Julien Kimmig

Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Karlsruhe | SMNK · Department of Geosciences

Natural history collections are critical for modern scientific investigations, which are greatly expanding on the potential data applications of historic specimens. However, using these specimens outside their original intent introduces biases and potential misinterpretations. Anthropogenic biases can be introduced at any point during the life of m...

The fossil record, including the record of Burgess Shale-type deposits, is biased towards late ontogenetic stages. Larval stages, juvenile and subadult specimens exist but are very rare and often preserved as phosphatic fossils, resulting in biased population structures. Here, we report a new Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätte from Haiyan, China. The H...

The Spence Shale Lagerstätte is a middle Cambrian (Miaolingian Series; Wuliuan Stage) fossil deposit in northern Utah and southern Idaho, USA. At present, it is known to preserve 89 species, from at least 10 phyla, of biomineralizing and soft-bodied taxa, and represents the only major Lagerstätte of Wuliuan age in Laurentia outside the Canadian Roc...

Enteropneusts (acorn worms) are hemichordates, the sister group to echinoderms. Together they form the clade Ambulacraria, which is closely related to chordates. All three groups appear in the lower Cambrian, but their interrelationships remain problematic, which impedes the understanding of early deuterostome evolution. Enteropneusts are also extr...

Fossil-Lagerstätten are amongst the most important windows onto the paleobiology of ancient ecosystems. Inconsistencies surrounding what constitutes a Lagerstätte limits our ability to compare between sites and thus their scientific potential. Here, we provide a modern and utilitarian classification scheme for Konservat-Lagerstätten, allowing for m...

The fossil record of unequivocal microbes is poor. However, 3D spiral and coccoid microbes have been identified preserved within a fossil biofilm on the muscle tissue of a specimen of the horseshoe crab Mesolimulus from the Upper Jurassic Nusplingen Lagerstätte of SW Germany. Based on this initial discovery, we undertake a unique opportunity to inv...

The palaeontological collections of the Natural History Museum Karlsruhe (SMNK) contain over 70,000 specimens. One of the most significant parts of these collections is the fossils of the Messel Pit near Darmstadt, Germany. These collections started with regular excavations conducted by the SMNK during the 1980s and early 1990s. The fossil collecti...

Fossilien sind in letzter Zeit immer öfter im Rampenlicht und die Diskussion um legalen Export und legale Forschung an Fossilien aus vielen Ländern wird derzeit von Politik, Wissenschaftlern und der Öffentlichkeit hinterfragt. Wie kann man mit Forderungen und Anforderungen aus den verschiedenen Bereichen umgehen und was sollte man besser sein lasse...

Konservat-Lagerstätten, geologic deposits containing exceptionally preserved fossils (e.g., complete fossils, soft-tissues, etc.), are some of the most important windows into the history of life. The introduction of the term by Seilacher in 1970 has drawn contentious debates into not only the classification of Konservat-Lagerstätten, but also in co...

Vetulicolians are an enigmatic phylum of extinct Cambrian marine invertebrate animals. To date, they are primarily known from the Chengjiang biota, but representatives have been recovered from other contemporaneous Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätten (Series 2, Stage 3-Miaolingian Series). And characterized by a bipartite body, the anterior usually bea...

A geologically rapid Neoproterozoic oxygenation event is commonly linked to the appearance of marine animal groups in the fossil record. However, there is still debate about what evidence from the sedimentary geochemical record—if any—provides strong support for a persistent shift in surface oxygen immediately preceding the rise of animals. We pres...

Konservat-Lagerstätten, geologic deposits containing exceptionally preserved fossils (e.g., complete fossils, softtissues, etc.), are some of the most important windows into the history of life. Introduction of the term by Seilacher in 1970 has drawn contentious debates into not only the classification of Konservat-Lagerstätten, but also in compari...

The Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in northern Utah and southern Idaho preserves generally non-biomineralized fossil assemblages referred to as the Spence Shale Lagerstätte. The biota of this Lagerstätte is dominated by panarthropods, both biomineralized and soft-bodied examples, but also preserves diverse infaunal organisms, includi...

