Welsh gold: A new exceptionally preserved pyritized Ordovician biota

Abstract

Research Article| September 01, 2011 Welsh gold: A new exceptionally preserved pyritized Ordovician biota Joseph P. Botting; Joseph P. Botting * 1Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China *E-mails: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Lucy A. Muir; Lucy A. Muir * 1Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China *E-mails: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Mark D. Sutton; Mark D. Sutton * 2Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK *E-mails: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Talfan Barnie Talfan Barnie * 3Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK *E-mails: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]. Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Joseph P. Botting * 1Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China Lucy A. Muir * 1Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, 39 East Beijing Road, Nanjing 210008, China Mark D. Sutton * 2Department of Earth Science and Engineering, Imperial College, London SW7 2AZ, UK Talfan Barnie * 3Department of Geography, University of Cambridge, Downing Place, Cambridge CB2 3EN, UK *E-mails: [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]; [e-mail]. Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 05 Feb 2011 Revision Received: 18 Apr 2011 Accepted: 19 Apr 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1943-2682 Print ISSN: 0091-7613 © 2011 Geological Society of America Geology (2011) 39 (9): 879–882. https://doi.org/10.1130/G32143.1 Article history Received: 05 Feb 2011 Revision Received: 18 Apr 2011 Accepted: 19 Apr 2011 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Joseph P. Botting, Lucy A. Muir, Mark D. Sutton, Talfan Barnie; Welsh gold: A new exceptionally preserved pyritized Ordovician biota. Geology 2011;; 39 (9): 879–882. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G32143.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Few Konservat-Lagerstätten are known from the Ordovician, and most preserve atypical marginal marine communities. Thus, we have little idea of how animals with a low preservation potential evolved during the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. Here we report the newly discovered Llanfawr Mudstones Lagerstätte from the basal Sandbian (Late Ordovician) of central Wales, UK. This biota, which has been studied through X-ray radiography and microtomography, is dominated by sponges. It also includes cnidarians (the oldest known solitary hydroid), arthropods, priapulids, various worm-like forms, entoproct-like organisms, and a variety of enigmatic fossils. The fauna includes taxa that are rarely preserved even in exceptional fossil biotas, and offers the potential for a new perspective on Ordovician ecosystems. The dominantly filter-feeding assemblage resembles modern abyssal sponge-dominated communities, although it was formed in much shallower water. The unusual Llanfawr Mudstones fauna shows that Ordovician ecological development was considerably more advanced in offshore environments than the mineralized fossil record implies. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.