Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History

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Wonderful Life: The Burgess Shale and the Nature of History Page 36

by Stephen Jay Gould


  3.36 From D. E. G. Briggs, 1976. The arthropod Branchiocaris n. gen., Middle Cambrian, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada Bulletin 264:1–29.

  3.37 From D. E. G. Briggs, 1978. The morphology, mode of life, and affinities of Canadaspis perfecta (Crustacea: Phyllocarida), Middle Cambrian, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 281:439–87.

  3.39, 3.40(A–C) From H. B. Whittington, 1977. The Middle Cambrian trilobite Naraoia, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 280:409–43.

  3.42, 3.43 From H. B. Whittington, 1978. The lobopod animal Aysheaia pedunculata Walcott, Middle Cambrian, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 284:165–97.

  3.44 From D. E. G. Briggs, 1981. The arthropod Odaraia alata Walcott, Middle Cambrian, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 291:541–85.

  3.47, 3.50 From H. B. Whittington, 1981. Rare arthropods from the Burgess Shale, Middle Cambrian, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 292:329–57.

  3.51, 3.52, 3.53 From D. L. Bruton and H. B. Whittington. 1983. Emeraldella and Leanchoilia, two arthropods from the Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 300:553–85.

  3.55 From D. E. G. Briggs and D. Collins, 1988. A Middle Cambrian chelicerate from Mount Stephen, British Columbia. Palaeontology 31:779–98.

  3.56, 3.57, 3.59 From S. Conway Morris, 1985. The Middle Cambrian metazoan Wiwaxia corrugata (Matthew) from the Burgess Shale and Ogygopsis Shale, British Columbia, Canada. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 307:507–82.

  3.60, 3.61 From D. E. G. Briggs, 1979. Anomalocaris, the largest known Cambrian arthropod. Palaeontology 22:631–64.

  3.63, 3.64 From H. B. Whittington and D. E. G. Briggs, 1985. The largest Cambrian animal, Anomalocaris, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 309:569–609.

  3.65 From S. Conway Morris and H. B. Whittington, 1985. Fossils of the Burgess Shale. A national treasure in Yoho National Park, British Columbia. Geological Survey of Canada, Miscellaneous Reports 43:1–31.

  3.67, 3.68, 3.69(A–B), 3.70 From H. B. Whittington and D. E. G. Briggs, 1985. The largest Cambrian animal, Anomalocaris, Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society, London B 309:569–609.

  3.73, 3.74 From D. E. G. Briggs and H. B. Whittington, 1985. Modes of life of arthropods from the Burgess Shale, British Columbia. Transactions of the Royal Society of Edinburgh 76:149–60.

  4.1, 4.2, 4.3 Smithsonian Institution Archives, Charles D. Walcott Papers, 1851–1940 and undated. Archive numbers 82–3144, 82–3140, and 83–14157.

  5.3 Drawing by Charles R. Knight: neg. no. 39443, courtesy of Department of Library Services, American Museum of Natural History.

  5.5 Courtesy of A. Seilacher.

  5.6 From R. C. Moore, C. G. Lalicker, and A. G. Fischer. Invertebrate Fossils. McGraw-Hill Book Co., Inc. Copyright 1952.

  5.7 From A. Yu. Rozanov, “Problematica of the Early Cambrian,” in Problematic Fossil Taxa, ed. Antoni Hoffman and Matthew H. Nitecki. Copyright © 1986 by Oxford University Press, Inc. Reprinted by permission.

  Index

  Actaeus, 180–81

  ecology of, 221

  Leanchoilia and, 183

  administrators, 241, 245

  Agassiz, Louis, 212–13, 242

  Aitken, J. D., 77

  Alalcomenaeus, 180–81, 221–22

  Allmon, Warren, 114

  Alvarez, Luis, 280–81, 305

  American Anthropological Association, 256–57

  American Association for the Advancement of Science, 242

  Amiskwia, 150–53, 222

  Amoeba, 58

  Amphioxus, 321–22

  analogy, 213, 231

  anatomy of arthropods, 103–6

  animals:

