Geological Magazine · 1997 · 72 citations · 0 references
Life SciencesEvolutionary BiologyMarine BiologyEvolutionary PaleontologyMarine Evolutionary BiologyMarine SedimentologyBivalve PaleontologyEvolutionary Responses To Ocean ChangeMarine GeochemistryMolluscan BiologyMolluscan PaleontologyMolluscan ZoologyAragonite MineralogyBivalve EvolutionBivalve PhylogenyBivalve SystematicsCommunication During Rapid Response EventsMolluscan EvolutionMolluscan Evolutionary TrendsMolluscan Shell Geochemistry
Sedimentological evidence suggests that sea-water chemistry has oscillated between ‘Aragonite’ and ‘Calcite’ seas during the course of Phanerozoic time. During ‘Calcite’ sea periods aragonite was soluble and dissolved on the sea-floor. Here we propose, using a survey of familial diversity, that during times of such corrosive seas bivalved molluscs which secreted their shells entirely of aragonite were at a selective disadvantage compared to those with calcitic outer shell layers. This is the first case in which it has been suggested that there was a dynamic link between sea-water chemistry and the evolution of a particular taxon throughout Phanerozoic time.