CHAPTER FOURTEEN Fran,oise Debrenne and Joachim Reitner • • ...... nl arlans, an ...... tena e Ecology ofthe ........ ares • uflan • • a latlon 2001 EDITED BY ANDREY YU. ZHURAVLEV AND ROBERT RIDING Columbia Unh·crs.ity l'Rn • NC'w York Sponges and coralomorphs were sessile epibenthic suspension feeders living in nor- mal marine environments. Sponges with calcified skeletons, induding archaeocyaths, mainly inhabited shallow to subtidal and intertidal domains, while other sponges occupied a variety of depths, including slopes. The high diversity .of sponges in many Cambrian Lagerstätten suggests that complex tiering and niche partitioning were es- tablished early in the Cambrian. Hexactinellida were widespread in shallow-water conditions from the Tommotian; some of them may have been restricted to deep- water environments later in the Cambrian. Calcareans (pharetronids), together with solitary coralomorphs, thrived in reef environments, mostly in cryptic niChes pro- tected from very agitated waters. Rigid demosponges (anthaspidellids and possible axinellids) appeared by the end of the Early Cambrian and inhabited hardgrounds and reefs from the Middle Cambrian. The overall diversity of sponge and coralo- morph types indicates that during the Cambrian these groups, like other metazoans, evolved a variety of architectural fonns not observed in subsequent periods. RAPID DIVERSIFICATION near the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic boundary implies the , mutual interactions of ecosystems and biotas. One of the most striking features in the distribution of Early Paleozoic sessile benthos is the poor Middle-Late Cambrian rec- r ord (Webby 1984). The present contribution deals with the ecologic radiation of sponges and cni- darians. • SPONGES Earliest Metazoans? Sponges are a monophyletic metazoan group characterized by choanoflagellate cells (choanocytes). Based on studies made by Mehl and Reiswig (1991), Reitner (1992), 302 Fran~olse Debrenne and Joachlm Reltner Müller et al. (1994), and Reitner and Mehl (1995), the first sponges originated in the Proterozoic from a choanoflagellate ancestor. The ancestral sponge was probably an aggregate of choanoflagellates, closely associated with various microbial communi- ties. Important data are given by the analysis of metazoan ß-galactose-binding lectins (S-type lectins) in sponges, hitherto analyzed only from vertebrates and one species of nematode (Müller et al. 1994). The development of this sponge lectin may have oc- curred before 800 Ma (Hirabayashi and Kasai 1993). Also remarkable are biomarker analyses made byMcCaffrey et al. (1994), who detected C30 sterane, which is char- acteristic for demosponges, in 1.8-Ma-old black shales. This biochemical argument that sponges are Proterozoic metazoans is proven by new finds of undoubted sponge spicules and even entire phosphatized juvenile sponges with well-preserved sclero- cytes (spicule-fol ming cells) from the late Sinian Doushantuo Formation of China (Ding et al. 1985; Li et al. 1998). Gehling and Rigby (1996) illustrate a nearly com- plete hexactinellid sponge from the Ediacarian Rawnsley Quartzite from South Aus- tralia. Additional specimens were described by them, but not all exhibit sponge affini- ties. The most convincing is Paleophragmodictya, which exhibits hexactinellid spicule patterns. Nevertheless, most previous records of Precambrian sponge spicules have proven upon examination either not to be sponges or not to be of Precambrian age (Rigby 1986a). Sponges are represented in the fossil record as disarticulated spicules, soft-body casts, spicular networks, and spicular or calcareous skeletons. Since the review of Finks (1970), there has been a considerable number of new discoveries, but the eco- logic history of sponges has yet to be revised. Spicule Record , The oldest isolated spicules belong to the hexactinellids: stauractines, pentactines, and hexactines, in the Nemakit-Daldynian of Mongolia, Tommotian of Siberia, and Meishucunian of South China (Fedorov in Pel'man et al. 1990; Brasier et al. 1997). The Tindir Group (now dated by carbon isotopic correlation as Riphean Kaufman • et al. 1992) in Alaska contains possible hexactinellid spicules. Rare hexactine occur- rences are found in pretrilobitic sequences, but hexactines become more numerous and widespread in the Atdabanian. Genuine demosponge spicules are present in the upper quarter of the Atdabanian as tetractines with various additional elements that show much higher diversity than previously recognized (Bengtson et al. 1990). By the Atdabanian, demosponges and hexactinellids seem