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Early skeletal fossils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  21 July 2017

Stefan Bengtson
Stefan Bengtson*
Affiliation:
Department of Palaeozoology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden
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Abstract

The Precambrian-Cambrian transition saw the burgeoning of diverse skeletal organisms (“small shelly fossils”), represented in the fossil record by spicules, tubes, tests, conchs, shells, and a variety of sclerites and ossicles. Whereas calcareous biomineralization as such may have been facilitated by changes in ocean chemistry at this time, the utilization of biominerals in mineralized skeletons is a different process. The massive appearance of skeletons is most likely an epiphenomenon of the general radiation of body plans and tissues. The “choice” of biominerals (mainly calcium carbonates, calcium phosphates, and silica) may reflect the environmental conditions under which the particular skeleton first evolved.

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Research Article
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The Paleontological Society Papers , Volume 10: Neoproterozoic-Cambrian Biological Revolutions , November 2004 , pp. 67 - 78
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Copyright © 2004 by The Paleontological Society 

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