Article
Biology
ZhiFei Zhang, Martin R. Smith, XinYi Ren
Summary: The main animal lineages diversified in the Cambrian period, while the diversity at lower taxonomic ranks emerged gradually over the next 500 million years. Annelid worms appear to follow this pattern, with early-diverging crown-group annelids found in Cambrian Burgess Shale deposits and more derived polychaete families appearing in later periods. However, the discovery of 15 new fossils of the 'phoronid' Iotuba chengjiangensis challenges this view, as they exhibit similarities to derived polychaete families, indicating an earlier origin of modern annelid diversity.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhiliang Zhang, Zhifei Zhang, Junye Ma, Paul D. Taylor, Luke C. Strotz, Sarah M. Jacquet, Christian B. Skovsted, Feiyang Chen, Jian Han, Glenn A. Brock
Summary: Bryozoans, also known as ectoprocts or moss animals, are aquatic, primarily sessile, filter-feeding lophophorates that construct an organic or calcareous colonial exoskeleton. Fossils of Protomelission gatehousei from the early Cambrian of Australia and South China have been identified as potential stem-group bryozoans, pushing back the origin of the phylum Bryozoa by approximately 35 million years and aligning it with other skeletonized phyla in the Cambrian Age 3. This discovery reconciles the fossil record with molecular clock estimations of an early Cambrian origin and subsequent Ordovician radiation of Bryozoa following the acquisition of a carbonate skeleton.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Yu Liu, Gregory D. Edgecombe, Michel Schmidt, Andrew D. Bond, Roland R. Melzer, Dayou Zhai, Huijuan Mai, Maoyin Zhang, Xianguang Hou
Summary: This study reveals the presence of exites at the base of most appendages in the Cambrian arthropod Leanchoilia, suggesting a deeper origin for exites in arthropod phylogeny. The discovery of a previously undetected exite at the base of appendages sheds new light on the evolutionary history of arthropods.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2021)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Meng Cheng, Zihu Zhang, Chengsheng Jin, Wei Wei, Haiyang Wang, Thomas J. Algeo, Chao Li
Summary: Despite uncertainties about the degree of connectedness between the early Cambrian Nanhua Basin and the open ocean, analyzing the B/Ga proxy reveals a salinity gradient in the basin. Regional tectonic and/or global sea-level changes increased watermass exchange with the open ocean, weakening water-column stratification and reducing deep-water anoxia. This enhanced oceanic oxygenation, along with global environmental controls, modulated the expression of the Cambrian Explosion in South China.
SCIENCE CHINA-EARTH SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Yujing Li, Frances S. Dunn, Duncan J. E. Murdock, Jin Guo, Imran A. Rahman, Peiyun Cong
Summary: Newly discovered specimens of Rotadiscus grandis from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota in China reveal a previously unknown double spiral structure, indicating a combination of hemichordate and chordate characteristics. Phylogenetic analysis identifies Rotadiscus and related fossil taxa as stem ambulacrarians, filling a significant gap in the deuterostome tree of life.
Article
Biology
Justin Moon, Jean-Bernard Caron, Joseph Moysiuk
Summary: This study describes the discovery of Burgessomedusa phasmiformis gen. et sp. nov., the oldest known macroscopic free-swimming medusa in the fossil record, from the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. The research suggests an ancient origin for the free-swimming medusa life stage in early cnidarians and supports early evolutionary diversification of medusozoans during the late Precambrian-Cambrian transition.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Thomas H. P. Harvey
Summary: Research has revealed the presence of acritarch fossils from the early Cambrian with determinate colonial organization, indicating an early development of green algal phytoplankton in marine settings and potential adaptations to Cambrian metazoan invasion.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Tae-Yoon S. Park, Jikhan Jung, Mirinae Lee, Sangmin Lee, Yong Yi Zhen, Hong Hua, Lucas V. Warren, Nigel C. Hughes
Summary: Studying the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition and the Cambrian Explosion is crucial for understanding the evolutionary history of animals. Cloudinids, with derived characters linking them to cnidarians in the Cambrian, provide insight into the response of a primitive animal group during this period of rapid diversification.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Zhixin Sun, Fangchen Zhao, Han Zeng, Cui Luo, Heyo Van Iten, Maoyan Zhu
Summary: The discovery of the Linyi Lagerstatte in North China provides new insights into the Cambrian explosion of animals. This new lagerstatte contains well-preserved soft-bodied fossils and shows similarities with other known lagerstatten, offering a promising opportunity to study the Cambrian marine faunas.