to have become wide- spread in low-energy, offshore marine environments in Siberia and Australia (James and Gravestock 1990; Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1996), suggesting deeper-water occurrence. In the Botoman, some microscleres are recognized, autapomorphic of the Tetracti- , SPONGES, CNIDARIANS, AND CTENOPHORES 303 nellida (Reitner and Mehl 1995). Spongoliths of pentactines and hexactines are known from the Sinsk and Kuonamka formations (Botoman of Siberia Fedorov and Pere- ladov 1987; Rozanov and Zhuravlev 1992). In addition, these fonnations contain a large number of inflated pillowlike stauractines (e.g., Cjulankella), which may com- pose dermal armoring layers of hexactinellids (Rozanov and Zhuravlev 1992; Reitner and Mehl 1995). Armoring probably reflects development of protective structures against predators. . In the Ordian (tate Early Cambrian) of the Georgina Basin, Australia, Kruse (in Kruse and West 1980) found sigma ta microscleres, autapomorphic of the ceractino- morph demosponges (Reitner and Mehl 1995). Most tetractine spicules exhibiting diagenetic features have previously been re- corded from Mesozoic siliceous sponges. In contrast, regular triaene spicules of the Calcarea are represented by a single crystal (Reitner and Mehl 1995). Among demo- sponges, the tetractines are restricted to the Tetractinellida. Additionally, typically modified dermal spicules (nail-type), monaxons (large tylostyles), and large aster mi- croscleres (ster raster autapomorphic of the Geodiidae) have been found in the Early Cambrian, demonstrating the advanced state of tetractinellid evolution since that time. The rapid diversification of demosponges with clearly difIerentiated spicules oc- curred only in the Middle Cambrian. The first calcarean spicules (Tommotian Pestrotsvet Formation, Siberian Platform -Kruse et al. 1995) have a triradiate symmetry. Their systematic position among the Calcarea is under discussion (Bengtson et al. 1990) (figures 14.1C,D). Previously known regular calcitic triaene spicules were Mesozoic. The Heteractinida, with mul- tirayed spicules or characteristic octactines, are typical Paleozoic Calcarea. Regular triaene spicules of the Polyactinellida are common in early Paleozoic strata (Mostler 1985). The observed calcarean spicules have affinities with those of modem Cal- caronea; spicules with calcinean affinities (regular triaenes) are rare in the Cambrian. Sponge spicule assemblages are abundant in the Early Cambrian. In the lower Middle Cambrian of the Iberian Chains (Spain), spicules are so common with echino- derm ossicles that eocrinoid-sponge meadows are inferred for low-energy shallow , subtidal environments (Alvaro and Vennin 1997). In general, spicule assemblages dis- play high morphologic diversity, with many spicule types unknown in living sponges (Mostler 1985; Bengtson 1986; Fedorov and Pereladov 1987; Fedorov in Shabanov et al. 1987; Zhang and Prau 1994; Dong and Kno1l1996; Mehl 1998). Their compo- sition indicates the early appearance of hexactinellid, and possible calcarean, sponges in shallow-water archaeocyath-calcimicrobial mounds and the dominance of these sponges over archaeocyaths in deeper-water mounds. Relatively deep environments yield only demosponge and hexactinellid spicules, with the latter being prevalent (Fedorov and Pereladov 1987; James and Gravestock 1990; Zhang and Prau 1994; Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1996; Dong and Knoll1996). 304 Fran~oi5e Debrenne and Joachlm Reltner Figure 74.7 Thin sections. A. Cryptic thala- mid sponge Tanchocyathus amgamsis (Vologdin 1963) PIN, Middle Cambrian. Mayan Tangha FOlluation (Amga River, Siberian PlatfOUll, Russia). B, Frame-building anthaspidellid demosponge RanktneUa ex gr. mors (Gate- house). IGS, Middle Cambrian, Kushanian Mila Formation (Elburz Mountains. Iran). C and D, Remains of modified tetractines (do- decaactinellids) described as Calcarea, Lower Cambrian, Atdabanian Wilkawillina Umestone (Arrowie Basin, Australia). E, Cryptic pha- retronid Gravestockia pharetronensis Reimer an- chored on the inner wall of an archaeocyath cup and panially overgrown by its secondary skeleton, Lower Cambrian, Atdabanian Wilka- willina Urnestone (Arrowie Basin, Australia). Sauru: Photographs A and B counesy of An- drey Zhuravlev. SPONGES. CNIDARIANS. AND CTENOPHORES 305 Soft-Bottom Communities of Sponges Most sponges are soft-bodied animals, which means that their preservation poten- tial is poor. Entirely preserved sponges are the exception. Sponges, such as coralline sponges, with a rigid skeleton do exist and include