TY - DATA T1 - The Fezouata fossils of Morocco; an extraordinary record of marine life in the Early Ordovician PY - 2016/06/21 AU - Peter Van Roy AU - Derek E. G. Briggs AU - Robert R. Gaines UR - https://geolsoc.figshare.com/articles/dataset/The_Fezouata_fossils_of_Morocco_an_extraordinary_record_of_marine_life_in_the_Early_Ordovician/3454001 DO - 10.6084/m9.figshare.3454001.v1 L4 - https://ndownloader.figshare.com/files/5424671 KW - Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event KW - crown group taxa KW - Fezouata biota KW - Phanerozoic radiation KW - Cambrian KW - Geology N2 - The discovery of the Fezouata biota in the latest Tremadocian of southeastern Morocco has significantly changed our understanding of the early Phanerozoic radiation. The shelly fossil record shows a well-recognized pattern of macroevolutionary stasis between the Cambrian Explosion and the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event, but the rich soft-bodied Fezouata biota paints a different evolutionary picture. The Fezouata assemblage includes a considerable component of Cambrian holdovers alongside a surprising number of crown group taxa previously unknown to have evolved by the Early Ordovician. Study of the Fezouata biota is in its early stages, and future discoveries will continue to enrich our view of the dynamics of the early Phanerozoic radiation and of the nature of the fossil record. ER -