Missing molluscs: Field testing taphonomic loss in the Mesozoic through early large-scale aragonite dissolution

Wright, Paul; Cherns, Lesley; Hodges, Peter

doi:10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0211:mmfttl>2.0.co;2

Cited by 147 publications

(95 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…Although the loss of aragonitic shell material has been well documented in the fossil record (e.g., Wright et al 2003), there is compelling evidence to suggest that an aragonite-calcite dichotomy is overly simplistic and that shell microstructure plays a pivotal role in shell durability (Glover and Kidwell 1993;Harper 2000;Best et al 2007). Rapid dissolution and re-precipitation occurs in modern carbonate environments (e.g., Walter and Burton 1990;Patterson and Walter 1994;Sanders 2003).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taphonomic bias and time-averaging in tropical molluscan death assemblages: differential shell half-lives in Great Barrier Reef sediment

Kosnik¹,

Hua²,

Kaufman³

et al. 2009

Paleobiology

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Abstract.-Radiocarbon-calibrated amino acid racemization ages of 428 individually dated shells representing four molluscan taxa are used to quantify time-averaging and shell half-lives with increasing burial depth in the shallow-water carbonate lagoon of Rib Reef, central Great Barrier Reef, Australia. The top 20 cm of sediment contains a distinct, essentially modern assemblage. Shells recovered at depths from 25 to 125 cm are age-homogeneous and significantly older than the surface layer. Taxon age distributions within sedimentary layers indicate that the top 125 cm of lagoonal sediment is thoroughly mixed on a sub-century scale. The age distributions and shell half-lives of four taxa (Ethalia, Natica, Tellina, and Turbo) are found to be largely distinct. Shell half-lives do not coincide with any single morphological characteristic thought to infer greater durability, but they are strongly related to a combined durability score based on shell density, thickness, and shape. These results illustrate the importance of bioturbation in tropical sedimentary environments, indicate that age estimates in this depositional setting are sensitive to taxon choice, and quantify a taxon-dependent bias in shell longevity and death assemblage formation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Taphonomic bias and time-averaging in tropical molluscan death assemblages: differential shell half-lives in Great Barrier Reef sediment

Kosnik¹,

Hua²,

Kaufman³

et al. 2009

Paleobiology

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“…In the case of molluscs, the selective loss of aragonitic shells is recognized as a major factor of biases in biodiversity estimates, so that the number of shells collected might be reduced to 1% of the initial taphocoenosis (Cherns & Wright 2000Wright et al 2003). Only an early lithifi cation and mineralisation of organic parts warrant the preservation of most of the biological and ecological information held in the taphocoenosis (Tomašových & Schlögl 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The molluscs of the “Falunière” of Grignon (Middle Lutetian, Yvelines, France): quantification of lithification bias and its impact on the biodiversity assessment of the Middle Eocene of Western Europe

2015

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“…The low abundance of biota other than coralline algae and ostreids may suggests a non-hospitable environment, although this impression may partly be due to a taphonomic bias resulting from the low fossilization potential of aragonitic skeletons, mostly molluscs (Wright et al 2003). The proportion of aragonitic shells may have originally been higher, as suggested by the patchy calcitic cementation of both the rhodolith-bearing deposits and the underlying ones.…”

Section: Paleoecology Of Rhodolithsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Origin and resedimentation of rhodoliths in the Late Paleocene flysch of the Polish Outer Carpathians

Leszczyński

Kołodziej

Bassi

et al. 2012

Facies

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This study analyses the rhodolith-bearing deposits in the largest and most rhodolith-rich outcrop of the Polish Outer Carpathian flysch, located in the Silesian Nappe, at the village of Melsztyn. The rhodoliths and sparse associated biota occur as resedimented components in a deep-marine succession of siliciclastic conglomerates and coarse-grained sandstones, deposited by high-density turbidity currents and debris flows. The sediment was derived from a fan-delta system located at the southern margin of the Silesian flysch basin. Stratigraphic data indicate that the succession represents the Upper Istebna Sandstone deposited during the Late Paleocene. The rhodoliths are composed mostly of coralline red algae with seven genera and eight species representing the family Sporolithaceae and the subfamilies Mastophoroideae and Melobesioideae. Rhodoliths show sub-spheroidal and subellipsoidal shapes with encrusting, warty and lumpy growth forms. Lumpy growth forms show massive inner arrangements, whereas the encrusting growth forms are usually made of thin thalli and show more loosely packed inner arrangements. The rhodoliths grew on a moderately mobile siliciclastic substrate in a shallow-marine environment with a low net sedimentation rate. It is inferred that the growth of rhodoliths was favored during a relative sea-level rise. During the subsequent sea-level fall, the rhodoliths and associated siliciclastic deposits were resedimented by gravity flows into the deep-sea setting. The analyzed deposits, like other Paleocene-Eocene deposits of the Polish Outer Carpathians, provide no evidence of coeval widespread shallow-marine carbonate sedimentation along the margins of the Outer Carpathian flysch basins.

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Missing molluscs: Field testing taphonomic loss in the Mesozoic through early large-scale aragonite dissolution

Cited by 147 publications

References 16 publications

Taphonomic bias and time-averaging in tropical molluscan death assemblages: differential shell half-lives in Great Barrier Reef sediment

Taphonomic bias and time-averaging in tropical molluscan death assemblages: differential shell half-lives in Great Barrier Reef sediment

The molluscs of the “Falunière” of Grignon (Middle Lutetian, Yvelines, France): quantification of lithification bias and its impact on the biodiversity assessment of the Middle Eocene of Western Europe

Origin and resedimentation of rhodoliths in the Late Paleocene flysch of the Polish Outer Carpathians

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