archaeocyaths and lithistid demo- sponges, which are characterized by a rigid framework of choanosomal spicules. Preserved soft sponges are now recorded from the southern China Nuititang Formation at Sansha (Steiner et al. 1993), first attributed to Tommotian, since co- occurrence of the associated bivalved arthropod Perspicaris favors a younger age. A nearly complete hexactinellid spicule cluster of protospongid character has been found at the base of the formation (basal chert) (Steiner et al. 1993). The middle part of the formation bears a diverse fauna of complete specimens of hexactinellids, to- gether with one doubtful demosponge taxon (Saetaspongia) . The gray pelitic rocks, completely free of carbonate, probably correspond to a typical soft substrate under low-energy marine conditions; the sponges were morphofunctionally adapted to this environment. The hexactinellids demonstrate two main types of spicule architec- ture: rosselleid type (Solactinella) (figure 14.2B) and hyalonemid-like spicule root tufts (Hyalosinica) (figure 14.2A). Thin spicule mats have also been identified, on which grow numerous young hexactinellids, a strategy similar to the one observed on the top of the Recent Vesterisbanken Seamount in the Greenland Sea (Henrich et al. 1992). Atdabanian rocks of northern Greenland (Sirius Passet) have yielded two genera of demosponges (Rigby 1986b) that are also known with a similar preservation in the younger Burgess Shale fauna. This soft-bodied fauna was deposited in deep-water shales on the margin of the outer detrital beh, on shelves facing the open ocean (Con- way Morris et al. 1987; Conway Morris 1989). The forms noted as Paleozoic Dic- tyospongiidae are hexactinellids with bundles of long and large diactines (Mehl 1996) . After arthropods, Botoman sponges represent the most diverse metazoan group in the Chengjiang fauna, with at least 11 genera and 20 species (Chen et al. 1989,1990; Chen and Erdtmann 1991 ; Rigby and Hou 1995). Those described by Chen et al. (1989, 1990) are hexactinellids and not demosponges. The spicule arrangement of the so-called leptomitid sponges has nothing in common with that of demosponges. The simple diactine spicules are very long (several mm to 1 cm), with a rectangular arrangement more characteristic of lyssacine hexactinellids. Some hexactinellids bear diactine spicules, which are actually reduced hexactines, with the typical hexactine cross in the center of the axial canal (Mehl 1992). For example, the modern Euplec- tellidae and most of lyssakiin hexactinellids exhibit this structure. The Chengjiang sponges, embedded in mudstones of a low-energy environment, represent a sessile, suspension-feeding epifauna. Evidence of niche partitioning among them is visualized from their tiering complexity: choiids mostly occupying a lower- level epifaunal tier «2 cm) or even being infaunal, and leptomitids feeding at the • 306 Fran~oise Debrenne and 'oachim Reitner , • h " • ,, ' : l \ I , • • Cigure 14.2 A, Hyalosinica archaica Mehl and Reitner with long spicule root tuft with small isolated hexactine on top, holotype SAN l09ab, Lower Cambrian, Qiongzhusian Niutitang FOlmation (Sansha, China). B, Hexactinellid spange with strong lyssacyne character, 50- lactindla plumata Mehl and Reitner, holotype SAN 107ab, Lower Cambrian, Qiongzhusian Niutitang Formation (Sansha, China). C, En- crusting anthaspidellid Rankemlla mors (Gate- house), weathered out and etched specimens, AGSO CPC 21244, Lower Cambrian, Ordian Arthur Creek FOlmation (Georgina Basin, Aus- tralia). D, Heteractinid Eijfdlaglobosa Walcon, USNM 66521, Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale (British Columbia, Canada). SPONGES, CNIDARIANS, AND CTENOPHORES 307 intermediate level (5 -15 cm), with a higher tier represented by a new globular sponge exhibiting a four-Iayered skeleton. Early Cambrian anieulated sponges have been recorded in Laurentia· from Vermont (Leptomitus) and Pennsylvania (Hazelia), indicating that these two lineages had di- verged by the end of the Early Cambrian (Rigby 1987). Sponges constitute the most imponant Burgess Shale group in terms of number of specimens (Walcott 1920; Rigby 1986a; Ushatinskaya, this volume: figure 16.6), with at least 15 genera represented. The majority of these are hexactinellids resembling Protospongia: they consist of a single layer of parallel stauractines with rare pentactines, organized as a vasiform sheet. There are demosponges among them: Choia, Hazelia, and a probable keratose sponge, Vauxia. The calcareous heteractinid genus Eiffdia (figure l4.2D) has a thin-walled subspherieal