The Souss lagerstatte of the Anti-Atlas, Morocco: discovery of the first Cambrian fossil lagerstatte from Africa

Please always quote using this URN: urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259236
  • Episodic low oxygenated conditions on the sea-floor are likely responsible for exceptional preservation of animal remains in the upper Amouslek Formation (lower Cambrian, Stage 3) on the northern slope of the western Anti-Atlas, Morocco. This stratigraphic interval has yielded trilobite, brachiopod, and hyolith fossils with preserved soft parts, including some of the oldest known trilobite guts. The "Souss fossil lagerstatte" (newly proposed designation) represents the first Cambrian fossil lagerstatte in Cambrian strata known from Africa andEpisodic low oxygenated conditions on the sea-floor are likely responsible for exceptional preservation of animal remains in the upper Amouslek Formation (lower Cambrian, Stage 3) on the northern slope of the western Anti-Atlas, Morocco. This stratigraphic interval has yielded trilobite, brachiopod, and hyolith fossils with preserved soft parts, including some of the oldest known trilobite guts. The "Souss fossil lagerstatte" (newly proposed designation) represents the first Cambrian fossil lagerstatte in Cambrian strata known from Africa and is one of the oldest trilobite-bearing fossil lagerstatten on Earth. Inter-regional correlation of the Souss fossil lagerstatte in West Gondwana suggests its development during an interval of high eustatic levels recorded by dark shales that occur in informal upper Cambrian Series 2 in Siberia, South China, and East Gondwana.show moreshow less

Download full text files

Export metadata

Additional Services

Share in Twitter Search Google Scholar Statistics
Metadaten
Author: Gerd Geyer, Ed Landing
URN:urn:nbn:de:bvb:20-opus-259236
Document Type:Journal article
Faculties:Philosophische Fakultät (Histor., philolog., Kultur- und geograph. Wissensch.) / Institut für Geographie und Geologie
Language:English
Parent Title (English):Scientific Reports
Year of Completion:2021
Volume:11
Issue:1
Pagenumber:3107
Source:Scientific Reports (2021) 11:3107. DOI:10.1038/s41598-021-82546-0
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-82546-0
Dewey Decimal Classification:5 Naturwissenschaften und Mathematik / 55 Geowissenschaften, Geologie / 550 Geowissenschaften
Tag:biodiversity; palaeontology; sedimentology
Release Date:2022/03/26
Open-Access-Publikationsfonds / Förderzeitraum 2021
Licence (German):License LogoCC BY: Creative-Commons-Lizenz: Namensnennung 4.0 International