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Occurrence of the siliceous sponge spicule Konyrium (Hexactinellida) in the upper Cambrian of the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  14 July 2015

Brian R. Pratt
Brian R. Pratt*
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan S7N 5E2, Canada,
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Extract

The fossil record of siliceous sponges—Hexactinellida and demosponge “Lithistida”—hinges upon both body fossils plus isolated spicules mostly recovered from limestones by acid digestion. The earliest record of siliceous sponge spicules extends back to the late Neoproterozoic of Hubei, southern China (Steiner et al., 1993) and Mongolia (Brasier et al., 1997), and body fossils attributed to the hexactinellids have been described from the Ediacaran of South Australia (Gehling and Rigby, 1996); thus they are the oldest-known definite representatives of extant animal phyla. The Early Cambrian saw a remarkable diversification in spicule morphology, with the appearance of an essentially “modern” array of forms (Zhang and Pratt, 1994). While a diversity decline may have occurred with the late Early Cambrian extinction(s), the subsequent Paleozoic and Mesozoic fossil record of spicules shows a relatively consistent range of morphologies (e.g., Mostler, 1986; Bengtson et al., 1990; Webby and Trotter, 1993; Kozur et al., 1996; Zhang and Pratt, 2000). However, because spicule form is not restricted to individual taxa and many sponge species secrete a variety of spicule shapes, it is difficult to gauge true siliceous sponge diversity and to explore their biostratigraphic utility using only isolated spicules.

Type
Paleontological Notes
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 76 , Issue 3 , May 2002 , pp. 565 - 569
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society

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