Article
Geology
Leslie A. Melim, Sebastien R. Mure-Ravaud, Thomas A. Hegna, Brian J. Bellott, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril
Summary: This study reports on silicified trilobite sclerites with associated silicified biofilm from the Cambrian Weeks Formation, Utah (USA), providing support for the role of microbial biofilms in silicification. The presence of carbon-rich threads, ribbons, and mats coating the sclerites and silica-cemented matrix is interpreted as silicified biofilm. The study also suggests that silica precipitation continued into the surrounding matrix following bacterial decay, supporting the idea that bacterially mediated decay is key to the silicification of carbonate bioclasts.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephen Pates, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Allison C. Daley, Carlo Kier, Enrico Bonino, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: Radiodont diversity in the Marjum fauna has been expanded with the description of new taxa, including Caryosyntrips and Pahvantia, as well as a new genus and species, Buccaspinea cooperi gen. et sp. nov. Pahvantia hastata specimens from the Marjum Formation are particularly large, resembling those found in the Wheeler Formation. The description of additional nektonic taxa in the Marjum Formation suggests a higher proportion of free-swimming species compared to other Lagerstatten in the region.
Article
Biology
Julien Kimmig, Rhiannon J. LaVine, James D. Schiffbauer, Sven O. Egenhoff, Kevin L. Shelton, Wade W. Leibach
Summary: The Spence Shale Member in Utah and Idaho contains non-biomineralized fossil assemblages, known as the Spence Shale Lagerstätte, dominated by panarthropods and other diverse infaunal organisms. This study identified a new polychaete taxon, Shaihuludia shurikeni gen. et sp. nov., and reassigned a previous annelid fossil to Burgessochaeta cf. B. setigera. The occurrence of Burgessochaeta is the first outside the Burgess Shale, while the discovery of Shaihuludia shurikeni gen. et sp. nov. adds to the diversity of annelids in the middle Cambrian.
HISTORICAL BIOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ming-Yue Dai, Hua-Shan Zhang, Wei Zheng, Yong-An Qi, Zhi-Feng Xing, Zhen Zhang
Summary: The role of microorganisms in the formation of giant ooids in the Cambrian Miaolingian Series in North China has been confirmed by examining the nuclei and cortices of the ooids. Microbes such as Girvanella play a significant role in the formation process.
JOURNAL OF PALAEOGEOGRAPHY-ENGLISH
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Ming-Xiang Mei, Muhammad Riaz, Zhen-Wu Zhang, Qing-Fen Meng, Yuan Hu
Summary: The dendrolites found in the Miaolingian Zhangxia Formation in China exhibit unique sedimentary fabrics and calcified microbial compositions, providing valuable insights into the growth patterns and forming mechanisms of dendrolites. These dendrolites are characterized by a bush-like fabric produced by calcified microbes, resembling modern shrubs and showing a symbiotic relationship with leiolites. This research not only enhances our understanding of dendrolites dominated by cyanobacterial mats, but also sheds light on the history of Early Paleozoic skeletal reefs and the microbe-metazoan transitions of the Cambrian.
JOURNAL OF PALAEOGEOGRAPHY-ENGLISH
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Yue Liang, Lars E. Holmer, Xiaolin Duan, Zhifei Zhang
Summary: This study provides a detailed description of a moderately diverse assemblage of brachiopods from the Latham Shale Lagerstatte and the upper Cadiz Formation in California. The unique preservation methods and characteristics of these brachiopods offer important insights into the origins and evolution of ancient ecosystems.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Wade W. Leibach, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Anna F. Whitaker, James D. Schiffbauer, Julien Kimmig
Summary: The middle Marjum Formation in Utah, USA is one of five Miaolingian Burgess Shale-type deposits, preserving a diverse non-biomineralized fossil assemblage dominated by panarthropods and sponges. A new palaeoscolecid taxon, Arrakiscolex aasei gen. et sp. nov., has been identified in this study, providing the first indisputable evidence for the presence of palaeoscolecids in the Marjum biota.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2021)
Article
Geology
John S. Peel
Summary: Rare phosphatised fragments of small shelly fossils from the upper Henson Gletscher Formation in North Greenland are described as a new genus and species, Dietericambria hensoniensis. The discovery extends the record of pentastomids and introduces the possibility of the oldest known tongue worm.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luke A. Parry, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, James C. Weaver, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: Ctenophores, predatory macroinvertebrates, have a controversial phylogenetic position with competing theories on the evolution of animal organ systems. Recent discoveries of two ctenophore species in Cambrian Utah shed light on the early evolution of nervous and sensory features in the phylum, showing a substantial complexity in the nervous system of Cambrian ctenophores.
