The Burgess Shale contains the best record we have of Cambrian animal fossils . The locality reveals the presence of creatures originating from the Cambrian explosion, an evolutionary burst of animal origins dating 545 to 525 million years ago. During this period, life was restricted to the world's oceans.
How did the fossils in the Burgess Shale form?
The Burgess Shale fossils are preserved in a type of sedimentary rock known as shale. ... The compressed seafloor muds of the Burgess Shale were transformed into shale when they encountered increased temperature and pressure during their geological history .
How old are the fossils in the Burgess Shale?
The Burgess Shale is a fossil-bearing deposit exposed in the Canadian Rockies of British Columbia, Canada. It is famous for the exceptional preservation of the soft parts of its fossils. At 508 million years old (middle Cambrian
When did Burgess Shale organisms appear?
The fossils of the Burgess Shale, like the Burgess Shale itself, formed around 505 million years ago in the Mid Cambrian period .
What evolutionary jump is captured in the Burgess Shale Canada?
The fossils in the Burgess Shale capture the end of the Cambrian Explosion , when, over millions of years, most major animal groups appeared in the fossil record. While there are sites around the world that feature fossils from the Cambrian period, these sites mainly include hard-bodied organisms such as shellfish.
What is Burgess Shale famous for?
The Burgess Shale fossils are some of the oldest and most complex in the world ! They are so important that they have been recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage Site. These fossils represent a complete ecosystem that existed for only a very short time after the first explosion of multicellular life on earth.
Why is it called Burgess Shale?
They were first discovered in 1909 by Charles D. Walcott, then Secretary of the Smithsonian Institution. This group of fossils takes its name from the Burgess Shale rock formation, named by Walcott after nearby Mount Burgess in the Canadian Rockies .
What ended the Burgess Shale community?
The fossil-bearing deposits of the Burgess Shale correlate to the Stephen Formation, a collection of slightly calcareous dark mudstones, about 508 million years old. ... Later reactivation of faults at the base of the formation led to its disintegration from about 509 million years ago .
What is so special about the Burgess Shale fossils quizlet?
It contains Cambrian fossils (over 100,000 fossils) of more than 130 animal species . It was very complex community of animal species. There was a huge variety of body forms. Many “experimental” body plans, which of many are now extinct.
Where is the Burgess Shale site?
Burgess Shale Location
Nestled high in the Canadian Rocky Mountains, the Burgess Shale is a record of one of the earliest marine ecosystems, giving a tantalizing glimpse of life as it was over 500 million years ago. The Burgess Shale is located in Yoho National Park, near the town of Field, BC .
What components of the Burgess Shale are the rarest?
GEO ExPro – Rarest of All – The Burgess Shale Fossils.
What animals were found in the Burgess Shale?
Most importantly, the Burgess Shale tells of the Cambrian explosion, a huge radiation of marine animal life that included sponges, soft bodied arthropods and those with hard exoskeletons, the first chordates, worms, and trilobites, as well as the strange spiked creatures such as Wiwaxia, and the large predator ...
What are 5 different types of fossils?
- Body fossils: These fossils are remains of an animal or plant such as their bones, shells, and leaves. ...
- Molecular Fossils are considered as biomarkers or biosignatures .
What does the Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rocky Mountains reveal about animal evolution?
What does the Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rocky Mountains reveal about animal evolution? Animals increased in number, diversity, and size, like never before . As they got bigger, they got more complex. ... Conditions for fossilization were nearly perfect, even soft body animals were preserved.
Why is the Burgess Shale so well preserved?
The Pomona researchers propose that the soft tissues are so well preserved because microbial activity in the sediments was inhibited early on by means of oxidant deprivation .
