Abstract The Cambrian Period is the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon and witnessed the
explosive appearance of the metazoans, representing the beginning of the modern earth-life …

The diversification of animals during the Cambrian Period is one of the most significant
evolutionary events in Earth's history. However, the sequence of events leading to the origin …

Sponges are the most basal metazoan phylum and may have played important roles in
modulating the redox architecture of Neoproterozoic oceans. Although molecular clocks …

The origin of motility in bilaterian animals represents an evolutionary innovation that
transformed the Earth system. This innovation probably occurred in the late Ediacaran …

Given the high oxygen demands of complex metazoans, a sound understanding of marine
redox conditions is essential to reconstruct the factors that lead to the dramatic increases in …

Abstract The early–middle Cambrian (Fortunian to Age 4) is characterized by a significant
increase in metazoan diversification. Furthermore, this interval is marked by a prominent …

The origin of widespread organic-rich shales on the early Cambrian Yangtze Platform of
Nanhua Basin (South China) has been attributed to high primary productivity. To test this …

Early Paleozoic evolution of the northern Gondwana margin is interpreted from integrated in
situ U-Pb and Hf-isotope analyses on detrital zircons that constrain depositional ages and …

The reconstruction of the phylogenetic tree of animals (TOA) has long been one of the
central interests in biological and paleobiological sciences. We review the latest results of …

Secondary ion mass spectrometry (SIMS) constitutes an extremely sensitive technique for
imaging surfaces in 2D and 3D. Apart from its excellent sensitivity and high lateral resolution …