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 environments1,2. We report here an exceptionally well preserved and distinctive assemblage of Late Proterozoic fossils from subtidal marine shales. In addition 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.
This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution
Access options
Subscribe to this journal
Receive 51 print issues and online access
$199.00 per year
only $3.90 per issue
Buy this article
- Purchase on Springer Link
- Instant access to full article PDF
Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Knoll, A. H. Phil. Trans. R. Soc. 311B, 111–122 (1985).
Southgate, P. N. Geology 14, 683–686 (1986).
Wilson, C. B. Geol. Mag. 98, 89–116 (1961).
Horodyski, R. J. & Bloesser, B. Science 199, 682–684 (1978).
Jankauskas, T. V. in Stratotype of the Riphean: Paleontology and Paleomagnetics (ed. Keller, B. M.) 84–120 (USSR Acad. Sci. Geol. Inst. Nauka, Moscow, 1982).
Vidal, G. & Knoll, A. H. Geol. Soc. Am. Mem. 161, 265–277 (1983).
Raaben, M. E. & Zabrodin, V. E. Tr. Geol. Inst. Akad. Nauk. S.S.S.R. 217, 1–130 (1972).
Knoll, A. H. et al. Nature 321, 832–838 (1986).
Veizer, J. et al. Geochim. cosmochim. Acta 47, 295–302 (1983).
Round, F. E. The Ecology of Algae (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, 1981).
Lanier, W. P. J. sed. Petrol. 58, 89–99 (1988).
Awramik, S. M. et al. Nature 315, 655–659.
Yin, L. Palaeont. Cathayana 2, 229–249 (1984).
Magaritz, M. Holser, W. T. & Kirschvink, J. L. Nature 320, 258–259 (1986).
Kirschvink, J. L. Geol. Mag. 115, 139–150 (1978).
Christie-Blick, N., Grotzinger, J. P. & van dcr Borsch, C. C. Geology 16, 100–104 (1988).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Butterfield, N., Knoll, A. & Swett, K. Exceptional preservation of fossils in an Upper Proterozoic shale. Nature 334, 424–427 (1988). https://doi.org/10.1038/334424a0
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/334424a0
This article is cited by
-
The evolution and distribution of life in the Precambrian eon-Global perspective and the Indian record
Journal of Biosciences (2009)
-
Phylogenetic diversification of glycogen synthase kinase 3/SHAGGY-like kinase genes in plants
BMC Plant Biology (2006)
-
Die Acritarcha: ihre Klassifikation, Morphologie, Ultrastruktur und paläoökologische/paläogeographische Verbreitung
Paläontologische Zeitschrift (2003)
-
Evolutionary relationships of eukaryotic kingdoms
Journal of Molecular Evolution (1996)
Comments
By submitting a comment you agree to abide by our Terms and Community Guidelines. If you find something abusive or that does not comply with our terms or guidelines please flag it as inappropriate.