skeleton, with three ranks of oriented sexiradiate spieules. Most of these sponges are endemie, except for E!ffelia and Choia, the lauer having also been reponed from other localities of Laurentia, Europe, and possibly from South Ameriea and Australia (Rigby 1983). More-complex complete bodies of spieular sponges have been found only in Lau- rentia: Hintzespongia, occurring in slightly younger rocks than the Burgess Shale, and thin-walled Ratcl!ffespongia. These sponges have, beneath an outer (dermal) layer of stauract spieules, an inner (endosomal) layer of stauractines and hexactines in a non- parallel arrangement, surrounding numerous circular aporhyses, covered externally by the outer layer (Finks 1983). Sponges of these lineages appear to have had their origin in the moderate deep shelf, in relatively constant temperatures and similar- chemistry waters of the shelf and outer margin of the continents (Rigby 1986a). The early hexactinellid sponges seem to have lived in warm shallow-water and high-energy environments and in rather deep and quiet water, on muddy sea floors, and coloniz- ing sandy limestone substrates by the end of the Cambrian. These sponges were sessile epibenthie suspension feeders on pieoplankton and/or dissolved organic matter. Detailed investigations of the Chengjiang and Burgess fau- nas suggest that various niehes existed: nutrients differing in type and size were in- gested by different species at different heights (tiering), showing that the fundamen- tal trophic structure of marine metazoan life was established very early in metazoan evolution (Conway Morris 1986) and that the maximum height of the aommunity above the sediment-water interface was greater than suggested in the tiering model of Ausieh and Bottjer (1982). Reefal and Hardground Sponges In addition to the secretion of silieeous and calcareous spicules, nonspieular calcare- ous skeletons have been independently acquired at different times, both in Demo- spongea and Calcarea. 308 Fran~olse Debrenne and 'oachlm Reitner Archaeocyaths Functional and constructional analyses of archaeocyaths support a poriferan affinity for the group (Debrenne and Vacelet 1984; Kruse 1990; Zhuravlev 1990; Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1992), possibly with demosponges (Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1994). As sessile benthic filter-feeding organisms, archaeocyaths appeared in the Tommo- tian, progressively colonizingAtdabanian carbonate platforms, reaching their acme of development in the Botoman, and then declining in the Toyonian. Only a few forms persisted into the Middle and Late Cambrian. Archaeocyaths are divided into two groups, according to the reconstructed posi- tion of their soft tissues: the Ajacicyathida (Regulares) and the Archaeocyathida (Ir- regulares). In the Regulares (Debrenne et al. 1990b), soft tissue filled the entire body and nu trient flows circulated through a complex aquiferous system corresponding to the different types of skeletal porosity. In the Irregulares (Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1992), the living tissue was restricted to the upper part of the cup, and a secondary skeleton developed that separated dead from living parts; thus nutrient flows in the Irregulares were less dependent on skeletal porosity, which is not as diverse as it is in the Regulares. The respective position of the living tissue in both groups also influ- enced their ecologic responses (figure 14.3A). Archaeocyaths are associated with calcimicrobes but commonly playasubordinate role in reefbuilding (Wood et al. 1992; Kruse et al. 1995; Pratt et al., this volume). Regulares were rnainly solitary, with a high degree of individualization and thus with limited possibilities of being efficient frame builders. They tended to settle on soft bottoms in environments with low energy and low sedimentation rate, commonly at reef peripheries. lrregulares had a higher degree of integration that was propitious for modularization and for tolerance of associations with other species; they produced abundant secondary skeletal links between adjacent cups (figure 14.4A). All these features enhanced frame-building ability. They settled on stable substrates, after sta- bilization of the soft bottom, and were supported by cement and calcimicrobes the principal reefbuilders (Pratt et al. , this volume: figures 12.1A and 12.2A). Archaeo- cyaths differentiated from the late Tommotian into distinct open-surface ·and crypt dwellers (Zhuravlev and Wood 1995). Solitary ajacicyathids and modular branching archaeocyathids dominated open-surface