  origin of, 55–60

  phyla of, 99

  as polyphyletic group, 38n soft tissue of, 60–61

  see also particular animals Annelida, 127, 137

  Onychophora and, 168

  Pikaia as, 321

  Anomalocaris, 14, 194–206, 213–14, 217, 218, 225, 239

  earlier animals similar to, 227

  extinction of, 236–37

  in Knight’s and current illustrations, 25–26

  monograph on, 82

  outside of Burgess Shale, 224

  reclassification of, 109

  reinterpreted as appendage of larger animal, 157

  Anomalocaris canadensis, 201

  Anomalocaris nathorsti, 201

  anostracans, 129

  antennae:

  on Marrella, 117–20

  on Sidneyia, 177

  Anthropological Society of Washington, 256

  Aphrodita (see mouse), 189

  Aplacophora, 193n

  archaeocyathids, 314–15

  Archaeopteryx, 63–64

  arthropods:

  Anomalocaris and, 194, 206

  bivalved, 158

  in Burgess Shale, 25, 188, 208–9

  in Burgess Shale, ecology of, 219–22

  in Burgess Shale, genealogies of, 216–17

  in Burgess Shale, rare, 178–81

  in Burgess Shale, reexamination of, 138–39

  classification and anatomy of, 102–6

  elimination of Trilobitoidea class of, 167–68

  groups within, 137

  Onychophora and, 168

  Opabinia as, 127–29, 131–32

  Walcott’s ordering of, 271

  see also particular arthropods artifact theory, 271–74

  Atdabanian stage, 226, 316

  Aysheaia, 25, 91, 168–72, 188, 238, 292

  as ancestor of insects, 237

  ecology of, 221

  Backus, David, 17–18

  Bailey, George, 14

  Bakker, Bob, 141

  Banffia, 212

  Barrois, Charles, 251

  beetles, 47

  benthic organisms, 219

  Bidentia, 109

  bilateral symmetry, 289, 290

  biramous limbs, 104–5

  birds:

