100 Queen’s Park, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 2C6. 2 Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of Toronto, 25 Willcocks Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B2. 3 Department of Earth Sciences, University of Toronto, 25 Russell Street, Toronto, Ontario, Canada M5S 3B1. 4 Geology Department, Pomona College, 185 E. Sixth Street, Claremont, California 91711, USA.
    [Show full text]
  • Bathyuriscus Mendozanus (RUSCONI, 1945), TRILOBITES DEL CÁMBRICO MEDIO DE LA PRECORDILLERA ARGENTINA
    Bathyuriscus mendozanus DEL CÁMBRICO MEDIO DE LA PRECORDILLERA ARGENTINA 11 Bathyuriscus mendozanus (RUSCONI, 1945), TRILOBITES DEL CÁMBRICO MEDIO DE LA PRECORDILLERA ARGENTINA Osvaldo Luis BORDONARO1 y Carlos Fabián FOJO1 1 Departamento de Paleontología, IANIGLA-CCT (CONICET), CC 131, 5500, Mendoza, Argentina. [email protected] Bordonaro, O. L. & Fojo, C. F. 2011. Bathyuriscus mendozanus (Rusconi, 1945), trilobites del Cámbrico medio de la Precordillera Argentina. [Bathyuriscus mendozanus (Rusconi, 1945), middle Cambrian trilobites from the Argentine Precordillera.] Revista Española de Paleontología, 26 (1), 11-23. ISSN 0213-6937. ABSTRACT A taxonomic revision of the corynexochid trilobite Plesioparabolina mendozana is made and is reassigned as Bathyuriscus mendozanus, a valid species differentiated from the 19 laurentian species accepted for this genus. As well, previous open nomenclature Bathyuriscus specimens and new materials collected by the authors are in- cluded. The most fossils occur commonly in the cambrian olistoliths with outer platform mudstones, hosted in pelitic ordovician sequences. The trilobites were found in Quebrada Ojos de Agua, Quebrada Los Sombreros, Cordón del Alojamiento and San Isidro localities, from the Argentine Precordillera. The biostratigraphic distri- bution of the B. mendozanus is middle Cambrian, Marjumian Stage, Oryctocephalus Zone in the conventional laurentian chronology, which is equivalent in the International Subcommission on Cambrian Stratigraphy (ISCS) scale to the Cambrian Series
    [Show full text]
  • Smithsonian Miscellaneous Collections
    SMITHSONIAN MISCELLANEOUS COLLECTIONS VOLUME 93, NUMBER 5 NOMENCLATURE OF SOME CAMBRIAN TRILOBITES BY CHARLES ELMER RESSER Curator, Division of Invertebrate Paleontology, U. S. National Museum (Publication 3295) CITY OF WASHINGTON PUBLISHED BY THE SMITHSONIAN INSTITUTION FEBRUARY 14, 1935 5e £ovi> Q^aftitnow (prcee BALTIMORE, MD., U. S. A. ; NOMENCLATURE OF SOME CAMBRIAN TRILOBITES By CHARLES ELMER RESSER Curator, Division of Invertebrate Paleontology, U. S. National Museum INTRODUCTION After many years devoted to intensive study of Cambrian stratig- raphy and paleontology, the author hopes soon to submit for print- ing a complete summary of available information on the subject. Dur- ing the course of this research many interesting facts have been brought to light, and it becomes clear that much of the paleontology is not up to date. To include the necessary nomenclatural changes in the bibliographic portion of the summary would be to bury them hence it is planned to publish, from time to time, separate papers embodying necessary changes. Dr. Charles D. Walcott's intention to monograph the Cambrian trilobites as he did the brachiopods was repeatedly stated in his writ- ings and discussed in conversation over a period of many years. He finally came to realize that this would be more than a life-long work, since, while brachiopod species are numbered by hundreds, the trilo- bites comprise thousands. Unfortunately, just as he was well started on the description of the many new species in hand, matters pertain- ing to the World War robbed him of his research time. Although he accomplished much in this line, his assemblage of trilobites was so vast that many of the species remained unstudied and undescribed.
    [Show full text]
  • Shallow−Water Occurrence of Wiwaxia in the Middle Cambrian of the Barrandian Area, Czech Republic
    Shallow−water occurrence of Wiwaxia in the middle Cambrian of the Barrandian area, Czech Republic OLDŘICH FATKA, PETR KRAFT, and MICHAL SZABAD Isolated sclerites of the genus Wiwaxia are reported from Geologic setting and stratigraphy shale interlayers in lower levels of middle Cambrian (un− named 3rd Series of Cambrian) Buchava Formation in the For the first time the lithostratigraphy of Cambrian in the Skryje− Skryje−Týřovice Basin in the Czech Republic interpreted Týřovice Basin was studied by Barrande (1846). Fatka et al. (in as shallow−water sediments. Geographic distribution of press) summarised the earlier data and distinguished four separate Wiwaxia indicates latitudinal control as all occurrences are members within the Buchava Formation in recent terminology obviously restricted to tropical belt. (Fig. 1). The locality “Orthisový lůmek” near Skryje exposes lower portion of the sequence, from upper levels of the Mileč Member to lower levels of Skryje Member. Detailed description Introduction of the section was published by Kettner (1923: 16). A rich record of specimens with slightly sclerotised skeletal parts or even soft−bodied fossils have been established from several Fauna of the Mileč and Slapnice members well−known lower and middle Cambrian Lagerstätte, e.g., Bur− gess Shale of the Stephen Formation, Kinzers, Marjum, and Sclerites of Wiwaxia were discovered in basal clastic sediments Wheeler formations in North America; Buen Formation in North referred to the Slapnice Member. Slapnice and Mileč members Greenland; Doushantuo, Chengjiang, and Kaili in China; Emu yielded almost identical faunal assemblages, which strongly dif− Bay Shale in Australia and Sinsk FormationinRussia(Conway fers from fauna of the overlaying Skryje Shale.
