2015/07/07 by Peter Van Roy, Derek E. G. Briggs, Robert R. Gaines · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils #Geological and Geophysical Studies Worldwide #Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology #Ordovician #Geology #Paleontology #Paleozoic #Biostratigraphy #Phanerozoic #Cenozoic
paper · doi:10.1144/jgs2015-017
openalex publication_date 2015/07/07 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/08/01
The discovery of the Fezouata biota in the latest Tremadocian of southeastern Morocco has significantly changed our understanding of the early Phanerozoic radiation. The shelly fossil record shows a well-recognized pattern of macroevolutionary stasis between the Cambrian Explosion and the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, but the rich soft-bodied Fezouata biota paints a different evolutionary picture. The Fezouata assemblage includes a considerable component of Cambrian holdovers alongside a surprising number of crown group taxa previously unknown to have evolved by the Early Ordovician. Study of the Fezouata biota is in its early stages, and future discoveries will continue to enrich our view of the dynamics of the early Phanerozoic radiation and of the nature of the fossil record. Supplementary material: A complete faunal list is available at http://www.geolsoc.org.uk/SUP18843 .