  Diatryma gigantea, 296–97

  phororhacids, 298–99

  bivalved arthropods, 158

  Branchiocaris as, 158–61

  Canadaspis as, 161–63

  Odaraia as, 173–76

  Boas, Franz, 255–57

  borhyaenids, 298–99

  bracts, 149

  brain, linear theories of evolution of, 29–31

  Branchiocaris pretiosa, 94, 158–61, 219–20

  branchiopods, 109

  Opabinia as, 125–26

  Yohoia as, 121, 122n Brandon Bridge fauna, 63

  Briggs, Derek E. G., 14, 17, 83–84, 121

  on Alalcomenaeus, 221–22

  on Anomalocaris, 196, 198–206

  bivalved arthropods studied by, 157–58

  on Branchiocaris, 158–61

  after Burgess Shale studies, 207

  on Canadaspis, 161–63

  on classification of Burgess arthropods, 217

  on conodonts, 149

  on diversification and competition, 235

  on ecology of Burgess arthropods, 219

  on Odaraia, 173–76

  problem species at Burgess Shale listed by, 212

  on reaction to Opabinia interpretation, 126

  on Sanctacaris, 187

  on Sidneyia, 195

  Sidneyia counterpart found by, 96

  on specialization of Burgess animals, 237

  as Whittington’s student, 141, 144

  Bruton, David, 83

  on Emeraldella and Leanchoilia, 181, 183–84

  “merostomoids” studied by, 137–38

  on Sidneyia, 87–91, 176–78

  three�
��dimensional models made by, 96

  Bryan, William Jennings, 261, 262

  Burgess, 69n

  Burgessia, 121

  ecology of, 219

  Hughes on, 138–39

  Burgess Shale, 13–19

  alternative outcomes for fauna of, 293–99

  arthropods in, 103, 188

  Atdabanian fauna in, 317

  bivalved arthropods in, 158

  coelomates in, 38n

  cone of diversity in misinterpretations of, 45–48

  contingency in, 51–52, 288–89, 292

  decimation of fauna of, 233–39

  disparity followed by decimation in, 207–12

  diversity and disparity of life in, 49

  ecology of arthropods of, 219–22

  ecology of fauna of, 222–24

  environmental conditions creating, 62

  Hallucigenia as symbolic of, 153–54

  history of discovery of, 70–78

  importance of, 280

  importance of Canadaspis in, 162–63

  importance of fossils of, 23

  importance of transformation in interpretation of, 79–81

  Knight’s illustration of life in, 25–26

  life following, 63–64

  life preceding, 55–60

  location of, 65–69

  Marrella fossils in, 107–21

  Opabinia fossils in, 124–36

  origins of fauna of, 228–33

  other sites similar to, 224–27

  pattern of maximal initial proliferation in, 301–4

  phyla found in, 99–100

  Pikaia in, 321–23

  polychaetes in, 163–64

  preservation of fossils in, 69–70

  relationships between organisms in, 212–18

  shift in interpretation of fossils of, 172–73

  Sidneyia fossil in, 85–96

  three–dimensionality of fossils of, 84–85, 101

  types of fossils in, 25

  as typical of Cambrian period, 218

  Walcott’s intent to examine, 251–52

  Walcott’s shoehorn error on, 244–53, 260–63, 266–77

  Waptia fossils in, 138–39

  “worms” in, 142–43

  Yohoia fossils in, 121–24

  Butler, Nicholas Murray, 256

  calyx, 149

  Cambrian explosion, 24, 55–60, 208, 225, 226, 234, 310

  Chinese fossils of, 226

  first fauna of, 314–16

  life following, 64

  modern fauna in, 316–17

  theories of origins of, 228–30

  Walcott on, 263–77

  Cambrian period:

  Burgess Shale fossils as typical of, 218

  ecology of, 222–24

  camera lucida, 85

  Canadaspis perfecta, 109, 121, 161–63, 188

  ecology of, 219, 223

  Canadia, 154

  Canadia sparsa (Hallucigenia), 154

  cannibalism, 96

  Capra, Frank, 14, 287

  carbon:

  in fossils of soft-bodied animals, 84–85

  isotopes of, 58

  replaced by silica in fossils, 101

  Carboniferous period, 61

  Camarvonia, 109

  Carnegie, Andrew, 242, 253

  Carnegie Institution, 242

  carnivores, 96

  Cathedral Escarpment (Burgess Shale), 69

  Cenozoic era, 54

  chaetognaths, 151

  Chamberlin, T. C, 247

  chelicerates (Chelicerata), 25, 103, 106, 177

  Sanctacaris as, 187–88

  chimpanzees, 29

  Chordata, 321

  chordates, Pikaia as, 321–22

  Civil War, 284–85

  Clark, D. L., 307

  coelomates, 38

  Coleman, Al, 17–18

  Collins, Desmond, 18, 77, 185–86, 224–25

  Collins, Marianne, 18

  competition, 229

  decimation of Burgess fauna and, 234

  cone of diversity of life, 39–42, 223

  Haeckel’ s, 263–67

  in misinterpretation of Burgess Shale, 45–50, 268–69

  Conklin, Edwin Grant, 262

  Conodontophorida, 149

  conodonts, 148–49

  continental drift, 279

  contingency:

  in Burgess Shale, 288–89, 292, 301–4

  Darwin on, 290

  historical, 284–85

  in human origins, 291

  in mass extinctions, 306

  patterns illustrating, 299–301

  portrayed in fiction, 285–86

  portrayed in films, 287–88

  Conway Morris, Simon, 14, 17, 83–84, 293

  on Amiskwia, 150–53

  Anomalocaris and, 196

  on Burgess polychaetes, 163–64

  after Burgess Shale studies, 207

  on Dinomischus, 149–50

  on diversification and competition, 234–35

  on ecology of Burgess fauna, 222–24, 230

  on Hallucigenia, 153–57

  on Laggania and Peytoia, 197–98

  on Nectocaris, 145–47

  on Odontogriphus, 147–49

  on Ottoia, 225

  on Pikaia, 321, 322

  on polychaetes, 294, 295

  problem species at Burgess Shale listed by, 212

  on reaction to Opabinia interpretation, 126

  on survival of Burgess fauna, 237–38

  Walcott’s specimens reexamined by, 80, 142–45

  as Whittington’s student, 141

  on Wiwaxia, 189–93

  Wiwaxia studied by, 92, 96

  coral, 38n

  counterparts of fossils, 93–96

  coxa, 105

  creationism:

  Cambrian explosion and, 56

  Scopes trial and, 261

  Cretaceous mass extinction, 54, 278

  diatoms’ survival during, 307–8

  extraterrestrial–impact theory of, 280

  small animals surviving, 307

  crustaceans (Crustacea), 25, 103, 106, 109

  Anomalocaris as, 194

  bivalved arthropods as, 158–59

  Canadaspis, 161–63

  Marrella as precursor of, 120

  Naraoia, 164–67

  cyanophytes, 58

  Darwin, Charles, 16, 107, 263, 282

  on Cambrian explosion, 271–72

  on contingency, 290

  on extinctions, 300

  on fitness and survival, 236

  on incomplete fossil record, 60

  on mass extinctions, 305

  on origins of multicellular animals, 56–57

  on Precambrian life, 270

  Walcott on, 257–59

  wedge metaphor used by, 299

  Darwinism:

  competition in, 229

  decimation of Burgess fauna and, 234

  filling of ecological niches in, 228

  portrayed in fiction, 285–86

  tautology argument and, 236

  Davis, N. C, 225

  Day, Bill, 32

  decimation, 47n, 302n of Burgess fauna, 233–39

  disparity followed by, 207–12

  problem of origins of, 227

  Devonian period, fossils of, 61, 63

  diatoms, 307–8

  Diatryma gigantea, 296–97

  Diceros, 68

  Dinomischus, 149–50

  dinosaurs, 280

  Knight’s illustrations of, 23

  mammals and, 318

  disparity in anatomy, 49

  in Burgess fauna, origins of, 228–33

  followed by decimation, 207–12

  problem of origins of, 227

  diversity of life, 49

  in Burgess Shale, 45–47

  cone of, 39–42

  decimation in, 47n

  dorsal side, 105

  Dzik, J., 227

  earth:


  age of, 45n, 57

  age of, Kelvin’s estimate of, 279

  origin of life on, 289, 309

  echinoderms, 302

  Haeckel on, 265–66

  ecology:

  of Burgess arthropods, 219–22

  of Burgess Shale, competition in, 229

  of Burgess Shale fauna, 222–24

  in theories of origins of Burgess fauna, 228

  Ediacara fauna, 58–60, 231, 311–14

  edrioasteroids, 302

  elasipods, 156

  Eldonia, 195–96, 212

  Eldredge, Niles, 81n

  Emeraldella, 181–84, 219

  Eno, W. P., 254

  Entoprocta, 149–50

  environment, filling of niches in, 228

  Eocene epoch, 296

  Eohippus (Hyracotherium), 36

  Equus (horse), 36

  eras, geological, 54

  eukaryotic cells, 58

  evolution of, 309–11

  evolution:

  alternative outcomes of, 293–99

  Cambrian explosion seen as disproof of, 56–57

  chain of being theory of, 28–29

  cone of diversity illustration of, 39–42

  decimation of Burgess fauna and, 233–39

  of eukaryotic cells, 309–11

  expressed in taxonomy, 97

  homology and analogy in, 213

  of horses, 36

  of humans, 319–21

  linear theories of, 29–31

  of mammals, 318

  “march of progress” illustrations of, 31–35

  mass extinctions in, 305–8

  monophyly and divergence in, 38

  of multicellular animals, 311–14

  origins of Burgess fauna and, 228–33

  origins of disparity and decimation in, 227

  portrayed in fiction, 285–86

  taxonomy in, 98–100

  Walcott on, 257–63

  exoskeletons, 104

  extinctions:

  of Burgess fauna, 233–39

  Darwin on, 300

  decimation in, 47n

  “inverted cone” model of, 47–48

  mass, 305–8

  eyes:

  of Odaraia, 173–74

  of Opabinia, 127, 132

  on Sarotrocercus, 179

  Field (British Columbia), 65

  Fieldia, 109

  fieldwork, myth of, 80

  fish, 317

  fitness, Darwinian, 236

  food grooves, 105

  of Sidneyia inexpectans, 93

  Fortier, Y. O., 114

  Fosdick, R. B., 261

  fossils.

  of Actaeus, 180

  of Alalcomenaeus, 180–81

  of Amiskwia, 150–53

  of Anomalocaris, 194–206, 199

  of Aysheaia, 168–72

  of Branchiocaris, 157–61

  of Burgess Shale, 23, 24

  at Burgess Shale, preservation of, 69–70

  of Canadaspis, 161–63

  of Diatryma gigantea, 296–97

 

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