NATIONAL SCIENCE REVIEW
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jennifer F. Hoyal Cuthill
Summary: The timing of extinctions and originations plays a crucial role in understanding evolution. In this study, the author argues that previous reports of Ediacaran survivors have been dismissed due to mistaken identity, similarities to other organisms, or assumptions about their extinction. By using the example of the lower Cambrian species Stromatoveris psygmoglena, the author demonstrates that extinction of the Ediacaran frondose biota did not occur until at least 30 million years after the end of the Ediacaran period. The study concludes that the classically Ediacaran frondose biota experienced multiple extinction events, but there is no direct evidence linking their extinction to the Cambrian transition.
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2022)
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Haifeng Fan, Xuewu Fu, Ruofei Yang, Hanjie Wen, Chunlin Hu, Jack F. Ward, Hongjie Zhang, Hui Zhang, Xingliang Zhang
Summary: By analyzing mercury isotopes in Cambrian marine sediments in the Nanhua Basin of South China, this study reveals that local terrestrial and/or atmospheric inputs played an important role in mercury enrichment in the early Cambrian period. The study also finds that the oxygenation events in both shallow and deep waters, as well as the enhanced marine primary productivity, were associated with the rising levels of molecular oxygen in seawater, which could be critical drivers of the Cambrian explosion.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Han Zeng, Fang-Chen Zhao, Zong-Jun Yin, Mao-Yan Zhu
Summary: The newly discovered hymenocarine Xiazhuangocaris chenggongensis has a unique bivalved carapace and distinctive trunk structure, representing a waptiid-like hymenocarine. Morphometric analysis suggests that the number of tergo-pleural rings and the proportion of exposed trunk length are important characters for studying hymenocarine morphology and phylogeny.
Article
Geochemistry & Geophysics
Chao Chang, Zhenfei Wang, Kang-Jun Huang, Hao Yun, Xingliang Zhang, Eva Stueeken
Summary: This study investigates the geochemical characteristics of the early-Cambrian Shuijingtuo Formation in Hubei Province, South China, and reveals the oxygenation history and nitrogen cycling during the Cambrian explosion. The findings suggest a progressive oxygenation of the depositional environment and a nitrogen isotopic gradient between the Qingjiang and Chengjiang areas, indicating different nitrate availability in seawater.
GEOCHIMICA ET COSMOCHIMICA ACTA
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Luoyang Li, Christian B. Skovsted, Tao Dai, Hao Yun, Dongjing Fu, Xingliang Zhang
Summary: Qingjianglepas elegans is a unique limpet-shaped shell found in the 518 million-year-old Qingjiang biota in China. The shell exhibits distinctive features similar to some modern fissurellids, and its abrupt ontogenetic change suggests a possible shift in microhabitat throughout growth. This discovery extends the morphological diversity of Cambrian mollusks and sheds light on the evolution of conchiferans.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Biology
Karma Nanglu, Jean-Bernard Caron
Summary: The study describes a new complex ecological relationship found in the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale, indicating a commensalism between annelids and hemichordates, which is a first in the fossil record. This finding suggests that commensal symbioses in the Cambrian may be more common than currently recognized.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology
Bradley Deline, Jeffrey R. Thompson, Nicholas S. Smith, Samuel Zamora, Imran A. Rahman, Sarah L. Sheffield, William Ausich, Thomas W. Kammer, Colin D. Sumrall
Article
Paleontology
Fernando A. Ferratges, Samuel Zamora, Marcos Aurell
NEUES JAHRBUCH FUR GEOLOGIE UND PALAONTOLOGIE-ABHANDLUNGEN
(2020)
Letter
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Samuel Zamora, David F. Wright, Rich Mooi, Bertrand Lefebvre, Thomas E. Guensburg, Przemyslaw Gorzelak, Bruno David, Colin D. Sumrall, Selina R. Cole, Aaron W. Hunter, James Sprinkle, Jeffrey R. Thompson, Timothy A. M. Ewin, Oldrich Fatka, Elise Nardin, Mike Reich, Martina Nohejlova, Imran A. Rahman
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
Imran A. Rahman, James O'Shea, Stephan Lautenschlager, Samuel Zamora
Article
Geography, Physical
Fernando A. Ferratges, Samuel Zamora, Marcos Aurell
