| 1. |
- Zhang, Zhifei, et al.
(författare)
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An early Cambrian agglutinated tubular lophophorate with brachiopod characters
- 2014
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Ingår i: Scientific Reports. - : Springer Science and Business Media LLC. - 2045-2322. ; 4:4682, s. 1-7
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- The morphological disparity of lophotrochozoan phyla makes it difficult to predict the morphology of the last common ancestor. Only fossils of stem groups can help discover the morphological transitions that occurred along the roots of these phyla. Here, we describe a tubular fossil Yuganotheca elegans gen. et sp. nov. from the Cambrian (Stage 3) Chengjiang Lagersta¨tte (Yunnan, China) that exhibits an unusual combination of phoronid, brachiopod and tommotiid (Cambrian problematica) characters, notably a pair of agglutinated valves, enclosing a horseshoe-shaped lophophore, supported by a lower bipartite tubular attachment structure with a long pedicle with coelomic space. The terminal bulb of the pedicle provided anchorage in soft sediment. The discovery has important implications for the early evolution of lophotrochozoans, suggesting rooting of brachiopods into the sessile lophotrochozoans and the origination of their bivalved bauplan preceding the biomineralization of shell valves in crown brachiopods.
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| 2. |
- Butler, Aodhán D., 1986-
(författare)
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Decoding the fossil record of early lophophorates : Systematics and phylogeny of problematic Cambrian Lophotrochozoa
- 2015
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Doktorsavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The evolutionary origins of animal phyla are intimately linked with the Cambrian explosion, a period of radical ecological and evolutionary innovation that begins approximately 540 Mya and continues for some 20 million years, during which most major animal groups appear. Lophotrochozoa, a major group of protostome animals that includes molluscs, annelids and brachiopods, represent a significant component of the oldest known fossil records of biomineralised animals, as disclosed by the enigmatic ‘small shelly fossil’ faunas of the early Cambrian. Determining the affinities of these scleritome taxa is highly informative for examining Cambrian evolutionary patterns, since many are supposed stem-group Lophotrochozoa. The main focus of this thesis pertained to the stem-group of the Brachiopoda, a highly diverse and important clade of suspension feeding animals in the Palaeozoic era, which are still extant but with only with a fraction of past diversity. Major findings include adding support for tommotiid affinity as stem-group lophophorates. Determining morphological character homologies vital to reconstructing the brachiopod stem-group was achieved by comparing Cambrian Lagerstätten with the widespread biomineralised record of Cambrian stem-brachiopods and small shelly fossils. Polarising character changes associated with the putative transition from scleritome organisms to crown-group brachiopods was furthered by the description of an enigmatic agglutinated tubular lophophorate Yuganotheca elegans from the Chengjiang Lagerstätte, China, which possesses an unusual combination of phoronid, brachiopod and tommotiid characters. These efforts were furthered by the use of X-ray tomographic techniques that revealed novel anatomical features, including exceptionally preserved setae in the tommotiid Micrina. The evidence for a common origin of columnar brachiopod shell structures in the tommotiids is suggested and critically examined. Enigmatic and problematic early and middle Cambrian lophotrochozoans are newly described or re-described in light of new evidence, namely: the stem-brachiopod Mickwitzia occidens Walcott from the Indian Springs Lagerstätte, Nevada; a putative stem-group entoproct Cotyledion tylodes Luo and Hu from Chengjiang, China; a new enigmatic family of rhynchonelliform brachiopods exemplified by the newly described Tomteluva perturbata from the Stephen Formation, Canada; and the tommotiid Micrina etheridgei (Tate) from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. Cladistic analyses of fossil morphological data supports a monophyletic Brachiopoda.
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| 3. |
- Butler, Aodhán D., 1986-
(författare)
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Exceptionally Preserved Cambrian Lophotrochozoa : Taxonomy, Systematics and Taphonomy of Chengjiang and Indian Springs Lophophorates
- 2014
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Licentiatavhandling (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The origin and evolution of Lophotrochozoa can be traced to the plethora of lower Cambrian scleritome taxa. We aim to determine the character suites linking these stem-Lophotrochozoa to their extant crown relatives, in particular the small shelly tommotiids and the stem-group brachiopods. Tracing the origin of morphological characters from these fossils informs the evolution and construction of lophotrochozoan body plans associated with the Cambrian Explosion. This is achieved by comparing records of exceptional preservation, most conspicuously Burgess Shale type Lagerstätten with more widespread Cambrian stem-brachiopods and small shelly fossils with their purported extant relatives, for example. Determining morphological character homologies is crucial to reconstructing the brachiopod stem-group and in polarising character changes associated with the putative transition from scleritome organisms to crown-group brachiopods. In this thesis arguments for a common origin of specific shell structures and exceptionally preserved soft-tissues are investigated. New records of enigmatic stem-group lophotrochozoans are described from two localities, the Indian Springs and Chengjiang Lagerstätte. Comprising the stem-brachiopod Mickwitzia cf. occidens, a putative stem-group entoproct Cotyledion tylodes and an enigmatic agglutinated tubular lophophorate possessing an unusual combination of phoronid, brachiopod and tommotiid characters, Yuganotheca elegans gen. et sp. nov. The interplay of bauplan, microbial activity and environmental factors resulting in such incidences of exceptional soft tissue preservation is also examined critically. Consequently, the evolution of through-gut bearing bilaterians is suggested as the reason for why the Cambrian hosts such a plethora of Lagerstätten. The closure of this taphonomic window is then associated with increased bioturbation following the Cambrian substrate revolution.
