In this paper, we define a property, trimness, for lattices. Trimness is a not-necessarily-graded generalization of distributivity; in particular, if a lattice is trim and graded, it is distributive. Trimness is preserved under taking intervals and suitable sublattices. Trim lattices satisfy a weakened form of modularity. The order complex of a trim lattice is contractible or homotopic to a sph...

The morphological disparity of lophotrochozoan phyla makes it difficult to predict the morphology of the last common ancestor. Only fossils of stem groups can help discover the morphological transitions that occurred along the roots of these phyla. Here, we describe a tubular fossil Yuganotheca elegans gen. et sp. nov. from the Cambrian (Stage 3) Chengjiang Lagerstätte (Yunnan, China) that exhi...

The decline in origination rate of new metazoan body plans following the Cambrian radiation has been suggested to reflect developmental canalization in derived taxa, limiting their ability to evolve forms with radically different morphotypes. Segmentation is a fundamental aspect of arthropod body plan, and here we show that a derived trilobite that secondarily converged on a morphotype characte...

The Middle Cambrian Spence Shale Member (Langston Formation) and Wheeler and Marjum Formations of Utah are known to contain a diverse soft-bodied fauna, but important new paleontological material continues to be uncovered from these strata. New specimens of anomalocaridids include the largest and smallest near complete examples yet reported from Utah. New material of stem group arthropods inclu...

Hemichordates are known as fossils from at least the earliest mid-Cambrian Period (ca. 510 Ma) and are well represented in the fossil record by the graptolithinid pterobranchs ("graptolites"), which include the most abundantly preserved component of Paleozoic macroplankton. However, records of the soft tissues of fossil hemichordates are exceedingly rare and lack clear anatomical details. Galea...

to assess biogeographic affinity of the late cambrian (furongian) and the early ordovician (late tremadocian) faunas of eastern alborz, a multivariate cluster analysis using the pair-group raup-crick similarity index has been applied. the late cambrian fauna of alborz shows clear gondwanan signatures with the closest affinities to the contemporaneous faunas of temperate latitude peri-gondwana (...

cambrian sediments are widely exposed in the kerman province. parts of these deposits are containing trilobite fossils. one of the suitable areas for paleontological studies is kamar siah section. this section located about 60 km north east of kerman. these sediments have 200 m thickness with fossil invertebrates of trilobites, brachiopod, gastropods and stromatolite which includes kuhbanan and...

Calcified rock-forming marine filamented benthic microand macrophytes of Dzhelindia Kolosov, 1970 (Figure 1(а)) and Chaptchaica Kolosov, 1975 (Figure 1(b)) genera, thrived in Neoproterozoic (1000 541 million years ago) Siberia together with cyanobacteria. Their belonging to Rhodophyta is well-grounded. These and other Neoproterozoic rodofits, as well as Epiphyton Bornemann 1886 (Figure 1(c)) an...

Soft-bodied marine faunas from the Lower and Middle Cambrian, exemplified by the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, are a key component in understanding the major adaptive radiations at the beginning of the Phanerozoic ("Cambrian explosion"). These faunas have a widespread distribution, and many taxa have pronounced longevity. Among the components appear to be survivors of the preceding Ediacar...

The time of origin of the animal phyla is controversial. Abundant fossils from the major animal phyla are found in the Cambrian, starting 544 million years ago. Many paleontologists hold that these phyla originated in the late Neoproterozoic, during the 160 million years preceding the Cambrian fossil explosion. We have analyzed 18 protein-coding gene loci and estimated that protostomes (arthrop...