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Abstract The extraordinary window of phosphatized and phosphatic small shelly fossils (SSF) during the early and middle Cambrian is an important testament to the radiation of biomineralizing metazoans. WhileSSFare well known from most Cambrian palaeocontinents during this time interval, western Laurentia has relatively fewSSFfaunas. Here we describe a diverseSSFfauna from the early Cambrian (Stages 3–4) Mural Formation at three localities in Alberta and British Columbia, Canada, complemented by carbon isotope measurements to aid in a potential future bio‐chemostratigraphic framework. The fauna expands the recordedSSFassemblage diversity in western Laurentia and includes several brachiopods, four bradoriids, three chancelloriids, two hyoliths, a tommotiid and a helcionellid mollusc as well as echinoderm ossicles and specimens ofMicrodictyon,VolborthellaandHyolithellus. New taxa include the tommotiid genusCanadiellagen. nov., the new bradoriid speciesHipponicharion perforatasp. nov. andPseudobeyrichona tauratasp. nov. Compared with contemporaneous faunas from western Laurentia, the fauna is relatively diverse, particularly in taxa with originally phosphatic shells, which appear to be associated with archaeocyathid build‐ups. This suggests that the generally low faunal diversity in western Laurentia may be at least partly a consequence of poor sampling of suitable archaeocyathan reef environments. In addition, the tommotiidCanadiella filigranaappears to be of biostratigraphical significance in Cambrian Stage 3 strata of western Laurentia, and the unexpected high diversity of bradoriid arthropods in the fauna also suggests that this group may prove useful for biostratigraphical resolution in the region. 

The Ediacaran Period (635 to 541 Ma) marks the global transition to a more productive biosphere, evidenced by increased availability of food and oxidants, the appearance of macroscopic animals, significant populations of eukaryotic phytoplankton, and the onset of massive phosphorite deposition. We propose this entire suite of changes results from an increase in the size of the deep-water marine phosphorus reservoir, associated with rising sulfate concentrations and increased remineralization of organic P by sulfate-reducing bacteria. Simple mass balance calculations, constrained by modern anoxic basins, suggest that deep-water phosphate concentrations may have increased by an order of magnitude without any increase in the rate of P input from the continents. Strikingly, despite a major shift in phosphorite deposition, a new compilation of the phosphorus content of Neoproterozoic and early Paleozoic shows little secular change in median values, supporting the view that changes in remineralization and not erosional P fluxes were the principal drivers of observed shifts in phosphorite accumulation. The trigger for these changes may have been transient Neoproterozoic weathering events whose biogeochemical consequences were sustained by a set of positive feedbacks, mediated by the oxygen and sulfur cycles, that led to permanent state change in biogeochemical cycling, primary production, and biological diversity by the end of the Ediacaran Period. 

Animals originated and evolved during a unique time in Earth history—the Neoproterozoic Era. This paper aims to discuss (1) when landmark events in early animal evolution occurred, and (2) the environmental context of these evolutionary milestones, and how such factors may have affected ecosystems and body plans. With respect to timing, molecular clock studies—utilizing a diversity of methodologies—agree that animal multicellularity had arisen by ∼800 million years ago (Ma) (Tonian period), the bilaterian body plan by ∼650 Ma (Cryogenian), and divergences between sister phyla occurred ∼560–540 Ma (late Ediacaran). Most purported Tonian and Cryogenian animal body fossils are unlikely to be correctly identified, but independent support for the presence of pre-Ediacaran animals is recorded by organic geochemical biomarkers produced by demosponges. This view of animal origins contrasts with data from the fossil record, and the taphonomic question of why animals were not preserved (if present) remains unresolved. Neoproterozoic environments demanding small, thin, body plans, and lower abundance/rarity in populations may have played a role. Considering environmental conditions, geochemical data suggest that animals evolved in a relatively low-oxygen ocean. Here, we present new analyses of sedimentary total organic carbon contents in shales suggesting that the Neoproterozoic ocean may also have had lower primary productivity—or at least lower quantities of organic carbon reaching the seafloor—compared with the Phanerozoic. Indeed, recent modeling efforts suggest that low primary productivity is an expected corollary of a low-O2 world. Combined with an inability to inhabit productive regions in a low-O2 ocean, earliest animal communities would likely have been more food limited than generally appreciated, impacting both ecosystem structure and organismal behavior. In light of this, we propose the “fire triangle” metaphor for environmental influences on early animal evolution. Moving toward consideration of all environmental aspects of the Cambrian radiation (fuel, heat, and oxidant) will ultimately lead to a more holistic view of the event. 

Animals originated in the Neoproterozoic and ‘exploded’ into the fossil record in the Cambrian. The Cambrian also represents a high point in the animal fossil record for the preservation of soft tissues that are normally degraded. Specifically, fossils from Burgess Shale-type (BST) preservational windows give paleontologists an unparalleled view into early animal evolution. Why this time interval hosts such exceptional preservation, and why this preservational window declines in the early Paleozoic, have been long-standing questions. Anoxic conditions have been hypothesized to play a role in BST preservation, but recent geochemical investigations of these deposits have reached contradictory results with respect to the redox state of overlying bottom waters. Here, we report a multi-proxy geochemical study of the Lower Cambrian Mural Formation, Alberta, Canada. At the type section, the Mural Formation preserves rare recalcitrant organic tissues in shales that were deposited near storm wave base (a Tier 3 deposit; the worst level of soft-tissue preservation). The geochemical signature of this section shows little to no evidence of anoxic conditions, in contrast with published multi-proxy studies of more celebrated Tier 1 and 2 deposits. These data help confirm that ‘decay-limited’ BST biotas were deposited in more oxygenated conditions, and support a role for anoxic conditions in BST preservation. Finally, we discuss the role of iron reduction in BST preservation, including the formation of iron-rich clays and inducement of sealing seafloor carbonate cements. As oceans and sediment columns became more oxygenated and more sulfidic through the early Paleozoic, these geochemical changes may have helped close the BST taphonomic window.