Project

The exceptionally preserved Fezouata Biota from the Lower Ordovician of Morocco: a unique window into the Cambro-Ordovician faunal transition

Code

01P11610

Duration

01 January 2011 → 31 December 2013

Funding

Regional and community funding: Special Research Fund

Promotor

Jacques Verniers

Research disciplines

Natural sciences
- Animal biology
- Evolutionary biology
Agricultural and food sciences
- Veterinary medicine

Keywords

Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event Konservat-Lagerstätten Burgess Shale-type faunas

Project description

The Great Ordovician Biodiversification Event witnessed an exponential increase in the diversity within animal phyla. Exceptional fossil depositis have an important role to play in understanding the Ordovician radiation, but their scarcity has resulted in this event being studied almost exclusively using "shelly" faunas. This project will investigate a rich and geographically widespread Lower Ordovician exceptionally preserved biota from Morocco.