Exceptional Preservation of Fossils in an Upper Proterozoic Shale
View/ Open
(592.3Kb)
Access Status
Full text of the requested work is not available in DASH at this time ("restricted access"). For more information on restricted deposits, see our FAQ.Published Version
https://doi.org/10.1038/334424a0Metadata
Show full item recordCitation
Butterfield, Nicholas J., Andrew H. Knoll, and Keene Swett. 1988. Exceptional preservation of fossils in an Upper Proterozoic shale. Nature 334(6181): 424-427.Abstract
Late Proterozoic organisms must have been diverse and widely distributed, but in general their fossil record is both taxonomically and environmentally limited. Exceptional preservation of Proterozoic fossils is not unknown, but it is usually associated with silicified carbonates from restricted peritidal or playa lake environments. We report here an exceptionally well preserved and distinctive assemblage of Lake Proterozoic fossils from subtidal marine shales. In additional to the sphaeromorphic acritarchs and cyanobacterial sheaths routinely preserved in Proterozoic rocks, this assemblage includes multicellular algae ('seaweeds'), a diverse assortment of morphologically complex protistan vesicles, and probable heterotrophic bacteria. Thus, it provides one of the clearest and most taxonomically varied views of Proterozoic life yet reported.Citable link to this page
http://nrs.harvard.edu/urn-3:HUL.InstRepos:3200258
Collections
- FAS Scholarly Articles [18292]
Contact administrator regarding this item (to report mistakes or request changes)