Trilobite Taphonomy and Temporal Resolution in the Mt. Orab Shale Bed (Upper Ordovician, Ohio, U.S.A.)

Hunda, Brenda R.; Hughes, Nigel C.; Flessa, Karl W.

doi:10.2110/palo.2005.p05-01

Cited by 31 publications

(27 citation statements)

References 26 publications

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“…2) shows three major depositional units, each heavily bioturbated by Chondrites and Teichichnus. Chondrites has been previously reported from other butter shales (Brandt Velbel 1984;Gaines et al 1999;Hughes & Cooper 1999;Hunda et al 2006). Many of the Chondrites traces show vertical compression indicating some compaction of the mud during lithification (Fig.…”

Section: Textures and Structuressupporting

confidence: 58%

“…The dominance of mobile scavengers and predators, as well as semi-infaunal bivalves and soft-bodied biota, together with a paucity of brachiopods, suggests unstable mud substrates and/or high turbidity near the sediment-water interface. The presence of well-preserved, articulated trilobites and bivalves, along with hummocky-bedded siltstones with gutter casts, supports the hypothesis that this butter shale, along with others like it, were deposited in a series of rapid burial events, which smothered the benthic fauna (Brandt Velbel 1984;Hunda et al 2006). The chaotic orientations of trilobites in certain layers suggests that these organisms were entrained in sediment flows.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

“…Although other studies have reported Chondrites in the shales, traces have been typically regarded as rare (Brandt Velbel 1984;Schumacher & Shrake 1996;Hughes & Cooper 1999;Hunda et al 2006). Study of polished slabs of additional intervals may reveal that ichnofossils are more abundant than previously reported in most or all butter shales.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

“…The presence of Lingulichnus escape traces indicates that some organisms did extricate themselves from mud burial layers. Hunda et al (2006) reported seven silt-clay couplets in the Mt Orab butter shale, likely indicating at least seven burial events. Based on individual Chondrites horizons, the preserved upper 30 cm of the Oldenburg butter shale in the quarry can be split into approximately eight separate events.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…A number of studies conducted on Cincinnatian butter shales have focused on trilobites and bivalves (Frey 1987a(Frey , 1987bSchumacher & Shrake 1996;Hunda et al 2006); however, only a few have addressed microstratigraphy and claystone fabrics (Brandt Velbel 1984;Hughes & Cooper 1999;Hunda et al 2006) and none have addressed the Oldenburg shale.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Preliminary report on the Oldenburg “butter shale” in the Upper Ordovician (Katian; Richmondian) Waynesville Formation, USA

Aucoin¹,

Dattilo²,

Brett³

et al. 2015

Estonian J. Earth Sci.

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The Cincinnatian Series (Upper Ordovician; upper Katian) of the Cincinnati Arch region, Ohio, Indiana and Kentucky) contains several bed packages informally referred to as "butter shales" or "trilobite shales". These packages are typically 1-2 m of relatively pure, homogeneous claystone with isolated, lenticular limestone beds. These claystones are most widely known for their excellent preservation of abundant trilobites, especially Isotelus and Flexicalymene, as well as diverse and commonly articulated bivalves, and nautiloids. A newly recognized butter shale interval in the Clarksville Member of the Waynesville Formation contains a typical butter-shale fossil assemblage, dominated by bivalves, orthoconic cephalopods and trilobites. To better study the fabric of this claystone, a large, epoxy-coated block of the claystone was dry-cut. Polished surfaces show a variety of otherwise cryptic features, including pervasive bioturbation and the presence of probable lingulid escape burrows (Lingulichnus), as well as abundant fodinichnia (Chondrites, Planolites, Teichichnus). Preservation of articulated trilobites and closed bivalves in approximate living position, as well as escape burrows, indicates deposition as a series of mud burial events or obrution deposits. We suggest that the butter shales resulted from net accumulation of multiple episodes of re-suspended mud deposition, which rapidly smothered organisms and resulted in exceptional preservation. Between events the seafloor was colonized by abundant deposit-feeding infaunal organisms, which destabilized the substrate and generated turbidity near the sediment-water interface, thus inhibiting sessile suspension feeders. Rapid net deposition was also interrupted by more prolonged periods (tens to hundreds of years) of low sedimentation that permitted colonization by epifaunal brachiopod-dominated communities. While most butter shale units are regionally extensive, the Oldenburg is confined to a few outcrops, apparently because it has been removed in most areas beneath a subtle but significant disconformity.

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Section: Textures and Structuressupporting

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 58%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Preliminary report on the Oldenburg “butter shale” in the Upper Ordovician (Katian; Richmondian) Waynesville Formation, USA

Aucoin¹,

Dattilo²,

Brett³

et al. 2015

Estonian J. Earth Sci.

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The fossil record of ecdysis, and trends in the moulting behaviour of trilobites

Daley

Drage

2016

Arthropod Structure & Development

140

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Ecdysis, the process of moulting an exoskeleton, is one of the key characters uniting arthropods, nematodes and a number of smaller phyla into Ecdysozoa. The arthropod fossil record, particularly trilobites, eurypterids and decapod crustaceans, yields information on moulting, although the current focus is predominantly descriptive and lacks a broader evolutionary perspective. We here review literature on the fossil record of ecdysis, synthesising research on the behaviour, evolutionary trends, and phylogenetic significance of moulting throughout the Phanerozoic. Approaches vary widely between taxonomic groups, but an overall theme uniting these works suggests that identifying moults in the palaeontological record must take into account the morphology, taphonomy and depositional environment of fossils. We also quantitatively analyse trends in trilobite ecdysis based on a newly generated database of published incidences of moulting behaviour. This preliminary work reveals significant taxonomic and temporal signal in the trilobite moulting fossil record, with free cheek moulting being prevalent across all Orders and throughout the Phanerozoic, and peaks of cephalic moulting in Phacopida during the Ordovician and rostral plate moulting in Redlichiida during the Cambrian. This study and a review of the literature suggest that it is feasible to extract large-scale evolutionary information from the fossil record of moulting.

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Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the emuellid trilobite Balcoracania dailyi (early Cambrian, South Australia)

Paterson

Jago

Brock

et al. 2007

Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology

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Trilobite Taphonomy and Temporal Resolution in the Mt. Orab Shale Bed (Upper Ordovician, Ohio, U.S.A.)

Cited by 31 publications

References 26 publications

Preliminary report on the Oldenburg “butter shale” in the Upper Ordovician (Katian; Richmondian) Waynesville Formation, USA

Preliminary report on the Oldenburg “butter shale” in the Upper Ordovician (Katian; Richmondian) Waynesville Formation, USA

The fossil record of ecdysis, and trends in the moulting behaviour of trilobites

Taphonomy and palaeoecology of the emuellid trilobite Balcoracania dailyi (early Cambrian, South Australia)

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