The Bear Gulch Limestone houses a diverse, exceptionally preserved marine fauna from the early Carboniferous. A wealth of vertebrate and invertebrate forms has previously been recorded from this deposit, including fish, annelids, and several arthropods. To expand the record of Bear Gulch marine arthropods, a new enigmatic, possibly blind euchelicer...

The Cambrian Radiation was one of the largest diversification events in Earth's history. Konservat-Lagerstätten worldwide, especially the large number found in the Cambrian (Series 2 - Series 3), have provided vital fossil evidence for this crucial event and the evolutionary processes accompanying it. However, correlating these highly important dep...

Seilacher coined the term Fossil-Lagerstätte in his 1970 paper ‘Begriff und Bedeutung der Fossil-Lagerstätten’. In this paper he defined Fossil-Lagerstätten as “Rock bodies, which in quality and quantity preserve an unusual amount of paleontological information”. He borrowed the term Lagerstätte from economic geology, where it refers to ‘an unusual...

A geologically rapid Neoproterozoic oxygenation event is commonly linked to the appearance of marine animal groups in the fossil record. However, there is still debate about what evidence from the sedimentary geochemical record – if any – provides strong support for a persistent shift in surface oxygen immediately preceding the rise of animals. We...

Trace fossils can illustrate important palaeobiological interactions within a fossil assemblage that body fossils do not record. A group of these trace fossils that showcase feeding ecology, and evidence of predation, are coprolites. Shelly coprolites are useful for documenting records of durophagous predators or scavengers within a substrate. To e...

The Cambrian Radiation represents one of the largest diversification events in Earth history. While the resulting taxonomic diversity is exceptional, relatively few of these novel species can be traced outside the boundaries of a single palaeocontinent. Many of those species with cosmopolitan distributions were likely active swimmers, presenting op...

Seilacher coined the term Fossil-Lagerstätte in his 1970 paper ‘Begriff und Bedeutung der Fossil-Lagerstätten’. In this paper he defined Fossil-Lagerstätten as “Rock bodies, which in quality and quantity preserve an unusual amount of paleontological information”. He borrowed the term Lagerstätte from economic geology, where it refers to ‘an unusual...

Radiodontans are well-known, diverse members of Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätten. Many species are considered apex predators from the Cambrian Series 2 to the Ordovician, with some even persisting into the Lower Devonian. Complete radiodontan specimens are exceedingly rare, with the majority of fossils representing isolated appendages. They are clas...

Insight into how extinct animals responded to injuries developmental malfunctions and pathologies can be derived by examining malformed specimens. Trilobites are an ideal group for understanding how a completely extinct group of arthropods responded to and recovered from these conditions, as their biomineralised exoskeletons preserves malformations...

The Comet Shale Member of the Pioche Formation in southern Nevada preserves non-biomineralized fossil assemblages referred to as the Pioche Lagerstätte. The biota of this Lagerstätte is dominated by panarthropods, both biomineralized and soft-bodied, but also preserves diverse benthic organisms including species of deuterostomes, scalidophorans, ha...

The Cambrian (Miaolingian; Wuliuan) Spence Shale Lagerstätte of northern Utah and southern Idaho is one of the most diverse Burgess Shale-type deposits of Laurentia. It yields a diverse fauna consisting of abundant biomineralized and locally abundant soft-bodied fossils,along a range of environments from shallow water carbonates to deep shelf dark...

Evidence of successful predation or scavenging in the fossil record represents important palaeobiological data to more thoroughly understanding extinct ecosystems. Shelly coprolites are particularly useful indications of durophagous predation in deposits, as they can have a higher preservational potential than their producers. Here we present a new...

The Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in northern Utah and southern Idaho preserves non-biomineralized fossil assemblages referred to as the Spence Shale Lagerstätte. The biota of this Lagerstätte is dominated by panarthropods, both biomineralized and soft-bodied, but also preserves diverse infaunal organisms including species of scalid...