Article
Geology
Xiaofang Sun, Mingyue Dai, Yong'an Qi, Bingchen Liu, Wei Zheng, Zhifeng Xing, Min Wang, Da Li, Yuchao Fan
Summary: Cambrian thrombolites in the Miaolingian Series of the southern North China Craton can be categorized as Girvanella thrombolites and Epiphyton thrombolites based on varied calcified cyanobacterial morphotypes. The different distribution patterns of nucleation sites result in variations in the clotted fabrics of the thrombolites. Further studies in Henan Province are expected to provide significant evidence for the analysis of thrombolite genesis.
CARBONATES AND EVAPORITES
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
Justin Moon, Jean-Bernard Caron, Robert R. Gaines
Summary: Exceptionally preserved fossil eggs and embryos provide critical information for studying paleoembryogenesis, but their rarity limits their use in research.
JOURNAL OF PALEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geology
Zhen Zhang, Min Wang, Yong-an Qi, Bingchen Liu
Summary: This study investigates the microbial origin of ooids in the Cambrian Miaolingian Series, North China, using various microscopy techniques. The findings suggest that filamentous cyanobacteria played a significant role in the formation of micrite in ooids, especially in the cortices of giant ooids. The presence of different types of microbial mineralization fabrics further supports the microbiological genesis of ooids.
CARBONATES AND EVAPORITES
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Shengguang Chen, Xinglian Yang, Xiong Liu, Zhengpeng Chen, Zhixin Sun, Fangchen Zhao
Summary: This study investigates the moult configurations of Oryctocephalus indicus and provides new materials for studying moulting behaviour in oryctocephalid trilobites. The findings are important for understanding the moulting behavior of trilobites.
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
John S. Peel
Summary: This study reports the first finding of the Cambrian mollusc Pseudomyona in Laurentia. Fossils of the type species Pseudomyona queenslandica from Australia and northern Siberia were described from North Greenland. A new species, Pseudomyona groenlandica, characterized by hinge teeth on the supra-apical surface, was identified in southeast Freuchen Land. The increase in hinge teeth supports the hypothesis of Tuarangia evolving from Pseudomyona.
BULLETIN OF GEOSCIENCES
(2021)
Article
Paleontology
John R. Foster
Summary: The restudy of dolichometopid trilobites in the Cadiz Formation in California, USA, and other formations in western North America reveals that there are only two species present in the Cadiz Formation. Additionally, qualitative characters used in the past for genus separation are found to be continuously variable, making them unreliable for species assignment.
PALAEONTOLOGIA ELECTRONICA
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yu Liu, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Denis Audo, Dayou Zhai, Huijuan Mai, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Jacob Skabelund, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Correction
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Yu Liu, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Denis Audo, Dayou Zhai, Huijuan Mai, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
GEOLOGICAL MAGAZINE
(2020)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Stephen Pates, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Allison C. Daley, Carlo Kier, Enrico Bonino, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: Radiodont diversity in the Marjum fauna has been expanded with the description of new taxa, including Caryosyntrips and Pahvantia, as well as a new genus and species, Buccaspinea cooperi gen. et sp. nov. Pahvantia hastata specimens from the Marjum Formation are particularly large, resembling those found in the Wheeler Formation. The description of additional nektonic taxa in the Marjum Formation suggests a higher proportion of free-swimming species compared to other Lagerstatten in the region.
Article
Entomology
Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Lukas Laibl
Summary: Trilobites possess a unique developmental trait of biomineralization on the dorsal exoskeleton soon after hatching, with their protaspid larvae characterized by non-articulated, calcified structures. A recent discovery of a protaspid-like fossil occurring with aglaspidid remains in Siberia was found to actually belong to the trilobite Isotelus, indicating that protaspid larvae are still a unique developmental trait of trilobites.
