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Most nonscientists are usually aware of fossils, and it is commonly believed that they are extremely rare. In fact, fossils are exceptionally common in many sedimentary rocks and are used extensively in geology for age dating, interpretation of ancient environments, and the discovery of natural resources. However, there is another type of fossil deposit that is truly rare. These rare fossil deposits, called Lagerstätten, preserve the remains of the soft tissues or the articulated skeletal remains of ancient creatures in truly astonishing fine detail. Some of these deposits are world-famous, such as the Burgess Shale, or Solnhofen but there are others dating from many different geological eras from the Paleozoic, up to the Eocene. Recently, a concerted effort has been made to understand the overall significance of these rare fossil deposits. Whereas in the past these deposits were considered novelties, modern researchers are trying to understand what they can tell us about ancient life and environments. New sophisticated techniques (including image and geochemical analyses) are providing enormous new contributions to our knowledge of Lagerstätten sites and to paleobiology in general.
This volume describes many of the most famous Lagerstätten locations worldwide and is complete with over 70 superb halftones showing some of these exotic fossils in all their glory. Paleontologists are beginning to understand why such deposits occur, how they have varied since the advent of marine metazoan life, and how their presence effects our understanding of the evolution of life in the Earths oceans. In this way, the study of Lagerstätten continues to move towards the mainstream of paleobiological, biological, and geological research, and away from its former status as the examination of mere curiosities.
All those interested in these beautiful and sometimes enigmatic deposits will want to own this book.
List of contents
Foreword, by Alfred G. Fischer
Fossil-Lagerstätten: Jewels of the Fossil Record, by David Jè. Bottjer, Walter Etter, James W. Hagadorn, and Carol M. Tang
Enigmatic Ediacara Fossils: Ancestors or Aliens?, by David J. Bottjer
Chengjiang: Early Record of the Cambrian Explosion, by James W. Hagadorn
The Burgess Shale: Cambrian Explosion in Full Bloom, by James W. Hagadorn
Burgess Shale-Type Localities: The Global Picture, by James W. Hagadorn
Orsten Deposits from Sweden: Miniature Late Cambrian Arthropods, by Carol M. Tang
Beecher's Trilobite Bed: Ordovician Pyritization for the Other Half of the Trilobite, by Walter Etter
The Hunsrück Slate: Widespread Pyritization of a Devonian Fauna, by Walter Etter
Bear Gulch: An Exceptional Upper Carboniferous Plattenkalk, by James W. Hagadorn
Mazon Creek: Preservation in Late Paleozoic Deltaic Environments, by Stephen A. Schellenberg
Grès à Voltzia: Preservation in Early Mesozoic Deltaic and Marginal Marine Environments, by Walter Etter
Monte San Giorgio: Remarkable Triassic Marine Vertebrates, by Walter Etter
Berlin-Ichthyosaur: Preserving Some of the Earth's Largest Marine Vertebrates, by David J. Bottjer
Osteno: Jurassic Preservation to the Cellular Level, by Carol M. Tang
Posidonia Shale: Germany's Jurassic Marine Park, by Walter Etter and Carol M. Tang
La Voulte-Sur-Rhône: Exquisite Cephalopod Preservation, by Walter Etter
Oxford Clay: England's Jurassic Marine Park, by Carol M. Tang
Solnhofen: Plattenkalk Preservation with Archaeopteryx, by Walter Etter
Smoky Hill Chalk: Spectacular Cretaceous Marine Fauna, by David J. Bottjer
Monte Bolca: An Eocene Fishbowl, by Carol M. Tang
Index
Summary
This photographically rich volume provides a synthetic overview of a wide sample of Lagerstatten from marine environments reaching back in time to the Precambrian, more than 500 million years ago. These occurrences of exceptional fossil preservation are providing scientists with a new source of evidence to understand how life has evolved in the Earth's oceans.
