Volcanic rift margin model for the rift-to-drift setting of the late Neoproterozoic-early Cambrian eastern margin of Laurentia: Chilhowee Group of the Appalachian Blue Ridge

2013 ◽  
Vol 126 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 201-218 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. P. Smoot ◽  
S. Southworth
Keyword(s):  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Blue Ridge ◽  
Eastern Margin ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic

Early Ordovician alkali-ultramafic Zhilandy complex (Central Kazakhstan): structure and age of formation

2019 ◽  
Vol 484 (1) ◽  
pp. 61-65
Author(s):  
R. M. Antonuk ◽  
A. A. Tretyakov ◽  
K. E. Degtyarev ◽  
A. B. Kotov
Keyword(s):  
Complex Formation ◽  
Central Asian Orogenic Belt ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Early Ordovician ◽  
Late Cambrian ◽  
Central Asian ◽  
Geochronological Study ◽  
Three Stages ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic ◽  
Quartz Monzodiorites

U–Pb geochronological study of amphibole-bearing quartz monzodiorites of the alkali-ultramafic Zhilandy complex in Central Kazakhstan, whose formation is deduced at the Early Ordovician era (479 ± 3 Ma). The obtained data indicate three stages of intra-plate magmatism in the western part of the Central Asian Orogenic Belt: Late Neoproterozoic stage of alkali syenites of the Karsakpay complex intrusion, Early Cambrian stage of ultramafic-gabbroid plutons of the Ulutau complex formation, and Late Cambrian–Early Ordovician stage of formation of the Zhilandy complex and Krasnomay complex intrusions.

Occurrence of the siliceous sponge spicule Konyrium (Hexactinellida) in the upper Cambrian of the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada

2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 565-569 ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian R. Pratt
Keyword(s):  
Fossil Record ◽  
Southern China ◽  
South Australia ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Siliceous Sponge ◽  
Sponge Spicule ◽  
Animal Phyla ◽  
Sponge Diversity ◽  
Siliceous Sponges ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic

The fossil record of siliceous sponges—Hexactinellida and demosponge “Lithistida”—hinges upon both body fossils plus isolated spicules mostly recovered from limestones by acid digestion. The earliest record of siliceous sponge spicules extends back to the late Neoproterozoic of Hubei, southern China (Steiner et al., 1993) and Mongolia (Brasier et al., 1997), and body fossils attributed to the hexactinellids have been described from the Ediacaran of South Australia (Gehling and Rigby, 1996); thus they are the oldest-known definite representatives of extant animal phyla. The Early Cambrian saw a remarkable diversification in spicule morphology, with the appearance of an essentially “modern” array of forms (Zhang and Pratt, 1994). While a diversity decline may have occurred with the late Early Cambrian extinction(s), the subsequent Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossil record of spicules shows a relatively consistent range of morphologies (e.g., Mostler, 1986; Bengtson et al., 1990; Webby and Trotter, 1993; Kozur et al., 1996; Zhang and Pratt, 2000). However, because spicule form is not restricted to individual taxa and many sponge species secrete a variety of spicule shapes, it is difficult to gauge true siliceous sponge diversity and to explore their biostratigraphic utility using only isolated spicules.

Cambrian biostratigraphy of the Tal Group, Lesser Himalaya, India, and early Tsanglangpuan (late early Cambrian) trilobites from the Nigali Dhar syncline

2005 ◽  
Vol 142 (1) ◽  
pp. 57-80 ◽  
Author(s):  
NIGEL C. HUGHES ◽  
SHANCHI PENG ◽  
O. N. BHARGAVA ◽  
A. D. AHLUWALIA ◽  
SANDEEP WALIA ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Southwest China ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Lesser Himalaya ◽  
Geographic Proximity ◽  
Late Cambrian ◽  
Assemblage Zone ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic ◽  
Spiti Region ◽  
The Himalaya ◽  
Tethyan Himalaya

Precise biostratigraphic constraints on the age of the Tal Group are restricted to (1) a basal level correlative with the Anabarites trisulcatus–Protohertzina anabarica Assemblage Zone of southwest China, (2) a level near the boundary of the lower and upper parts of the Tal Group correlative with the early Tsanglangpuan Stage (Drepanuroides Zone), and (3) an interval low in the upper part of the Tal Group correlative with later in the Tsanglangpuan Stage (Palaeolenus Zone). These correlations are based on small shelly fossil and trilobite taxa. Other chronostratigraphic constraints include the marked negative δ13C isotopic excursion coincident with the transition from the Krol Group to the Tal Group. This excursion is used as a proxy for the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary in several sections worldwide and, if applied to the Lesser Himalaya, indicates that the boundary is at or just above the base of the Tal Group. The upper parts of the Tal Group may be of middle or late Cambrian age and might form proximal equivalents of sections in the Zanskar–Spiti region of the Tethyan Himalaya. Both faunal content and lithological succession are comparable to southwest China, furthering recent arguments for close geographic proximity between the Himalaya and the Yangtze block during late Neoproterozoic and early Cambrian time. Trilobites from the uppermost parts of the Sankholi Formation from the Nigali Dhar syncline are described and referred to three taxa, one of which, Drepanopyge gopeni, is a new species. They are the oldest trilobites yet described from the Himalaya.

