The Middle Cambrian Pikaia gracilens (Walcott) has an iconic position as a Cambrian
chordate, but until now no detailed description has been available. Here on the basis of the …

Microbial carbonates were major components of early Paleozoic reefs until coral-
stromatoporoid-bryozoan reefs appeared in the mid-Ordovician. Microbial reefs were …

Exceptionally preserved fossil biotas of the Burgess Shale and a handful of other similar
Cambrian deposits provide rare but critical insights into the early diversification of animals …

Burgess Shale-type fossil assemblages provide a unique record of animal life in the
immediate aftermath of the so-called “Cambrian explosion.” While most soft-bodied faunas …

Abstract Although Cambrian Burgess Shale–type (BST) biotas are fundamental to
understanding the radiation of metazoans, the nature of their extraordinary preservation …

Cnidarians represent an early diverging animal group and thus insight into their origin and
diversification is key to understanding metazoan evolution. Further, cnidarian jellyfish …

Current models for the exceptional preservation of Burgess Shale fossils have focused on
either the HF‐extractable carbonaceous compressions or the mineral films identified by …

Calcareous skeletons evolved as part of the greater Ediacaran–Cambrian diversification of
marine animals. Skeletons did not become permanent, globally important sources of …

Use of a low-manipulation hydrofluoric acid-extraction procedure on Cambrian mudstones
reveals an unexpectedly abundant and diverse range of small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) …

Burgess Shale-type (BST) fossils often are preserved as two-dimensional carbonaceous
compressions, sometimes aided by two mineralization processes: pyritization and …