assemblages, while solitary archaeocyathids and solitary chambered fonns (capsulocyathids and kazachstanicyathids) were pref- erentially housed in crypts. Some species of Dictyofavus, Altaicyathus, and Polythala- mia were obligate cryptobionts (figure 14.4B; Pratt et al. , this volume: figure 12.1B). Overall, archaeocyaths were adapted to restricted conditions of temperature, salin::- ity, and depth. They were limited to tropical seas, as confirmed by paleomagnetic con- tinental reconstructions (McKerrow et al. 1992; Debrenne and Courjault-Rade 1994). Under conditions of increased salinity, archaeocyath assemblages became depleted, and they were represented by the simplest fonns (Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1996). SPONGES, CNIDARIANS, AND CTENOPHORES 309 5mm • , • " 2mm Figure 14.3 Archaeocyaths in thin seetion. A, Modular Archaeocyathida (Archacocyathus ar- borensis Okulitch and Arrythmocricus macda- mensis [HandfieldD and solitary Ajacicyathida (Robustocyathellus pusillus [Debrennel and Pal- mericyathus americanus [OkulitchD, MNHN - , , M83075, Lower Cambrian, Botoman Pueno Blanco Formation (Cerro Raj6n, Mexico). B, Stromatoporoid Korovinella sajanica (Yawor- sky), MNHN M81017, Lower Cambrian, Boto- man Verkhnemonok FOllnation (Karakol River, Western Sayan, Russia). • 310 Fran~olse Debrenne and 'oachlm Reltner • , • • Flgu~ 14.4 Archaeocyaths in thin seelion. A, Modular M(tQldt~ profundus (Billings), GSC 62113, Lower Cambrian, Botoman For- teau FOllnation (Labrador, Canada). B, Cryptic thalamid Polythalamfa amtricana Debrenne and 4mm , • , . , Wood, anchored to cyanobacterial crust- fOllning crypt, USNM 443584, Lower Cam- brian, Botoman Scott Canyon Formation (Battle Mountain, Nevada, USA). Archaeocyaths occupied the intenidal to subtidal zones. Basinward, the commu- nities became impoverished and commonly were associated with hexactinellid sponge spicules, suggesting that with increasing depth, spicular sponges came to dominate sponges with a calcified skeleton (e.g., the Atdabanian of the Lena River Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1996; Prau et al., this volume: figure 12.2). Deeper-water biohenns (e.g., Sellick Hill Formation, Australia) contain oligotypic assemblages of archaeo- SPONGES. CNIDARIANS. AND CTENOPHORES 311 cyaths developing exocyathoid buttresses, interpreted as a response to higher water pressure (Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1996). Erosional features may also be observed in some places (e.g., Khara Ulakh, Siberian Platfonn, and Sardinia) that are indicative of peritidal conditions in which some archaeocyaths existed. . As filter feeders, archaeocyaths were better adapted to environments with suffi- dent current activity to transport nutrients. Complex outer walls promoted inhalant- exhalant flow through the cup, while annular inner walls accelerated the initial speed of the exhalant current (Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1996). Metallic models in fume tanks have shown that porous septa are better adapted to low-energy currents and aporous septa to high-energy environments (Savarese 1992); these conclusions are in accordance with the observations of Zhuravlev (1986) of an archaeocyath reef fades assemblage where genera have mostly aporose septa, whereas in back-reef fades their analogs have porous septa. In conclusion, archaeocyaths were stenothermal, stenohaline, stenobathic marine sessile filter-feeding organisms, employing both active and passive current flow to move water through their systems. The nature of their food remains uncertain (Signor and Vermeij 1994); like their modem poriferan relatives, they probably fed primarily on bacteria and similarly sized particles. Whether same archaeocyaths possessed photosymbionts remains controversial (Camoin et a1. 1989; Wood et a1. 1992; Surge et a1. 1997; Riding and Andrews 1998), but if photosymbionts were assodated with archaeocyaths, they were rare, as in Recent marine sponges. Tha/amid Coralline 5ponges (1/5phinctozoansl/) A thalamid grade of organization is recognized in various classes of calcified sponge (Archaeocyatha [Capsulocyathidal, Demospongea, and Calcarea) and in one species of Hexactinellida that lacks a calcareous skeleton. This type of skeleton is thus poly- phyletic (Vacelet 1985; Reitner 1990), and the tenn sphinctozoan is only morphologic and without systematic significance. Apart from archaeocyaths (see above), sphinctozoans of Early Cambrian age de- scribed from Australia either are not sponges or lack a sphinctozoan grade of organ- jzation. Simple sebargasiids have been found in