BIOLOGY 1M03 Lecture Notes - Lecture 10: Burgess Shale, Ediacara Hills, Cambrian Explosion
12 Oct 2016
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Biology 1m03- chapter 27: phylogenies and the history of life part 3. The ediacara hills and associated formation in australia, which date to 544-565 ma, contain fossils that researchers have interpreted as sponges, jellyfish, comb jellies, and traces from other animals (e. g. , burrows and tracks) These were soft-bodied animals that burrowed in sediments, sat immobile on the sea floor, or floated in the water. The burgess shale formation in british columbia, canada, which dates to 515-525 ma, contain fossils that researchers have interpreted as representing almost every major living animal group. These fossils indicate a tremendous increase in size and morphological complexity, accompanied by diversification in how animals lived. This diversification filled many ecological niches still found in marine habitats today. Many researchers predicted a strong association among the order in which animal lineages appeared during evolutionary history, hox genes present in each lineage, and morphological complexity and body size.
