Earth and life : global biodiversity, extinction intervals and biogeographic perturbations through time - Evolutionary Scenario of the Early History of the Animal Kingdom: Evidence fromPrecambrian (Ediacaran) Weng’an and Early Cambrian Maotianshan Biotas,

Late Proterozoic (Ediacaran) Weng’an (580 mya) and Early Cambrian Maotianshan (c. 530 mya) faunas of South China, illustrated here, document diverse body plans at phylum and subphylum level and confirm that bilaterians evolved well before the “Cambrian explosion”. The Weng’an faunas (from Guizhou), the oldest record of metazoans, consist mainly of embryos with possible affinities to living sponges, cnidarians, and bilaterians, but with adult specimens (though microscopic) of the same groups. The Maotianshan Shale faunas (from Yunnan), remarkably diverse at species level (over 100 species), have great diversity of metazoan body plans, many comparable with those of living groups. Because they occur at or near the evolutionary roots of many animal groups, intermediate forms are present. Evolution of Early Cambrian metazoans was surprisingly rapid. Worm-like ancestral euarthropods elucidate the evolutionary origins of the arthropods. The diverse Maotianshan vertebrates, representing “missing” history between an amphioxus-like ancestor and craniate vertebrates, provide an improved understanding of the early evolution of the vertebrates. "This volume focuses on the broad pattern of increasing biodiversity through time, and recurrent events of minor and major ecosphere reorganization. Intense scrutiny is devoted to the pattern of physical (including isotropic), sedimentary and biotic circumstances through the time intervals during which life crises occurred. These events affected terrestrial, lacustrine and estuarine ecosystems, locally and globally, but have affected continental shelf ecosystems and even deep ocean ecosystems. The pattern of these events is the backdrop against which modelling the pattern of future environmental change needs to be evaluated." -- Back cover Of Lieberman and Melott's (2007) AnalysisSummary of Lieberman and Melott's (2007) Results; Summary of Melott's (2008) Results; Possible Causal Mechanisms for 62-Ma Cyclicity; Conclusions; References; Climate Change Through Time; Introduction; Early Earth Atmosphere; Primitive Oceans; Iron-Banded Formations: Significance; The Story in Sedimentary Rocks: Limestones, Dolomites, Evaporates, Gypsum, Coal, Reef Limestones and Glacial Deposits; First Glaciations; Plate Tectonics; The Pattern of Glaciations and Warm Periods from the Ordovician Until the Late Tertiary; Quaternary Climates This volume focuses on the increasing of biodiversity through time and on recurrent events of minor and major ecosphere reorganization. Special attention paid to physical, sedimentary and biotic circumstances through time intervals when life crises occurred. Book by Talent, John A. (Ed.)