Records of evolutionary stasis over time are central to uncovering large-scale evolutionary modes, whether by long-term gradual change or via enduring stability punctuated by rapid shifts. The key to this discussion is to identify and examine groups with long fossil records that, ideally, extend to the present day. One group often regarded as the q...

Recent discussions on the role of biases in the study of the fossil record, including the unequal presence of taxa in collections, dissimilarities in curation, and preferences in sample publication (e.g., Whitaker and Kimmig, 2020 Paleontologica Electronica), reveal the need for a quantitative investigation into their causes and consequences. Here...

The middle Cambrian (Miaolingian Series, Wuliuan Stage) Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho is a relatively well-known Burgess Shale-type deposit. In addition to its abundant biomineralized fauna, the soft-bodied biota preserved in the Spence is diverse, including various arthropods, priapulids,...

The middle Marjum Formation is one of five Miaolingian Burgess Shale-type deposits in Utah, USA. It preserves a diverse non-biomineralized fossil assemblage, which is dominated by panarthropods and sponges. Infaunal components are particularly rare, and are best exemplified by the poorly diverse scalidophoran fauna and the uncertain presence of pal...

The Selwyn basin and Mackenzie platform of northwestern Canada house an array of mineral deposits and prospects that are rich in silver, including Neoproterozoic red-bed or Kupferschiefer-type Cu and lower Paleozoic sedimentary exhalative (SEDEX) and Zn–Pb deposits. Within this overall metallogenic setting, the middle Cambrian (Drumian) Rockslide F...

Geobiology explores how Earth's system has changed over the course of geologic history and how living organisms on this planet are impacted by or are indeed causing these changes. For decades, geologists, paleontologists, and geochemists have generated data to investigate these topics. Foundational efforts in sedimentary geochemistry utilized sprea...

Geobiology explores how Earth's system has changed over the course of geologic history and how living organisms on this planet are impacted by or are indeed causing these changes. For decades, geologists, paleontologists, and geochemists have generated data to investigate these topics. Foundational efforts in sedimentary geochemistry utilized sprea...

A new shell-bearing organism with preserved soft tissue, Armilimax pauljamisoni n. gen. n. sp., is reported from the middle Cambrian (Miaolingian: Wuliuan) Miners Hollow locality of the Spence Shale of northern Utah. The described organism is known from a single articulated specimen and preserves a prominent shell, a slug-like body, as well as a U-...

The uppermost Pennsylvanian Pony Creek Shale Lagerst€atte (Pony Creek Shale Member, Wood Siding Formation, Wabaunsee Group) near Maple Hill, Wabaunsee County, Kansas, contains exceptionally preserved horseshoe crab (Xiphosura) fossils. Associated with these fossils is an ichnofauna that includes trace fossils assumed to be produced by xiphosurids,...

The Burgess Shale, a locality north of the town of Field, British Columbia, between Wapta Mountain and Mount Field, is one of the most iconic fossil deposits in the world and is known to people both within and outside of the field of paleontology. It is well known for its spectacular preservation of a diverse set of fauna, including exceptionally p...

The middle Marjum Formation is one of five Miaolingian Burgess Shale-type deposits in Utah. It preserves a diverse non-biomineralized fossil assemblage, which is dominated by panarthropods and sponges. Infaunal components are particularly rare, which is best exemplified by the poorly diverse scalidophoran fauna, and the uncertain presence of palaeo...

The Spence Shale Lagerstätte is a key Cambrian (Wuliuan) fossil deposit in northern Utah and southern Idaho, USA. It preserves over 74 genera, in at least 10 phyla, of biomineralizing and soft-bodied taxa, and represents the only major Lagerstätte of Wuliuan age outside of the Burgess Shale in Laurentia. In addition to taxonomic diversity, the Spen...

The fossil record of phyllocarids in Australia is decidedly limited, with only a few specimens known from Ordovician to Devonian deposits. Therefore, the identification of examples from older deposits would uncover more facets of Gondwanan crustacean evolution. Here, a supposed phyllocarid reported by Chapman (1925 Chapman, F. , 1925. The Wade Coll...

