2024/09/06 by Farid Saleh, Jonathan B. Antcliffe, Enzo Birolini +10 · 1 voice
Earth and Planetary Sciences · Social Sciences · #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils #Pleistocene-Era Hominins and Archaeology
paper · pdf · doi:10.1038/s41598-024-71622-w
openalex publication_date 2024/09/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/23
The Fezouata Biota (Morocco) is a Burgess Shale-type (BST) assemblage that provides a wealth of information on Early Ordovician ecosystems. Much work has been done to compare the preservation of the Fezouata Biota to other BSTs. However, studies investigating preservation variations within the Fezouata Biota are rare. Here, we use probabilities to investigate the preservation of various ecological categories of Fezouata eumetazoans. Complex taphonomic processes and phylum-specific constraints have led to the better preservation of predators/scavengers in this biota. However, no differences in preservation are observed between vagile and sessile taxa. Importantly, Tremadocian taxa are better preserved than Floian ones. As such, this study highlights the gradual closure of the BST window of preservation in the Zagora region of Morocco and constitutes a benchmark for future palaeoecological and evolutionary studies on the Fezouata Biota.