marginal shelf deposits of New South Wales (Pickett andje1l1983). Some of these are of doubtful affinity: single-thambered Blastulospongia, considered as a possible ancestor for the whole group. has been rein- terpreted as a radiolarian (Bengtson 1986). Nonetheless, its large size and apparent attachment 10 the substrate do not fit closely to the radiolarian model of the type Blas- tulospongia spedes. As for the multichambered and cateniform Nucha and Amblysi- phonella?, reexamination of the holotypes (Reitner and Pickett, unpub1. data) suggests that they might not be sponges. Coeval "sphinctozoans" Jawonya and Wagima (Kruse 1987) have been found in plat- form deposits (Tindall Urnestone) of northem Australia. Upon reexamination, Wood 312 Fran~olse Debrenne and Joachlm Reimer • (in Kruse 1990; Rigby 1991) noted the presence in these of spicules. They are modi- fied octactines, confillningjawonya as a heteractinid sponge (Wewokellidae). Kruse (1996) has recently demonstrated that jawonya is in fact two-walled, with a compli- cated exopore architecture. The related genus Wagima is also considered to be two- , walled. They lived in a low-energy, open-shelf environment on the muddy substrate, stabilized by calcimicrobes (Kruse 1996). Questionable jawonya, from older Atdabanian strata of South Australia (Kruse 1987), is a rimmed single-chambered form (not with "sphinctozoan' grade of organ- ization). 1t differs from contemporaneous one-walled archaeocyaths in its size and inferred microstructure; its affinity remains uncertain. This form is intimately associ- ated with redal facies (in this case, calcimicrobial-archaeocyath mounds). Tanchocyathus amgaensis (Vologdin 1963), from the Middle Cambrian of Siberia, is probably a thalamid, nonarchaeocyathan sponge that lived in cryptic communities (Zhuravlev 1996) (see figure l4.1A). \ . • Stromatoporoid Coralline Sponges Fonns exhibiting a stromatoporoid grade of organization have been noted from the Botoman. The archaeocyath order Kazachstanicyathida (Debrenne and Zhuravlev 1992) has the thalamid type of cup development and a stromatoporoid growth pat- tern, even with astrorhizae (figure 14.3B). They are associated with calcimicrobial- archaeocyathan reds. Calcarea with a Rigid Skeleton ("Pharetronida") • , Apart from isolated regular calcitic spicules, one articulated taxon is known from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, in beds of Atdabanian equivalent age: Graves- tockia pharetronensis Reimer (Reimer 1992). This is a pharetronid sponge with a rigid skeleton of cemented choanosomal simple tetractine calcareous spicules and diac- tine free dermal spicules. It is anchored on an archaeocyath inner wall in a cryptic niche (figure l4.1E) and may in turn have been locallyovergrown by the archaeocy- , ath's secondary skeleton. Gravestockia is associated with calcimicrobial-archaeocyath bioconstructions. , Bottonaecyathus, {rom the Botoman of the Altay Sayan Foldbelt, Tuva, Morocco, and Mongolia, was originally described as an archaeocyath. It is now considered a prob- able sponge with a calcified skeleton. lt lived together with archaeocyaths in redal en- vironments (Kruse et al. 1996). Demospanges with Desma-Type Spicules ("Lithistida") The "Uthistida" are a highly polyphyletic group of demosponges, inc1uding taxa of both Tetractinellida and Ceractinomorpha (Reiner 1992). The oldest known (Ordian SPONGES, CNIDARIANS, AND CTENOPHORES 313 to early Templetonian) desma-bearing sponge, the anthaspide11id Ranhenella, inhab- ited a low-energy, shallow subtidal marine environment, with abundant mud and high productivity (Ranken Limestone) (see figure 14.2C), and also even anaerobic low- energy shelf areas of limited circulation (Arthur Creek Formation) (Kruse 1996). A similar sponge has been identified from the late Early Cambrian to early Middle Cam- brian Dedebulak Formation of Kyrgyzstan (Teslenko et al. 1983). Such sponges are restricted to a stable soft bot tom and are presumed to be encrusting fonns. From the la te Middle Cambrian, anthaspidellid and axinellid demosponges became ubiquitous elements of fossil assemblages in Laurentia, Altay Sayan, and Iran, (Wilson 1950; • Okulitch and Be111955; Zhuravleva 1960). They encrusted hardgrounds (Brett et al. 1983; Zhuravlev et al. 1996) and even built their own reefs Mila Formation, Iran (Hamdi et al. 1995; see also figure 14.1B) and Wilbems Formation, USA (Wood 1999; Pratt et al., this volume: figure 12.2C). COElENTERATA Soft-Bodied Cnldaria and Ctenophores In contrast with the Precambrian Ediacara fauna, wruch is domina ted by medusoids, representatives