The Cambrian radiation represents a key time period in the history of life. Here we add to the mounting evidence accumulating on the nature of deuterostomes from this time period through description of a new species of stalked deuterostome, Herpetogaster haiyanensis nov sp., from the lower Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 3) Chengjiang biota of China. Thi...

The Cambrian Marjum Formation of western Utah (USA) preserves a diverse soft-bodied fauna from the upper Drumian that is slightly younger than the well-known Burgess Shale. While the Marjum is dominated by arthropods, animals belonging to a variety of phyla have been found. Here, we document the second occurrence of the rare, enigmatic taxon Skeeme...

The Drumian Wheeler Konservat-Lagerstätte of the House Range of Utah (Wheeler-HR) has yielded one of the most diverse exceptionally-preserved Cambrian biotas of North America. The discovery of soft-bodied fossils invariably provides precious insights on this biota, for most of its non-biomineralizing components are known from very few specimens. Th...

The middle Cambrian (Miaolingian Series; Wuliuan Stage) Spence Shale of Utah and Idaho preserves a diverse assemblage of biomineralized and soft-bodied taxa. Among the rarest specimens of this fauna are palaeoscolecid worms. Until recently, only one specimen was known from the Spence Shale, the holotype specimen of Palaeoscolex ratcliffei Robison,...

The middle Cambrian (Miaolingian; Wuliuan) Spence Shale member of the Langston Formation of Utah and Idaho preserves a diverse assemblage of biomineralized and soft-bodied taxa. Among the rarest specimens of this fauna are palaeoscolecid worms. Until recently, only one specimen was known from the Spence Shale, the holotype specimen of Paleoscolex r...

The uppermost Pennsylvanian Pony Creek Shale Member of the Wood Siding Formation in Wabaunsee County, Kansas, contains exceptionally preserved horseshoe crab (Xiphosura) fossils. Associated with these fossils is an ichnofauna that includes horseshoe crab traces, as well as burrows and bromalites. The deposit has been interpreted as a marginal marin...

The middle Cambrian (Miaolingian: Wuliuan) Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in northern Utah and southern Idaho (U.S.A.) is a relatively well-known Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposit preserving a diverse soft-bodied fauna including various arthropods, priapulids, hyoliths, and lobopodians, as well as abundant trilobites, brachiopods, and...

Soft-bodied preservation is common in the Cambrian but comparatively rare in the Ordovician. Here, a new deposit preserving soft-bodied fossils is reported from the Middle Ordovician (Dapingian-Darriwilian) upper Valongo Formation of northern Portugal. The deposit contains the first known occurrences of soft-bodied fossils from the Middle Ordovicia...

The Drumian (Miaolingian) strata of the Wheeler Formation in the House Range of Utah have yielded one of the most diverse Cambrian Burgess Shale-type biotas of the USA. Yet, only a handful of its c. 40 non-biomineralizing taxa are known from more than a couple, often incomplete specimens. In this contribution, we describe new remarkable fossils bel...

The Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation is a Cambrian (Miaolingian: Wuliuan) Lagerstätte in northeastern Utah and southeastern Idaho. It is older than the more well-known Wheeler and Marjum Lagerstätten from western Utah, and the Burgess Shale from Canada. The Spence Shale shares several species with these younger deposits, yet it also co...

Mudstones hosting Burgess Shale–type preservation of soft-bodied fossils are commonly held to be characterized by little to no bioturbation. This has been taken as evidence for bottom- water dysoxia or anoxia, along with anaerobic conditions in the sediment, which favored preservation of soft tissues by hindering decay. Although invisible on fresh...

Georeferencing is the process of aligning a text description of a geographic location with a spatial location based on a geographic coordinate system. Training aids are commonly created around the georeferencing process to disseminate community standards and ideas, guide accurate georeferencing, inform users about new tools, and help users evaluate...

Basal metabolic rate (BMR) is posited to be a fundamental control on the structure and dynamics of ecological networks, influencing organism resource use and rates of senescence. Differences in the maintenance energy requirements of individual species therefore potentially predict extinction likelihood. If validated, this would comprise an importan...

