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The Hamilton Konservat-Lagerstätte: Stephanian terrestrial biota in a marginal-marine setting

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 November 2011

Hans-Peter Schultze ,
Christopher G. Maples  and
Christopher R. Cunningham
Hans-Peter Schultze
Affiliation:
Department of Systematics & Ecology and Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, U.S.A.
Christopher G. Maples
Affiliation:
Kansas Geological Survey, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66047, U.S.A.
Christopher R. Cunningham
Affiliation:
Department of Systematics & Ecology and Museum of Natural History, The University of Kansas, Lawrence, Kansas 66045, U.S.A.
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Abstract

The Stephanian Konservat-Lagerstätte of Hamilton, Kansas, deposited in a marine-estuarine environment preserves a mixture of terrestrial, fresh-water, and marine fossil organisms. The marine component is the most diverse taxonomically, whereas one ostracod species, commonly interpreted as a fresh-water form, together with vascular plant debris dominates volumetrically. Well-preserved terrestrial and aquatic vertebrates and arthropods were embedded in rapidly deposited calcareous mud conducive to microbial early-diagenesis of vertebrate soft tissues in a tidal estuarine setting. Many vertebrate fossils show no evidence of preburial decay or disarticulation. Dark-coloured body silhouettes (‘skin preservation’) are composed of calcitic bacteria, calcite crystals and organic material, and have been interpreted to reflect preservation under saline conditions. The aquatic vertebrates had a broader tolerance of salinity than today. The fishes were perhaps migratory (anadromous or catadromous), and some used the estuarine environment for spawning. The tetrapods (dissorophid amphibians) retained their tolerance to salinity from their marine ancestors and were able to spawn in near-shore environments. The terrestrial biota was dominated by the conifer Walchia and was subjected to forest fires, as evidenced by preserved charcoal fragments.

Keywords

Konservat-Lagerstätteestuarine‘skin preservation’salinity toleranceStephanianKansas
Type
Research Article
Information
Earth and Environmental Science Transactions of The Royal Society of Edinburgh , Volume 84 , Issue 3-4: Volcanism and early terrestrial biotas , 1993 , pp. 443 - 451
Copyright
Copyright © Royal Society of Edinburgh 1993

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