of the soft-bodied cnidaria and ctenophores are relatively poorly represented in the Cambrian. A great number of Cambrian fonns have been assigned to Cnidaria with varying degrees of uncenainty. Impressiöns of putative jellyfish have been reponed in Cambrian rocks since Wakott (1911), but most ofthem have been reinterpreted as trace fossils, sponges, echinoder rns, arthropod appendages, or wonns; others have been designated as incertae sedis or are unrecognizable fonns (Harrington and Moore 1956; Conway Morris 1993a). The discovery of annulated disks alone is insufficient to place them in the chondrophores. The Tommotian rec- ords are still doubtful. Associated with Lapworthella, 50 m above the Cadomian pene- plain, fonns provisionally attributed to scyphozoans have been recorded (Don~ 1985) (figure 14.5B). Other discoidal fossils have been described in Europe but have not recently been • reinvestigated, so their possible attribution to cnidarians remains uncertain. Ichnusina cocozzai (nom. correct. herein) (figure 14.5A) from Sardinia, Italy, at the base of the "Arenarie di San Vito" (Middle-Upper Cambrian) is one of these. It consists of a hemispheric body with undifferentiated center, dichotomized radial lobes and pe- ripheral tentacles. If considered as a possible cnidarian, then this organism would have had a swimming or floating lifestyle. Within the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale-type fauna, some specimens resem- bling elements of the Ediacara fauna have a cnidarian affinity (Conway Morris 1993b). Thaumaptilon is a bilaterally symmetrical foliate animal with a holdfast and is related to pennatulaceans. It was benthic, and its mode of feeding rather conjectural, proba- bly trapping the food particles by means of small tentacles of putative zooids. Ge- 314 Fran~olse Debrenne and Joachlm Reitner - • --, - --... , Flgu~ 74.5 A, Disk of a posstble chondro- phore cast of Ichnuslna cocozzai (Debrenne), MNHN MS4160, Middle-Upper (Sardinia, Italy). B, Cubic medusoid with square cemral part (gastrogcnital cavity?), with a tentac1e springing from the lower right angle , .' . 'I -! • of the manubrium (?), sullOunded by a dark organic circ1e (umbrella?), N 1368A Caen Uni- versity, l.ower Cambrian ·Schistes ct calcaires" FOllllation (Nollllandy, Val de May, Normandy, France). Sourcc: Photograph courtesy of Fran- cis Dort. lmoptron is tentatively assigned to chondrophorines (Conway MOlI is 1993b), together with some undeter mined disks with spaced annulations and tentacles. Emmonsaspis from the Early Cambrian Parker Slate of the Appalachians is tentatively interpreted as a benthie suspension feeder or microcamivore (Conway Monis 1993b), The trace fossil Dolopichnus is interpreted as a possible cnidarian burrow (Alpen and Moore 1975; Birkenmajer 1977). lt eontains trilobite debris, indicating a camiv- SPONGES. CNIDARIANS. AND CTENOPHORES 315 orous diet. Such trace fossils might be produced by animals similar to the Early Cam- brian Xianguangia or Middle Cambrian Mackenzia. Xianguangia from Chengjiang is interpreted as an anthozoan-like cnidarian on account of a basal disk, a polyp-like • body with possible septal impressions, and a distal crown of tentacles bearing closely spaced pinnules (Chen and Erdtmann 1991). Machenzia costalis Walcott, having a baglike body with possible internal partitions, is compared with some putative ac- tinians (Conway Morris 1993b). Ctenophores, representatives of another branch of the coelenteratan grade, were active swimmers that combed the pelagic realm in search of tiny metazoans and lar- vae (Conway Morris and Collins 1996; Chen and Zhou 1997). • Coralomorphs The mass radiation of Metazoans included mineralized skeletons of solitary calcium carbonate cups and, later, slender irregular cerioid polygonal tubes, near the begin- ning of the Cambrian. These were originally grouped as coralomorphs because of • their probable cnidarian affinities (Jell 1984). New descriptions of Early Cambrian coralomorphs, including studies of the biocrystals characteristic of their mierostruc- ture, their systematie position, and their stratigraphie distribution, have recently been made (Zhuravlev et a1. 1993; Sorauf and Savarese 1995). The oldest coralomorph, Cysticyathus (figure 14.6B), occurs in middle Tommotian calcimierobial-archaeocyath biohenns of Siberia. It was previously included in ar- chaeocyaths, despite its aporous skeleton. Tannuolaiids (= khasaktiids) (figure 14.6A) appeared in the Atdabanian of Siberia, diversifying as they migrated throughout the Ural-Mongolian BeIt, and are always associated with reefs. Hydroconozoa began with the Atdabanian but are not known later than the Boto- man, when modular ramose fonns developed. The skeletal mierostructure of Hydro- conus is most likely similar to that of genuine corals (Lafuste et a1. 