The middle Cambrian (Series 3: Stage 5) Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in northern Utah and southern Idaho (U.S.A.) is a relatively well-known Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposit preserving a diverse soft-bodied fauna including various arthropods, priapulids, hyoliths, and lobopodians, as well as abundant trilobites, brachiopods, and ec...

Museum collections provide a tremendous wealth of data bearing on biogeography, the field that focuses on the study of the distribution of organisms in space and time. Biogeography is a discipline that played a fundamental role in the development of ideas on evolution in the nineteenth century, and it still is a vibrant research area today. One way...

The middle Cambrian (Series 3: Stage 5) Spence Shale Member of the Langston Formation in northern Utah and southern Idaho (U.S.A.) is a relatively well-known Burgess Shale-type (BST) deposit preserving a diverse soft-bodied fauna including anomalocaridids, bivalved arthropods, priapulids, hyoliths, and lobopodians, as well as abundant trilobites, b...

Databasing and georeferencing extensive palaeontological collections housed at the University of Kansas and partner institutions has been made possible via the U.S. National Science Foundation’s Advancing the Digitization of Biological Collections program. In particular, this program led to the creation of two Thematic Collections Networks (TCNs),...

Basal metabolic rate is posited to be a fundamental control on the structure and dynamics of ecological networks, influencing organism resource use and rates of senescence. Differences in the maintenance energy requirements of individual species therefore potentially predict extinction likelihood. If validated, this would comprise an important link...

The Pioche Formation of SE Nevada preserves a diverse soft-bodied fauna from the early and middle Cambrian (Series 2–3: Stage 4–5). While the fauna is dominated by arthropods, animals belonging to other taxa can be found. Here we document the first occurrence of Herpetogaster collinsi outside the Burgess Shale. Further, the specimens are from the N...

The Red Queen hypothesis (RQH) is both familiar and murky, with a scope and range that has broadened beyond its original focus. Although originally developed in the palaeontological arena, it now encompasses many evolutionary theories that champion biotic interactions as significant mechanisms for evolutionary change. As such it de-emphasizes the i...

The Rockslide Formation (middle Cambrian, Drumian, Bolaspidella Zone) of the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada, hosts the Ravens Throat River Lagerstatte, which consists of two, 1-m thick intervals of greenish, thinly laminated, locally burrowed, slightly calcareous mudstone yielding a low-diversity and low-abundance fauna of bivalved arthro...

New opportunities to digitize museum collections have greatly facilitated research in macroevolution. Here we focus on some of the research applications of digitization efforts using collections from the University of Kansas and partners in two National Science Foundation Thematic Collections Network (TCN) grants, the Paleoniches and the Cretaceous...

The Rockslide Formation (middle Cambrian, Series 3, Drumian, Bolaspidella Zone) of the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada, was deposited in a slope setting flanking the Selwyn Basin. An interval of greenish, finely laminated, slightly calcareous mudstone, 1 m thick, hosts a fairly low-diversity, low-abundance biota of several bivalved arthrop...

Basal metabolic rate is posited to be a fundamental control on the structure and dynamics of ecological networks, influencing organism resource use and rates of senescence. Differences in the maintenance energy requirements of individual species therefore potentially predict extinction likelihood. If validated, this would comprise an important link...

Xiphosurans (horseshoe crabs) are a temporally long-ranging group of aquatic arthropods, originating by, the early Ordovician and reaching peak diversity in the Late Paleozoic. Xiphosurids are known from several deposits in eastern Kansas and have yielded important information about the diversity and ecology of these animals. The Uppermost Pennsylv...

Five types of coprolites, represented by 40 specimens from the Cambrian (Series 2-3) Burgess Shale-type deposits in the Pioche Shale of Nevada and the Spence Shale of Utah, are described. They are preserved in finely laminated deep-water calcareous mudstones. Round to ellipsoid features 13–42 mm in diameter consisting of black carbon film and varia...

