The Spence Shale Lagerstatte; an important window into Cambrian biodiversity

• Published in: Journal of the Geological Society Vol. 176; no. 4; pp. 609 - 619
• Main Authors: Kimmig, Julien, Strotz, Luke C, Kimmig, Sara R, Egenhoff, Sven O, Lieberman, Bruce S
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford Geological Society of London 01-07-2019; The Geological Society of London; Geological Society Publishing House
• Subjects: Agnostida; algae; Arthropoda; assemblages; Bacteria; Biodiversity; Bivalvia; Cambrian; Cyanobacteria; Echinodermata; Fossil animals; fossil localities; Fossils; Geographical distribution; GEOSCIENCES; Hemichordata; ichnofossils; Idaho; Lagerstatten; Langston Formation; Lobopodia; Lophophorata; Marine invertebrates; Mollusca; northeastern Utah; Palaeoenvironments; paleoecology; paleoenvironment; Paleontology; Paleozoic; Porifera; preservation; problematic fossils; Scalidophora; Sedimentary rocks; Shale; soft parts; southwestern Idaho; Spence Shale Member; Taphonomy; Taxa; Trilobita; Trilobitomorpha; United States; Utah; Wellsville Mountains; United States > US; Utah
• ISSN: 0016-7649; 2041-479X
• DOI: 10.1144/jgs2018-195

The Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation is a Cambrian (Miaolingian: Wuliuan) Lagerstatte in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. It is older than the more well-known Wheeler and Marjum Lagerstatten from western Utah, and the Burgess Shale from Canada. The Spence Shale shares several species in common with these younger deposits, yet it also contains a remarkable number of unique species. Because of its relatively broad geographic distribution, and the variety of different palaeoenvironments and taphonomy, the fossil composition and likelihood of recovering weakly skeletonized (or soft-bodied) taxa varies across localities. The Spence Shale is not only widely acknowledged for its collection of soft-bodied taxa, but also for its abundant trilobites and hyoliths. Recent discoveries from the Spence include problematic taxa and insights about the nature of palaeoenvironmental and taphonomic variation between different localities. Supplementary material: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.4423145