Summary: The lower Eocene coral reef in the Ramals area of the southern Pyrenees in northeast Spain preserved a high diversity of invertebrate groups, including decapod crustaceans. Statistical analysis of the distribution of decapod crustaceans across different reefal domains showed preferences for specific reef areas for certain species, with most crustaceans concentrated in the periphery of the reef mounds.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2021)
Article
Geology
Fernando Ari Ferratges, Matus Hyzny, Samuel Zamora
Summary: Decapod crustaceans from the Forcall Formation in the Oliete Sub-basin of northeast Spain are studied, with the most common species being the glypheid lobster Athe-rfieldastacus magnus. The study reveals different preservation modes and their impact on assemblage diversity. The parautochthonous nature of the assemblages suggests preservation within or close to their habitat by obrution events in an offshore setting.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2021)
Article
Geology
Samuel Zamora, Mikel A. Lopez-Horgue
Summary: The discovery of the cyrtocrinid crinoid Proholopus holopiformis in the upper Albian succession in Spain provides valuable insights into the species' ecological habits and distribution, and contributes to the classification of this species and its family.
CRETACEOUS RESEARCH
(2022)
Article
Biology
Samuel Zamora, Imran A. Rahman, Colin D. Sumrall, Adam P. Gibson, Jeffrey R. Thompson
Summary: This study describes a new pentaradial echinoderm species, Yorkicystis haefneri n. gen. n. sp., which provides the oldest evidence of secondary non-mineralization of the echinoderm skeleton. The research reveals that the axial region is originally calcified while the extraxial region is non-mineralized, suggesting a secondary reduction of the skeleton in Yorkicystis. This reduction may have allowed for greater flexibility of the body wall.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Fernando A. Ferratges, Pedro Artal, Barry W. M. van Bakel, Samuel Zamora
Summary: This study describes a highly diversified fauna of hermit crabs associated with reef environments from the Serraduy Formation (lower Eocene) in the southern Pyrenees (Huesca, Spain). It represents one of the highest paguroid diversities in a single Eocene outcrop worldwide, including six newly identified species. The findings demonstrate that paguroids were diverse by the early Eocene in coral-reef environments and contribute to filling the knowledge gap between the poorly known Paleocene assemblages and the more diverse mid- to late Eocene ones.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Fernando A. Ferratges, Javier Luque, Jose Luis Dominguez, Alex Osso, Marcos Aurell, Samuel Zamora
Summary: This article describes a unique fossilized higher true crab from the upper Eocene in northern Spain and examines its anatomy and phylogenetic relationships. The discovery is significant for understanding the biogeographical distribution, origins, and anatomical diversity of Eocene eubrachyurans.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephen Pates, Samuel Zamora
Summary: The discovery of fossils in high latitude Cambrian deposits expands our understanding of the evolution and radiation of early animal life, revealing the significance of animal diversity and paleogeographic trends.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Samuel Zamora, David F. Wright, Martina Nohejlova
Summary: The fossil species 'Asturicystis' havliceki Fatka & Kordule from the middle Cambrian of Bohemia (Czech Republic) is re-described as a new genus Bohemiacinctus. Phylogenetic analyses show that Bohemiacinctus havliceki is distantly related to Asturicystis and is likely an early representative of the family Sucocystidae. The results highlight the importance of accurate morphological character descriptions and taxonomy in phylogenetic analyses of fossil taxa, especially for small clades like cinctans.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Jun Zhao, Imran A. Rahman, Samuel Zamora, Ailin Chen, Peiyun Cong
Summary: The article describes the fossil of Sprinkleoglobus extenuatus gen. et sp. nov. from Yunnan Province, China, which represents the first unequivocal echinoderm discovered from the early Cambrian of South China and among the oldest globally. Research suggests that early echinoderms were adapted for attaching to hard substrates, indicating that the so-called Cambrian substrate revolution was not a strong control on early evolution of attachment in echinoderms.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Fernando Ferratges, Samuel Zamora, Marcos Aurell
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
Samuel Zamora, James Sprinkle, Colin D. Sumrall
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2020)