We describe a new species of enigmatic stalked filter feeder, Siphusauctum lloydguntheri, from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Antimony Canyon locality of the Spence Shale of northern Utah. The described specimen is the only one known from the Spence Shale, represents the first occurrence of Siphusauctum outside the Burgess Shale, and is on...

The Rockslide Formation (middle Cambrian) of the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada, was deposited in a slope setting on the flank of the ocean-facing Selwyn Basin. The Bolaspidella Zone contains two metre-thick intervals of greenish, slightly calcareous mudstone that comprise the Ravens Throat Lagerstätte. These finely laminated beds yielded...

The morphology and affinities of newly discovered disc-shaped, soft-bodied fossils from the early Cambrian (Series 2: Stage 4, Dyeran) Carrara Formation are discussed. These specimens show some similarity to the Ordovician Discophyllum Hall, 1847; traditionally this taxon had been treated as a fossil porpitid. However, recently it has instead been...

SEM image and spectra of KUMIP 389538 An SEM image and the spectra and weight percentages of elements for the portion of the Discophyllum fossil, KUMIP specimen 389538, in the region demarcated by the blue box labeled “Fig. 4” in Fig. 3A; maps shown in Fig. 4.

SEM image and spectra of another part of KUMIP 389538 An SEM image and the spectra and weight percentages of elements for the portion of the Discophyllum fossil, KUMIP specimen 389538, in the region demarcated by the blue box labeled “Fig. 5” in Fig. 3A; maps shown in Fig. 5.

The morphology and affinities of newly discovered disc-shaped soft-bodied fossils from the early Cambrian (Series 2: Stage 4, Dyeran) Carrara Formation are discussed. These specimens show some similarity to the Ordovician Discophyllum Hall, 1847; traditionally this taxon had been treated as a fossil porpitid. However, recently it has instead been r...

The morphology and affinities of newly discovered disc-shaped soft-bodied fossils from the early Cambrian (Series 2: Stage 4, Dyeran) Carrara Formation are discussed. These specimens show some similarity to the Ordovician Discophyllum Hall, 1847; traditionally this taxon had been treated as a fossil porpitid. However, recently it has instead been r...

Burgess Shale-type (BST) Lagerstätten are early Paleozoic deposits with extraordinary preservation of soft tissues. While the fossils have been extensively studied, their mode of preservation is still controversial. The Ravens Throat River Lagerstätte, of Drumian age in the Mackenzie Mountains, is not metamorphosed and therefore ideal for investiga...

The middle Cambrian (series 3, Drumian, Bolaspidella Biozone) Ravens Throat River Lagerstätte in the Rockslide Formation of the Mackenzie Mountains, northwestern Canada, contains a Burgess Shale-type biota of similar age to the Wheeler and Marjum formations of Utah. The Rockslide Formation is a unit of deep-water, mixed carbonate and siliciclastic...

paleosoc.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Priscum_Winter16.pdf

A new Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätte is described from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Drumian) Rockslide Formation of the Mackenzie Mountains, Northwest Territories, Canada. The Rockslide Formation is a unit of deeper water ramp to slope, mixed carbonate and siliciclastic facies deposited on the northwestern margin of Laurentia. At the fossil-beari...

Sequence stratigraphy provides the tools to predict the occurrences of marine taxa and test hypotheses on the diversity of faunal assemblages in response to relative sea-level change. We examined this relationship during the Stratigraphic Paleobiology field course sponsored by the Paleontological Society in July 2014. The Mississippian Lodgepole Fm...

Burgess Shale-type (BST) Lagerstätten are early Paleozoic deposits with extraordinary preservation. While the fossils are well known and extensively studied, the mode of preservation of these fossils is still controversial. The Ravens Throat River Lagerstätte, in the Drumian of the Mackenzie Mountains, is a prime subject for an investigation of the...

Sequence stratigraphy provides the tools to model and predict the occurrences of marine taxa and test hypotheses on the diversity of faunal assemblages in response to relative sea-level change. We examined this relationship during the Stratigraphic Paleobiology field course sponsored by the Paleontological Society. The Mississippian Lodgepole Fm is...