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| 4. |
- Butler, Aodhán D., 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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Exceptionally-preserved Mickwitzia from the Indian Springs Lagerstätte.
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Ingår i: Journal of Paleontology. - 0022-3360 .- 1937-2337.
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Tidskriftsartikel (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- A new assemblage of the early Cambrian stem group brachiopod Mickwitzia is described from the Indian Springs Lagerstätte possessing exceptionally preserved mantle setae. Critical analysis of shell structure and mantle setae from these specimens with those from additional sites with variable diagenetic history reveals the extent of taphonomic alteration and further sheds light on the phylogenetic position of the mickwitziids. A morphometric approach to shell outline and growth landmarks within these specimens reveals a clear species level discriminant signal of Nevada Mickwitzia in comparison to M. monlifera from Sweden. Detailed electron micrographs allow revision of the genus diagnosis for Mickwitzia based on presence of inward pointing phosphatic cones and tangential setae bearing tubes. We also conclude the inward pointing cone structures are not consistent with setal bearing structures as previously thought, but rather represent an endopunctae-like structure. A tommotiid-like shell architecture and presence of acrotretid columns in the dorsal juvenile shell of M. cf. occidens further strengthens the proposed close relationship between stem-group brachiopods and tommotiids.
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| 5. |
- Butler, Aodhán D., 1986-, et al.
(författare)
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The role of microbes in decay and preservation: a Cambrian Explosion of animals and Lagerstätten.
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Annan publikation (övrigt vetenskapligt/konstnärligt)abstract
- The abrupt appearance of animals in the early Cambrian has been interpreted either as an explosive biological diversification or, alternatively, as an artefact resulting from a sudden increase in the probability of animal remains becoming fossilised. We attempt to reconcile these competing interpretations in exceptionally-preserved biota, which provide a vital part of our knowledge of the disparity and diversity of the Cambrian fauna. We assess the factors influencing the potential for exceptional fossil preservation using the brine shrimp Artemia salina as our experimental model. Following gut wall rupture, but prior to cuticle failure, internal, gut-derived microbes spread into the body cavity and formed pseudomorphs of tissues. Gut-derived microbes were shown to be the main factor mediating both decay and biofilm replacement and tissue stabilisation. This pattern of preservation is consistent with results from other experimental studies and with the nature of Burgess Shale type fossil remains. Thus, the evolution of a through-gut may have not only underpinned the ecological revolution that bilaterian diversification represents, but also catalysed the exceptional preservation of early bilaterian fossils.
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| 6. |
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| 7. |
- Streng, Michael, et al.
(författare)
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A new family of Cambrian rhynchonelliformean brachiopods (Order Naukatida) with an aberrant coral-like morphology
- 2016
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Ingår i: Palaeontology. - : Wiley. - 0031-0239 .- 1475-4983. ; 59:2, s. 269-293
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Tidskriftsartikel (refereegranskat)abstract
- Tomteluva perturbata gen. et sp. nov. and Nasakia thulensis gen. et sp. nov., two new rhynchonelliformean brachiopod taxa, are described from carbonate beds from the lower middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) basinal Stephen Formation, Canada, and the upper lower Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4) Henson Gletscher Formation, North Greenland, respectively. The two taxa are characterized by an unusual coral-like morphology typified by a high conical ventral valve with an anteriorly curved umbo and a tube-like structure inside the ventral valve, interpreted as pedicle tube. Both resemble the problematic late middle Cambrian (Drumian) species Anomalocalyx cawoodi Brock from Australia, whose systematic affiliation is controversial. Together, the three genera are interpreted as representatives of a new family of rhynchonelliformean brachiopods, the Tomteluvidae fam. nov., which is interpreted as an aberrant or derived taxon within the Order Naukatida. Convergence between the Tomteluvidae and the coralla of small solitary Cambrian coralimorphs, as well as the late Palaeozoic reef-building richthofenioid brachiopods, might indicate adaptation to a similar life habits and environments. However, their small size (length 4 mm), well-developed pedicle and perfect morphological symmetry make it more likely that tomteluvids lived attached to frondose algae or sponges, above the seafloor, in a similar fashion to the acrotretoid brachiopods with which they show a high degree of morphological convergence. Morphological features of the pedicle tube of N. thulensis suggest that the tomteluvid pedicle is homologous to that in modern rhynchonelliformean brachiopods. This is the first evidence of the pedicle type within the Naukatida and represents the oldest confirmation of a rhynchonellate pedicle.
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