Crossing the boundary : small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) as a means of tracking Ediacaran–Cambrian 'survivors'

• Only a handful of body‐fossil taxa are known to span the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary. This pattern has frequently been interpreted as signifying a terminal Proterozoic mass extinction; however, identification of such major evolutionary perturbations is heavily reliant on taphonomic continuity. Unfortunately, the traceability of taxa over this boundary is seriously compromised; the coincident opening and closure of several key taphonomic windows around the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition hampers any detailed tracking of taxonomic ranges from this interval, a problem that may amplify the apparent disconnect between Ediacaran and Cambrian biotas. Before a precise outline of the magnitude, timing and nature of this transition can reasonably be achieved, it is crucial to establish an improved record of non‐biomineralizing taxa in order to distinguish genuine macroevolutionary patterns from any obscuring taphonomic signals. The emerging record of small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) exhibits a more-or-less continuous pattern of preservation spanning this critical interval. We focus on a number of distinctive SCF taxa (including possible metazoans) that range across the Ediacaran–Cambrian divide. These rare additions to the select club of ‘Ediacaran survivors’ highlight the wider significance of SCFs as a novel source of tracking evolutionary patterns over the Proterozoic–Phanerozoic transition. 

Ämnesord

NATURVETENSKAP  -- Geovetenskap och miljövetenskap -- Annan geovetenskap och miljövetenskap (hsv//swe)

NATURAL SCIENCES  -- Earth and Related Environmental Sciences -- Other Earth and Related Environmental Sciences (hsv//eng)

Nyckelord

Historical Geology and Paleontology

Historisk geologi och paleontologi

Publikations- och innehållstyp

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