ARTHROPOD STRUCTURE & DEVELOPMENT
(2021)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Xuejian Zhu, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: The Furongian period lacks a comprehensive fossil record for many non-biomineralizing organisms, but the Sandu Formation in Guangxi, South China has provided insights into marine life evolution during this time period. A radiodont fossil from the Guole Konservat-Lagerstatte represents a new discovery, possibly belonging to the family Hurdiidae, with important implications for understanding the evolutionary history of this group. Hurdiids have the longest stratigraphical range within the Radiodonta, but only became prominent components of marine ecosystems during the middle Cambrian, with limited fossil records in younger strata.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Luke A. Parry, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, James C. Weaver, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: Ctenophores, predatory macroinvertebrates, have a controversial phylogenetic position with competing theories on the evolution of animal organ systems. Recent discoveries of two ctenophore species in Cambrian Utah shed light on the early evolution of nervous and sensory features in the phylum, showing a substantial complexity in the nervous system of Cambrian ctenophores.
Article
Biology
Stephen Pates, Joanna M. Wolfe, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Allison C. Daley, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: In this study, a fossil from the Wheeler Formation of Utah is reinterpreted as a new opabiniid, Utaurora comosa nov. gen. et sp. The phylogenetic evidence expands opabiniids to multiple Cambrian stages, highlighting the power of treespace visualization for resolving imperfectly preserved fossils and expanding the known diversity and spatio-temporal ranges within the euarthropod lower stem group.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Javier Ortega-Hernandez, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Sarah R. Losso, James C. Weaver
Summary: Recent years have seen an increase in reports of fossilized nervous tissues among Cambrian euarthropods, which provide insight into the early evolution of these animals. In this study, the authors describe the central nervous system of the chelicerate Mollisonia symmetrica from the mid-Cambrian Burgess Shale. The preserved neuroanatomy suggests that M. symmetrica represents the ancestral state of stem-group Chelicerata.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2022)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
De-guang Jiao, Stephen Pates, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Javier Ortega-Hernandez, Jie Yang, Tian Lan, Xi-guang Zhang
Summary: Stem-group euarthropods play a crucial role in understanding the early evolutionary and ecological history of the most species-rich animal phylum on Earth. This study reports two new euarthropods from the Cambrian Stage 4 Guanshan Biota of South China, contributing to our knowledge of the evolutionary history and biodiversity of this group.
ROYAL SOCIETY OPEN SCIENCE
(2021)
Article
Zoology
R. U. D. Y. Lerosey-aubril, Umakant Boopati Deshmukh
Summary: The genus name Persia was proposed but later found to be preoccupied by another genus, so a replacement name Persiax nom. nov. is proposed in this article.
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Karma Nanglu, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, James C. Weaver, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: Tunicates, an evolutionarily significant subphylum of marine chordates, have a poor fossil record, limiting our understanding of their origins. In this study, a 500-million-year-old tunicate fossil is described, suggesting that the modern tunicate body plan was established shortly after the Cambrian Explosion. The fossil provides insights into the early evolution of tunicates and proposes alternative hypotheses for their ancestral state and divergence time.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: The origin of arthropods is still poorly understood, and the presence of body flaps in many stem-group arthropods adds complexity to the understanding. A new lobopodian species, Utahnax vannieri, has been discovered in Utah, featuring a vermiform body with swimming flaps and a digestive system. The body flaps of Utahnax are similar to those of radiodonts, suggesting convergent evolution. The scarcity of non-radiodont swimming lobopodians in Cambrian Lagerstatten may be due to ecological competition with radiodonts.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Julien Kimmig, Stephen Pates, Jacob Skabelund, Andries Weug, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2020)
Article
Paleontology
De-Guang Jiao, Stephen Pates, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, Javier Ortega-Hernandez, Jie Yang, Tian Lan, Xi-Guang Zhang
Summary: The Guanshan Biota in South China during the Cambrian Stage 4 is characterized by a variety of biomineralizing and non-biomineralizing animals, including some unique fossil organisms exclusive to this deposit. The radiodonts in this biota, with four known species, appear to be endemic to this locality, showcasing a local adaptation to their prey and highlighting the importance of exploring different deposits for a better understanding of this group's evolution and distribution. The complex relationship between free-swimming radiodonts and benthic communities underscores the interplay between paleobiogeography and environmental distributions of predators and prey.
ACTA PALAEONTOLOGICA POLONICA
(2021)
