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A protracted Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: an ichnologic ecospace analysis of the Fortunian in Newfoundland, Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 April 2019

Brittany A. Laing Open the ORCID record for Brittany A. Laing [Opens in a new window] ,
M. Gabriela Mángano ,
Luis A. Buatois ,
Guy M. Narbonne  and
Romain C. Gougeon
Brittany A. Laing*
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
M. Gabriela Mángano
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Luis A. Buatois
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
Guy M. Narbonne
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada Department of Geological Sciences and Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON, Canada
Romain C. Gougeon
Affiliation:
Department of Geology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, SK, Canada
*
Author for correspondence: Brittany A. Laing, Email: brittany.laing@usask.ca
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Abstract

The transition between the seemingly disparate Ediacaran and Cambrian faunas is both enigmatic and body-fossil poor. The Chapel Island Formation on the Burin Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada, contains a rich diversity of ichnofossils, providing new insight into the nature of the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition and early Fortunian ecosystems. Five ichnoguilds are recognized within the Treptichnus pedum zone. Ichnologic data are analysed from an ecospace perspective, revealing a more protracted transition between Ediacaran and Cambrian ecosystems. Our analysis documents the appearance of limbs, vertical burrows and uncontroversial equilibrium structures, as well as the retention of ‘other’ feeding styles, such as microbial grazing and chemosynthesis.

Keywords

CambrianCambrian explosionearly evolutionEdiacaranGSSPichnology
Type
Rapid Communication
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 156 , Issue 9 , September 2019 , pp. 1623 - 1630
Copyright
© Cambridge University Press 2019 

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