A probable late Neoproterozoic age for the Kennedy Channel and Ella Bay formations, northeastern Ellesmere Island and its implications for passive margin history of the Canadian Arctic

2004 ◽  
Vol 41 (9) ◽  
pp. 1013-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Keith Dewing ◽  
J C Harrison ◽  
Brian R Pratt ◽  
Ulrich Mayr
Keyword(s):  
Lower Cambrian ◽  
Canadian Arctic ◽  
Passive Margin ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Channel Formation ◽  
Type Section ◽  
Small Shelly Fossils ◽  
History Of ◽  
Basin Formation ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic

The Kennedy Channel and Ella Bay formations are the two oldest stratigraphic units exposed in the Franklinian margin sedimentary sequence in the Canadian Arctic Islands. An Early Cambrian age had previously been accepted by the occurrence of trilobites and small shelly fossils in the type section of the Kennedy Channel Formation. Reinvestigation of the area around the type section shows that several large strike-slip faults cut the succession and that the olenelloid trilobites are from an infaulted slice of a younger unit, the Lower Cambrian Kane Basin Formation. Thus, there is no unambiguous paleontological evidence for the age of either the Kennedy Channel or Ella Bay formations. However, the abundance of stromatolites, absence of trace fossils, and separation from overlying Lower Cambrian clastics by a regional angular unconformity indicate a probable late Neoproterozoic age for these two formations. The Ella Bay Formation likely correlates with the Portfjeld Formation in North Greenland, the Spiral Creek Formation in East Greenland, and the Risky Formation of the Mackenzie Mountains in northwestern Canada. The passive margin that existed in northern Laurentia during the early Paleozoic was, therefore, established in the late Neoproterozoic, and the onset of rifting must have preceded this, rather than occurring in the Early Cambrian as some authors have suggested.

Macroscopic carbonaceous compressions in a terminal Proterozoic shale: A systematic reassessment of the Miaohe biota, south China

2002 ◽  
Vol 76 (2) ◽  
pp. 347-376 ◽  
Author(s):  
Shuhai Xiao ◽  
Xunlai Yuan ◽  
Michael Steiner ◽  
Andrew H. Knoll
Keyword(s):  
Green Algae ◽  
South China ◽  
Brown Algae ◽  
Body Plan ◽  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Burgess Shale ◽  
New Materials ◽  
Exceptional Preservation ◽  
Animal Remains ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic

Carbonaceous compression fossils in shales of the uppermost Doushantuo Formation (ca. 555-590 Ma) at Miaohe in the Yangtze Gorges area provide a rare Burgess-Shale-type taphonomic window on terminal Proterozoic biology. More than 100 macrofossil species have been described from Miaohe shales, but in an examination of published and new materials, we recognize only about twenty distinct taxa, including Aggregatosphaera miaoheensis new gen. and sp. Most of these fossils can be interpreted unambiguously as colonial prokaryotes or multicellular algae. Phylogenetically derived coenocytic green algae appear to be present, as do regularly bifurcating thalli comparable to red and brown algae. At least five species have been interpreted as metazoans by previous workers. Of these, Protoconites minor and Calyptrina striata most closely resemble animal remains; either or both could be the organic sheaths of cnidarian scyphopolyps, although an algal origin cannot be ruled out for P. minor. Despite exceptional preservation, the Miaohe assemblage contains no macroscopic fossils that can be interpreted with confidence as bilaterian animals. In combination with other late Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian body fossils and trace fossils, the Doushantuo assemblage supports the view that body-plan diversification within bilaterian phyla was largely a Cambrian event.

scholarly journals Distribution and mechanisms of overpressure generation and deflation in the late Neoproterozoic to early Cambrian South Oman Salt Basin

Geofluids ◽  
2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (4) ◽  
pp. 349-361 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. KUKLA ◽  
L. REUNING ◽  
S. BECKER ◽  
J. L. URAI ◽  
J. SCHOENHERR
Keyword(s):  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic

Testing the Darwinian legacy of the Cambrian radiation using trilobite phylogeny and biogeography

1999 ◽  
Vol 73 (2) ◽  
pp. 176-181 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bruce S. Lieberman
Keyword(s):  
Early Cambrian ◽  
Evolutionary Patterns ◽  
Earth History ◽  
Tectonic Events ◽  
Biological Meaning ◽  
History Of ◽  
Cambrian Radiation ◽  
Special Rules ◽  
Late Neoproterozoic ◽  
Patterns And Processes

Since the publication of Darwin (1859), the biological meaning of the Cambrian radiation has been debated. Most commentators agree, however, that the Cambrian radiation is fundamentally a time of major metazoan cladogenesis. In and of itself this does not necessarily mean that unique evolutionary processes operated during the Cambrian radiation. Phylogenetic analysis has been used to study the tempo of speciation during the radiation, and thus far there is no need to invoke special rules relating to the tempo of evolution. Instead, what seems unique about the Cambrian radiation is its place as an important episode in the history of life—that is, as the first major radiation of the Metazoa. Although the tempo of evolution during the Cambrian radiation may not have been uniquely high, there were largely unique tectonic events that transpired during the late Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian, such as extensive cratonic fragmentation. Biogeographic analysis of Early Cambrian olenelloid trilobites reveals that these tectonic events powerfully influenced evolutionary and distributional patterns in this diverse and abundant trilobite group. This emphasizes the importance of physical earth history in generating evolutionary patterns. In the general study of macroevolutionary patterns and processes, earth history phenomena emerge as powerful forces influencing the history of life and provide insights into evolution that can best be inferred by paleontological data.

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