The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction
Stromatoporoid-type hypercalcified sponges are known to have contributed to the global reef system since the late Middle Ordovician until their major disappearance in the latest Devonian. However, the timing of their appearance and how the earliest stromatoporoids were incorporated into the reef eco...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Estonian Academy Publishers
2023-06-01
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| Series: | Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://kirj.ee/wp-content/plugins/kirj/pub/earth-1-2023-135_20230611094520.pdf |
| _version_ | 1797804375447437312 |
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| author | Juwan Jeon Jeong-Hyun Lee Stephen Kershaw Zhong-Yang Chen Jun-Ye Ma Kun Liang Yuan-Dong Zhang |
| author_facet | Juwan Jeon Jeong-Hyun Lee Stephen Kershaw Zhong-Yang Chen Jun-Ye Ma Kun Liang Yuan-Dong Zhang |
| author_sort | Juwan Jeon |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Stromatoporoid-type hypercalcified sponges are known to have contributed to the global reef system since the late Middle Ordovician until their major disappearance in the latest Devonian. However, the timing of their appearance and how the earliest stromatoporoids were incorporated into the reef ecosystem remains a mystery. A stromatoporoid taxon was previously reported from the lower Floian of South China, but this example limitedly occurs within the cryptic space of a lithistid-Calathiumreef and has negligible importance in reef construction, unlike the later stromatoporoids that formed the major reef frameworks during the Palaeozoic.
In this study, we describe the earliest known definitive stromatoporoids and the reefs constructed by them in the upper Tremadocian to the lower Floian of South China. The reef framework is dominated by various growth forms of stromatoporoids â ranging from laminar, domical, bulbous to digitate morphologies â that alternate with other organisms such as the calcimicrobe Girvanella and stalked echinoderms. Stromatoporoids have played a significant role in frame-building and binding associated with other reef components, contributing to the construction of a complex reef community similar to those found in the late Middle Ordovician and onwards.
In South China, late Cambrian microbial-dominant reefs were rapidly substituted by newly-emerging metazoan reef-builders in the Early Ordovician, such as lithistid sponges, quasi-sponge Calathium, bryozoans, echinoderms, the problematic Pulchrilamina and stromatoporoids. This is in contrast to other palaeocontinents where lithistid-microbial reefs dominated throughout the late Cambrian and Early Ordovician, with Calathium being incorÂporated in the Early Ordovician. This finding supports the idea that there was regional heterogeneity in reef evolution during this critical time of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:36:13Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-141b4dcce5c7438184776e3d1267beab |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1736-4728 1736-7557 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-13T05:36:13Z |
| publishDate | 2023-06-01 |
| publisher | Estonian Academy Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences |
| spelling | doaj.art-141b4dcce5c7438184776e3d1267beab2023-06-14T07:33:30ZengEstonian Academy PublishersEstonian Journal of Earth Sciences1736-47281736-75572023-06-017211350https://doi.org/10.3176/earth.2023.05https://doi.org/10.3176/earth.2023.05The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef constructionJuwan Jeon0Jeong-Hyun Lee1Stephen Kershaw2Zhong-Yang Chen3Jun-Ye Ma4Kun Liang5Yuan-Dong Zhang6State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing 100049, ChinaDepartment of Geological Sciences, Chungnam National University, Daejeon 34134, Republic of KoreaDepartment of Life Sciences, Brunel University, Kingston Lane, Uxbridge, UB8 3PH, UK; Earth Sciences Department, Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London, SW7 5BD, UKState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, ChinaState Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China; University of Chinese Academy of Sciences (UCAS), Beijing 100049, ChinaStromatoporoid-type hypercalcified sponges are known to have contributed to the global reef system since the late Middle Ordovician until their major disappearance in the latest Devonian. However, the timing of their appearance and how the earliest stromatoporoids were incorporated into the reef ecosystem remains a mystery. A stromatoporoid taxon was previously reported from the lower Floian of South China, but this example limitedly occurs within the cryptic space of a lithistid-Calathiumreef and has negligible importance in reef construction, unlike the later stromatoporoids that formed the major reef frameworks during the Palaeozoic. In this study, we describe the earliest known definitive stromatoporoids and the reefs constructed by them in the upper Tremadocian to the lower Floian of South China. The reef framework is dominated by various growth forms of stromatoporoids â ranging from laminar, domical, bulbous to digitate morphologies â that alternate with other organisms such as the calcimicrobe Girvanella and stalked echinoderms. Stromatoporoids have played a significant role in frame-building and binding associated with other reef components, contributing to the construction of a complex reef community similar to those found in the late Middle Ordovician and onwards. In South China, late Cambrian microbial-dominant reefs were rapidly substituted by newly-emerging metazoan reef-builders in the Early Ordovician, such as lithistid sponges, quasi-sponge Calathium, bryozoans, echinoderms, the problematic Pulchrilamina and stromatoporoids. This is in contrast to other palaeocontinents where lithistid-microbial reefs dominated throughout the late Cambrian and Early Ordovician, with Calathium being incorÂporated in the Early Ordovician. This finding supports the idea that there was regional heterogeneity in reef evolution during this critical time of the Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event.https://kirj.ee/wp-content/plugins/kirj/pub/earth-1-2023-135_20230611094520.pdfearly ordovicianstromatoporoidsouth chinareefgreat ordovician biodiversification event |
| spellingShingle | Juwan Jeon Jeong-Hyun Lee Stephen Kershaw Zhong-Yang Chen Jun-Ye Ma Kun Liang Yuan-Dong Zhang The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction Estonian Journal of Earth Sciences early ordovician stromatoporoid south china reef great ordovician biodiversification event |
| title | The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction |
| title_full | The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction |
| title_fullStr | The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction |
| title_full_unstemmed | The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction |
| title_short | The earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction |
| title_sort | earliest known stromatoporoid and its contribution to reef construction |
| topic | early ordovician stromatoporoid south china reef great ordovician biodiversification event |
| url | https://kirj.ee/wp-content/plugins/kirj/pub/earth-1-2023-135_20230611094520.pdf |
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