Radiations and extinctions of plankton in the late Proterozoic and early Cambrian (original) (raw)

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• Published: 06 May 1982

Nature volume 297, pages 57–60 (1982)Cite this article

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Abstract

The intrinsic palaeobiological importance of planktonic algal microfossils of Proterozoic and early Cambrian age has been widely documented1–8. The evidence supporting the biostrati-graphical significance of planktonic microfossils in the correlation of Upper Proterozoic and Lower Cambrian sequences has also been assessed1,4–8. We contend here that both within-flora (α) and total (γ) taxonomic diversity trends for late Proterozoic planktonic microfossils indicate that a distinct radiation of presumed cyst-forming eukaryotic plankters occurred during late Riphean and early Vendian (used here in the sense introduced in refs 1, 8). Following this, a mid- to late Vendian extinction episode reduced observable plankton diversity by some 70%, extirpating most morphologically complex, pre-existing taxa. A second radiation restored high plankton diversity levels, but not until well into the early Cambrian.

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Authors and Affiliations

1. Micropalaeontological Laboratory, University of Lund, Kemicentrum, Box 740, S-220 07, Lund, 7, Sweden
   Gonzalo Vidal
2. Department of Geology, Oberlin College, Oberlin, Ohio, 44074, USA
   Andrew H. Knoll

Authors

1. Gonzalo Vidal
2. Andrew H. Knoll

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Vidal, G., Knoll, A. Radiations and extinctions of plankton in the late Proterozoic and early Cambrian.Nature 297, 57–60 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/297057a0

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• Received: 07 January 1982
• Accepted: 17 March 1982
• Issue date: 06 May 1982
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/297057a0

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