    [Show full text]
  • Burgess Shale: Cambrian Explosion in Full Bloom
    Bottjer_04 5/16/02 1:27 PM Page 61 4 Burgess Shale: Cambrian Explosion in Full Bloom James W. Hagadorn he middle cambrian burgess shale is one of the world’s best-known and best-studied fossil deposits. The story of Tthe discovery of its fauna is a famous part of paleontological lore. While searching in 1909 for trilobites in the Burgess Shale Formation of the Canadian Rockies, Charles Walcott discovered a remarkable “phyl- lopod crustacean” on a shale slab (Yochelson 1967). Further searching revealed a diverse suite of soft-bodied fossils that would later be described as algae, sponges, cnidarians, ctenophores, brachiopods, hyoliths, pria- pulids, annelids, onychophorans, arthropods, echinoderms, hemichor- dates, chordates, cirripeds, and a variety of problematica. Many of these fossils came from a single horizon, in a lens of shale 2 to 3 m thick, that Walcott called the Phyllopod (leaf-foot) Bed. Subsequent collecting at and near this site by research teams led by Walcott, P. E. Raymond, H. B. Whittington, and D. Collins has yielded over 75,000 soft-bodied fossils, most of which are housed at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., and the Royal Ontario Museum (ROM) in Toronto. Although interest in the Burgess Shale fauna has waxed and waned since its discovery, its importance has inspired work on other Lagerstät- ten and helped galvanize the paleontological community’s attention on soft-bodied deposits in general. For example, work on the Burgess Shale Copyright © 2002. Columbia University Press, All rights reserved. May not be reproduced in any form without permission from the publisher, except fair uses permitted under U.S.
    [Show full text]
  • Ediacaran–Ordovician of East Laurentia— S
    EDIACARAN–ORDOVICIAN OF EAST LAURENTIA— S. W. FORD MEMORIAL VOLUME THE UNIVERSITY OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK Regents of The University ROBERT M. BENNETT, Chancellor, B.A., M.S. .......................................................................................................... Tonawanda MERRYL H. TISCH, Vice Chancellor, B.A., M.A. Ed.D. ........................................................................................... New York SAUL B. COHEN, B.A., M.A., Ph.D. ........................................................................................................................ New Rochelle JAMES C. DAWSON, A.A., B.A., M.S., Ph.D. ........................................................................................................... Peru ANTHONY S. BOTTAR, B.A., J.D. .............................................................................................................................. Syracuse GERALDINE D. CHAPEY, B.A., M.A., Ed.D. ............................................................................................................ Belle Harbor ARNOLD B. GARDNER, B.A., LL.B. .......................................................................................................................... Buffalo HARRY PHILLIPS, 3rd, B.A., M.S.F.S. ....................................................................................................................... Hartsdale JOSEPH E. BOWMAN,JR., B.A., M.L.S., M.A., M.Ed., Ed.D. ................................................................................. Albany
    [Show full text]
  • Stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley Sequence in Rutland County, Vermont, and the Taconic Sequence in Northern Washington County, New York
    University of New Hampshire University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository New England Intercollegiate Geological NEIGC Trips Excursion Collection 1-1-1969 Stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley Sequence in Rutland County, Vermont, and the Taconic Sequence in Northern Washington County, New York Theokritoff, George Thompson, James B. Jr. Follow this and additional works at: https://scholars.unh.edu/neigc_trips Recommended Citation Theokritoff, George and Thompson, James B. Jr., "Stratigraphy of the Champlain Valley Sequence in Rutland County, Vermont, and the Taconic Sequence in Northern Washington County, New York" (1969). NEIGC Trips. 117. https://scholars.unh.edu/neigc_trips/117 This Text is brought to you for free and open access by the New England Intercollegiate Geological Excursion Collection at University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in NEIGC Trips by an authorized administrator of University of New Hampshire Scholars' Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 7-1 Trip 7 0 STRATIGRAPHY OF THE CHAMPLAIN VALLEY SEQUENCE IN RUTLAND COUNTY, VERMONT, % AND THE TACONIC SEQUENCE IN NORTHERN WASHINGTON COUNTY, NEW YORK By George Theokritoff and James B. Thompson, Jr. (Rutgers University, Newark, New Jersey 07102 and Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138) INTRODUCTION The Taconic sequence, dominantly of Cambro-Ordovician shales with subordinate sandstones and limestones, extends some 150 miles from west- central Vermont southward along the Hudson Valley into Dutchess County, New York. It is juxtaposed with a contemporaneous sequence consisting essentially of sandstones and carbonates. The Taconic area has been the subject of major controversies since 1842, when Emmons applied the name Taconic to certain rocks near Williamstown in western Massachusetts; he considered the Taconic to be older than what we now call the Ordovician.
    [Show full text]