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Controls on gut phosphatisation: the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstatte (Cambrian; Utah).

ABSTRACT: Despite being internal organs, digestive structures are frequently preserved in Cambrian Lagerstätten. However, the reasons for their fossilisation and their biological implications remain to be thoroughly explored. This is particularly true with arthropods--typically the most diverse fossilised organisms in Cambrian ecosystems--where digestive structures represent an as-yet underexploited alternative to appendage morphology for inferences on their biology. Here we describe the phosphatised digestive structures of three trilobite species from the Cambrian Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Utah). Their exquisite, three-dimensional preservation reveals unique details on trilobite internal anatomy, such as the position of the mouth and the absence of a differentiated crop. In addition, the presence of paired pygidial organs of an unknown function is reported for the first time. This exceptional material enables exploration of the relationships between gut phosphatisation and the biology of organisms. Indeed, soft-tissue preservation is unusual in these fossils as it is restricted to the digestive structures, which indicates that the gut played a central role in its own phosphatisation. We hypothesize that the gut provided a microenvironment where special conditions could develop and harboured a source of phosphorus. The fact that gut phosphatization has almost exclusively been observed in arthropods could be explained by their uncommon ability to store ions (including phosphorous) in their digestive tissues. However, in some specimens from the Weeks Formation, the phosphatisation extends to the entire digestive system, suggesting that trilobites might have had some biological particularities not observed in modern arthropods. We speculate that one of them might have been an increased capacity for ion storage in the gut tissues, related to the moulting of their heavily-mineralised carapace.

SUBMITTER: Lerosey-Aubril R

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3303877 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Controls on gut phosphatisation: the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Cambrian; Utah).

Lerosey-Aubril Rudy R Hegna Thomas A TA Kier Carlo C Bonino Enrico E Habersetzer Jörg J Carré Matthieu M

PloS one 20120314 3

Despite being internal organs, digestive structures are frequently preserved in Cambrian Lagerstätten. However, the reasons for their fossilisation and their biological implications remain to be thoroughly explored. This is particularly true with arthropods--typically the most diverse fossilised organisms in Cambrian ecosystems--where digestive structures represent an as-yet underexploited alternative to appendage morphology for inferences on their biology. Here we describe the phosphatised dige ...[more]

PMID: 22431989

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Project description:Radiodonts have long been known from Cambrian deposits preserving non-biomineralizing organisms. In Utah, the presence of these panarthropods in the Spence and Wheeler (House Range and Drum Mountains) biotas is now well-documented. Conversely, radiodont occurrences in the Marjum Formation have remained scarce. Despite the large amount of work undertaken on its diverse fauna, only one radiodont (Peytoia) has been reported from the Marjum Biota. In this contribution we quadruple the known radiodont diversity of the Marjum fauna, with the description of the youngest members of two genera, Caryosyntrips and Pahvantia, and that of a new taxon Buccaspinea cooperi gen. et sp. nov. This new taxon can be identified from its large oral cone bearing robust hooked teeth with one, two, or three cusps, and by the unique endite morphology and organisation of its frontal appendages. Appendages of at least 12 podomeres bear six recurved plate-like endites proximal to up to four spiniform distal endites. Pahvantia hastata specimens from the Marjum Formation are particularly large, but otherwise morphologically indistinguishable from the carapace elements of this species found in the Wheeler Formation. One of the two new Caryosyntrips specimens can be confidently assigned to C. camurus. The other bears the largest spines relative to appendage length recorded for this genus, and possesses endites of variable size and unequal spacing, making its taxonomic assignment uncertain. Caryosyntrips, Pahvantia, and Peytoia are all known from the underlying Wheeler Formation, whereas isolated appendages from the Spence Shale and the Wheeler Formation, previously assigned to Hurdia, are tentatively reidentified as Buccaspinea. Notably, none of these four genera occurs in the overlying Weeks Formation, providing supporting evidence of a faunal restructuring around the Drumian-Guzhangian boundary. The description of three additional nektonic taxa from the Marjum Formation further documents the higher relative proportion of free-swimming species in this biota compared to those of the Wheeler and Weeks Lagerstätten. This could be related to a moderate deepening of the basin and/or changing regional ocean circulation at this time.

Dataset Information

Controls on gut phosphatisation: the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstatte (Cambrian; Utah).

Publications

Controls on gut phosphatisation: the trilobites from the Weeks Formation Lagerstätte (Cambrian; Utah).

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