Palaeogeography and palaeoecology of early Floian (Early Ordovician) cephalopods from the Upper Fezouata Formation, Anti-Atlas, Morocco

Kröger, Björn; Lefèbvre, Bertrand

doi:10.1002/mmng.201200004

Cited by 32 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 30 publications

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“…Community structures are markedly different in the two EPF-bearing intervals (Lefebvre et al 2018). In the Zagora area, all fossiliferous horizons sampled in the upper interval have yielded comparable, particularly abundant and diverse fossil assemblages (~50 taxa), dominated by bivalves, rhynchonelliformean brachiopods, cephalopods, gastropods, and trilobites (Destombes et al 1985;Vidal 1998;Kröger and Lefebvre 2012;Ebbestad 2016;Polechová 2016). Exceptionally preserved taxa are rare and constitute a minor component of the fauna (Van Roy 2006;Van Roy and Tetlie 2006;Botting 2016;Lefebvre et al 2016aLefebvre et al , 2018Ortega-Hernández et al 2016).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Storm-Induced Community Dynamics in the Fezouata Biota (Lower Ordovician, Morocco)

Saleh

Candela

Harper

et al. 2018

Palaios

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In the Central Anti-Atlas (Morocco), the lower part of the Fezouata Shale has yielded locally abundant remains of soft-bodied to lightly-sclerotized taxa, occurring in low diversity assemblages characterized by strong spatial and taxonomic heterogeneities, and frequently, by the occurrence of small-sized individuals. Size frequency analyses of Celdobolus sp., Wosekella sp. (both linguliformean brachiopods) and Babinka prima (babinkid bivalve) collected in deposits of the Fezouata Shale and associated with distinct paleoenvironmental conditions show that short-lived communities of epifaunal and shallow infaunal taxa were regularly smothered and killed by distal storm deposits. Smallsized individuals more likely represent juveniles, rather than 'dwarfed' adults (Lilliput Effect). Consequently, unstable environmental conditions (regular storms, and possibly low oxygenation of the water column) probably explain the unusual community dynamics of late Tremadocian assemblages of the Fezouata Biota (high density of individuals, low α-diversity, and high γ-diversity), interpreted as short-lived, opportunistic populations. This process has wider implications for the understanding of occurrences of small individuals elsewhere in the fossil record.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Storm-Induced Community Dynamics in the Fezouata Biota (Lower Ordovician, Morocco)

Saleh

Candela

Harper

et al. 2018

Palaios

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“…Destombes, 1972;Rábano, 1990;Henry et al, 1992;Vidal, 1998aVidal, , 1998bChatterton and Fortey, 2008;Fortey, 2009Fortey, , 2011aFortey, , 2011b and echinoderms (Ubaghs, 1963;Chauvel, 1966Chauvel, , 1969Chauvel, , 1971aChauvel, , 1971bChauvel, , 1978Donovan and Savill 1988;Chauvel and Régnault, 1986;Lefebvre and Botting, 2007;Noailles et al, 2010;Sumrall and Zamora, 2011). The fauna also contains a great abundance of xiphosurid arthropods (Van Roy et al, 2010), palaeoscolecidan worms, annelids (machaeridians, Vinther et al, 2008), molluscs (Babin and Destombes, 1990;Horný, 1997;Kröger and Lefebvre, 2012), hyolithids (Marek, 1983;Valent et al, 2013), brachiopods (Havlíček, 1971;Mergl, 1981Mergl, , 1988, and conularids (Destombes et al, 1985) [ Figure 3 nearby]. Graptolites are also abundant but have not been studied in detail so far (Destombes and Willefert, 1959;Willefert in Destombes et al, 1985;Aceñolaza et al, 1996).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Lower Ordovician Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte from Morocco: Age, environment and evolutionary perspectives

et al. 2016

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The Lower Ordovician Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte from southern Morocco has been one of the major palaeontological discoveries of the last decade. It provides a unique insight into one of the most critical periods in the evolution of marine life: the Cambrian-Ordovician transition. However, its potential for deciphering key trends in animal diversification was hitherto largely limited by major uncertainties concerning its stratigraphic position, age and environmental setting. Based on extensive fieldwork, fossil evidence, and facies recognition, our study provides clarification on these three crucial issues. Exceptional preservation is limited to two intervals within the Fezouata Shale. Graptolites indicate a late Tremadocian age for the Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte as a whole, which is supported by biostratigraphical evidence provided by acritarchs. Sedimentological features and reconstructed patterns of relative sea-level changes indicate relatively shallow-water environmental conditions, under distal storm influence, in an offshore to lower shoreface siliciclastic ramp setting. The Fezouata Biota represents a unique and exceptional window into the palaeobiodiversity in open-marine conditions, thus contrasting with the other Ordovician Konservat-Lagerstätten presently known. In our analyses of this new set of data, we pave the way for accurate temporal, faunal and environmental comparisons with other Lower Palaeozoic Konservat-Lagerstätten, and unlock the full potential of the Fezouata Biota to better understand the processes and scenarios of early animal radiations.

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“…The absence of critical internal structures in many of these specimens does not allow for a taxonomic identification at genus or species level and many taxa are in need of a revision. Hopefully, the recent reappraisal of early Paleozoic peri-Gondwanan cephalopod faunas from elsewhere (e. g. Kröger et al, 2012;Evans et al, 2013Evans et al, , 2015Bogolepova et al, 2014;Sone, 2014, 2015;Aubrechtová, 2015;Cichowolski et al, 2015Cichowolski et al, , 2018Ghavidel-Syooki et al, 2015;Rolet and Plusquellec, 2016;Aubrechtová and Turek, 2018;Manda and Turek, 2018;Ebbestad et al, 2019;Fang et al, 2019) will stimulate future research on the Iberian cephalopods. specimen MGM-8187O, lateral view.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

First record of a nonpaleotropical intejocerid cephalopod from Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician) strata of central Spain

Kröger

Gutiérrez-Marco

2019

J. Paleontol.

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The order Intejocerida is an enigmatic, short-lived cephalopod taxon known previously only from Early–Middle Ordovician beds of Siberia and the United States. Here we report a new genus, Cabaneroceras, and a new species, C. aznari, from Middle Ordovician strata of central Spain. This finding widens the paleogeographic range of the order toward high-paleolatitudinal areas of peri-Gondwana. A curved conch, characteristic for the new genus, was previously unknown from members of the Intejocerida.UUID: http://zoobank.org/21f0a09c-5265-4d29-824b-6b105d36b791

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Palaeogeography and palaeoecology of early Floian (Early Ordovician) cephalopods from the Upper Fezouata Formation, Anti-Atlas, Morocco

Cited by 32 publications

References 30 publications

Storm-Induced Community Dynamics in the Fezouata Biota (Lower Ordovician, Morocco)

Storm-Induced Community Dynamics in the Fezouata Biota (Lower Ordovician, Morocco)

The Lower Ordovician Fezouata Konservat-Lagerstätte from Morocco: Age, environment and evolutionary perspectives

First record of a nonpaleotropical intejocerid cephalopod from Darriwilian (Middle Ordovician) strata of central Spain

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