Advent of three-dimensional sediment exploration reveals Ediacaran-Cambrian ecosystem transition.
basic_science · Level V
Where this comes from
- Record sourced from PubMed, PMID 41160697.
- Also identified by DOI 10.1126/sciadv.adx9449 and PMC identifier 12571085.
- Licence recorded as CC BY.
- The licence permits redistribution, so the abstract is shown in full and the full text is available from the publisher.
Abstract
Trace fossils offer critical insights into animal diversification and ecosystem evolution during the Neoproterozoic-Phanerozoic transition. <i>Treptichnus</i> represents the earliest known three-dimensional burrow system, which co-occurred with Ediacara-type fossils in the Shibantan assemblage (~550 to 543 million years ago). Integration with <i>Lamonte</i> and tadpole-like traces reveals important behavioral innovations from simple horizontal locomotion to complex sediment penetration, thereby bridging ecological and behavioral transitions across the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary. The advent of three-dimensional sediment exploration fundamentally altered benthic ecodynamics and disrupted microbial mat stability. This shift reflects a fundamental restructuring of infaunal habitats, which temporally coincided with the decline of matground-related Ediacaran macro-organisms. These innovations laid the foundation for Phanerozoic animal-sediment interactions, catalyzing a pivotal ecological transition predating yet enabling the Cambrian Explosion.
Medical subject headings
- Geologic Sediments
- Fossils
- Ecosystem