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Cited by 220Paleontology and Stratigraphy of FossilsEvolution and Paleontology StudiesProtist diversity and phylogeny

The origin of the Metazoa in the light of the Proterozoic fossil record

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FEDONKIN, MIKHAIL A.·2003·Paleontological Research
DOI 10.2517/prpsj.7.9
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Abstract

Origin of the eukaryotic organisms (including the multicellular animals or Metazoa) is commonly considered to be related to growing oxygen content in the atmosphere up to a level that allows aerobic metabolism. Here it is suggested that oxygenation of the biosphere was not a permissive condition but rather a forcing factor that drove evolution towards the formation of complex biological systems. Growing concentration of free oxygen in conjunction with other geohistorical trends acted to chemically impoverish the ocean and atmosphere and made many of the chemical elements immobile or unavailable for metabolic processes. Of particular importance in this connection was the decreasing concentration in sea water of the heavy metals that demonstrate high catalytic ability and make an active center in many enzymes. Increasing biological complexity and the eukaryotization of the biosphere (origin of the eukaryotic cell, growing role of heterotrophy, increasing biodiversity, rise of multicellular organisms, lengthening of trophic chains, acceleration of biological recycling of the chemical elements, etc.) can be considered as an evolutionary response to the geochemical deterioration of the environment.Recent discoveries of the oldest megascopic eukaryotes, such as spiral Grypania (1.9 Ga), the necklace-like colonial organism of tissue-grade organization Horodyskia (1.5 Ga), vermiform Parmia (about 1.0 Ga) and Sinosabellidites (800 Ma ago) are consisitent with the “molecular clock” models on an early origin of animals; metazoans were, however, confined to relatively cold and well oxygenated basins beyond the carbonate belt of the ocean until the end of the Proterozoic. Large and diverse invertebrates of the Vendian Period are known mostly from siliciclastic marine basins. This fauna is characterized by high density of the benthic populations and well established clades both at the diploblastic (e.g., Phylum Trilobozoa) and triploblastic (e.g., Phylum Proarticulata) grades of organization as well as some taxa related to the Paleozoic phyla. An organic skeleton preceded the rise of the mineralized skeleton in some metazoan phyla. Low temperature of the habitats inhibited biomineralization. Almost simultaneous development of the phosphatic, carbonate and siliceous skeletons in different metazoan groups at the beginning of the Cambrian Period some 545 Ma ago could be related to the colonization of the warm carbonate basins by the metazoans. An additional factor for the rapid diversification of the biomineralized phyla could be the growing length of the trophic chains brought about by the rapidly increasing biodiversity and the need for detoxification at the top of the trophic pyramid. Being the byproduct of detoxification, sclerites and spicules, hard mineralized shells and carapaces immediately became an important factor of morphological evolution and growing biodiversity, as well as the object of intensive selection under the growing pressure of predators. Explosive growth of morphophysiological diversity in metazoans during the Vendian and Cambrian had an enormous impact on evolution of other groups of organisms and on the environment.

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  • All of these taxa were no larger than 10 cm in maximum dimension.

    “all of these taxa were no larger than 10 cm in maximum dimension (Gehling 1999; Fedonkin 2003; see figure 2)”

    From The Ediacaran emergence of bilaterians: congruence between the genetic and the geological fossil records (2008) · cites this paper as Fedonkin 2003

    The paper gives contrary size measurements for taxa it discusses: Yorgia waggoneri reaches 25 cm (Bioturbations, p. 21), and Epibaion reaches 45 cm (p. 22). The citing sentence does not identify which taxa “these taxa” refers to, so our copy cannot establish whether those particular taxa appear in the citing paper’s figure 2. (LLM, conf=0.78)

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  • Ichnological evidence suggests that Kimberella was the producer of the scratch traces, recording epibenthic grazing on microbial mats.

    “Ichnological evidence (e.g. the animal located at the apex of the fan) suggests that Kimberella wasthe producer of the scratch traces, recording epibenthic grazing on microbial mats.”

    From Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks (2014) · cites this paper as [30]

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Authors
FEDONKIN, M. A.
Affiliations
Russian Academy of Sciences (RU)
Corresponding author
FEDONKIN, MIKHAIL A.
Venue
Paleontological Research
Publisher
The Paleontological Society of Japan
Published
2003
Volume
7
Issue
1
Pages
9-41
ISSN
  • 1342-8144 (ISSN-L)
  • 1880-0068
DOI
10.2517/prpsj.7.9
OpenAlex
W2124902802
Cited by
220
References
97
Citations by year
2026: 23 · 2025: 4 · 2024: 4 · 2023: 4 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 3 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 5 · 2018: 10 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 11 · 2014: 12 · 2013: 8 · 2012: 7
FWCI
4.86
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Locations
  • Paleontological Research (publishedVersion)
  • BioOne Complete (BioOne) (submittedVersion)
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
  • Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Evolution and Paleontology Studies
  • Life Sciences › Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology › Molecular Biology › Protist diversity and phylogeny
Keywords
eukaryotic origin, atmospheric oxygenation, aerobic metabolism, heavy metal availability, biomineralization

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