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- Title
Early Pennsylvanian Lagerstätte reveals a diverse ecosystem on a subhumid, alluvial fan.
- Authors
Knecht, Richard J.; Benner, Jacob S.; Swain, Anshuman; Azevedo-Schmidt, Lauren; Cleal, Christopher J.; Labandeira, Conrad C.; Engel, Michael S.; Dunlop, Jason A.; Selden, Paul A.; Eble, Cortland F.; Renczkowski, Mark D.; Wheeler, Dillon A.; Funderburk, Mataeus M.; Emma, Steve L.; Knoll, Andrew H.; Pierce, Naomi E.
- Abstract
Much of what we know about terrestrial life during the Carboniferous Period comes from Middle Pennsylvanian (~315–307 Mya) Coal Measures deposited in low-lying wetland environments1–5. We know relatively little about terrestrial ecosystems from the Early Pennsylvanian, which was a critical interval for the diversification of insects, arachnids, tetrapods, and seed plants6–10. Here we report a diverse Early Pennsylvanian trace and body fossil Lagerstätte (~320–318 Mya) from the Wamsutta Formation of eastern North America, distinct from coal-bearing deposits, preserved in clastic substrates within basin margin conglomerates. The exceptionally preserved trace fossils and body fossils document a range of vertebrates, invertebrates and plant taxa (n = 131), with 83 distinct foliage morphotypes. Plant-insect interactions include what may be the earliest evidence of insect oviposition. This site expands our knowledge of early terrestrial ecosystems and organismal interactions and provides ground truth for future phylogenetic reconstructions of key plant, arthropod, and vertebrate groups. Our knowledge of life in the Carboniferous Period is largely restricted to low-lying wetlands dated to 315–310 million years ago. Here, the authors present an older Lagerstätte on an alluvial fan 320–318 million years ago, preserving a diverse ecosystem of vertebrates, invertebrates, plants, and plant-insect interactions.
- Subjects
CARBONIFEROUS Period; ALLUVIAL fans; ARACHNIDA; TETRAPODS; VERTEBRATES; TRACE fossils
- Publication
Nature Communications, 2024, Vol 15, Issue 1, p1
- ISSN
2041-1723
- Publication type
Article
- DOI
10.1038/s41467-024-52181-0