The Weeks Formation Konservat-Lagerstatte and the evolutionary transition of Cambrian marine life
Lerosey-Aubril, R.; Gaines, R.R.; Hegna, T.A.; Ortega-Hernández, J.; Van Roy, P.; Kier, C.; Bonino, E. (2018). The Weeks Formation Konservat-Lagerstatte and the evolutionary transition of Cambrian marine life. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 175(5): 705-715. https://dx.doi.org/10.1144/jgs2018-042 In: Journal of the Geological Society of London. Published for the Geological Society of London by Scottish Academic Press: London. ISSN 0016-7649; e-ISSN 2041-479X, more |  |
| Authors | | Top | - Lerosey-Aubril, R.
- Gaines, R.R.
- Hegna, T.A.
- Ortega-Hernández, J.
| - Van Roy, P., more
- Kier, C.
- Bonino, E.
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| Abstract | The Weeks Formation in Utah is the youngest (c. 499 Ma) and least studied Cambrian Lagerstatte of the western USA. It preserves a diverse, exceptionally preserved fauna that inhabited a relatively deep water environment at the offshore margin of a carbonate platform, resembling the setting of the underlying Wheeler and Marjum formations. However, the Weeks fauna differs significantly in composition from the other remarkable biotas of the Cambrian Series 3 of Utah, suggesting a significant Guzhangian faunal restructuring. This bioevent is regarded as the onset of a transitional episode in the history of life, separating the two primary diversifications of the Early Paleozoic. The Weeks fossils have been strongly affected by late diagenetic processes, but some specimens still preserve exquisite anatomical details. |
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