1990). The Botoman was the acme for all Cambrian coralomorphs. In addition to tannuo- laiids and hydroconozoans, whieh are characteristie of Siberia, one of the most con- • vincing cnidarians, Tabulaconus (low modular) (Debrenne et a1. 1987) (figure 14.6C), also appeared in Laurentia, along with the solitary Aploconus (Debrenne et a1. 1990a) and the high modular Rosellatana (Kobluk 1984). In Australia, Flindersipora occurs. It was thought to comprise the oldest tabulate corals (Lafuste et a1. 1991) (figure 14.6D) but is considered by Scrutton (1992) to be an unassigned early skeletonized anthozoan lacking linear descent to any major coral group. The newly discovered Moorowipora and Arrowipora, with their cerioid coral fOI ms and typieal coralline wall structure, short septal spines, and tabulae, suggest an assignment with Tabulata (Ful- ler andJenkins 1994, 1995; Sorauf and Savarese 1995). The latter authors also pro- pose inclusion of Tabulaconus in the Tabulata, thereby greatly extending the strati- graphic range of the group. Scrutton (1997), however, prefers to classify Cambrian 316 Fran~oise Debrenne and Joachlm Reltner ---, lem Flgu~ J4.6 Coralomorphs in thin seetion. A. Encrusting Khasaktia vesicularis Sayutina, PIN. Lower Cambrian, Atdabanian Pestrotsvet For- mation (middie una River, Siberian PlatfOllll, Russia). B. Branching Cysticyathus tunlcatus Zhuravleva. MNHN M81016, lower Cam- brian, Tommotian Pestrotsvet FOlmation (middle una River, Siberian PlatfOllll, Russia). • 2mm o 2 mm • 4 mm C. Branching Tabulaconus lwrdac Handfield, UA 2526, lower Cambrian. Botoman Adams Argillite (Tatonduk area, AJaska, USA). D. Aso sociation of archaeocyaths (Ajadcyathus aequio trims I&dford and &dford)) and tabulate Flin dcrsipora bowmanni lafuste. MNHN M42048. lower Cambrian, Botornan Moorowie Ume- stone (Arrowie Basin. Australia). SPONGES, CNIDARIANS, AND CTENOPHORES 317 zoantharian corals as a separate order Tabulaconida without an assignment to other Paleozoic coral elades. All Atdabanian and Botoman coralomorphs are associated with calcimicrobial- • archaeocyath reef environments, with Flindersipora and Yaworipora even 'participating in bioconstruction (Zhuravlev 1999). Khasaktia and Rosellatana can be cryptobionts in calcimicrobial-archaeocyathan reef cavities. The modular Laurentian Labyrinthus is known from the late Botoman Forteau For- mation of Labrador. Colonies are often attached to archaeocyath skeletons, indicating a preference for hard substrates. They are found in the "upper biostrome complex," which underlies and interfingers with ooid beds containing oncoids and diverse skeletal fragments. This impUes shallow, agitated water conditions in the vicinity of a bioconstruction (Kobluk 1979). Lipopora and Cothonion, from New South Wales, Australia, are the la test Early Cam- brian (Ordian) coralomorphs (JeU and JeU 1976). Solitary or modular, they occur in carbonate beds, associated with Girvanella oncoids and a rich fauna of trilobites, brachiopods, mollusks, and sponges. The high faunal diversity, the predominance of • • cyanobacteria, and the carbonate petrology suggest a warm shaUow-water carbonate bank environment. Other proposed Early Cambrian cnidarians have doubtful records (inorganic con- cretions, algae, bryozoans, or synonyms of already descri~ed tannuolaiids or hydro- conozoans) and consequently are not considered here. AMiddie Cambrian (Floran-Undillan) coralomorph Tretocylichne is found in re- worked elasts within inner submarine fan deposits of northeastem New South Wales (Engelbretsen 1993). The single example ofa possible Late Cambrian coral is found in Montana (Fritz and Howell1955). Coralomorphs were suspension feeders living in warm waters and generally asso- ciated with calcimicrobial-archaeocyath biohenns as coconstructors or cryptobionts. Some lived in agitated waters near biostromes or carbonate banks. Other Posslble Skeletal Cnldarians • Among Cambrian smaU sheUy fossils, a number of tiny, often septate, conoidal tubes have been suggested to be of cnidarian affinity, namely, paiutiids, quadrira'dial cari- nachitüds and hexangulaconulariids, triradial anabaritids, and byroniids (for reviews, see Conway Morris and Chen 1989, 1992; Bengtson et al. 1990; Rozanov and Zhu- • ravlev 1992). Except for byroniids, these animals are restricted to the Early Cambrian. Most of them are suggested to be sessile fOI IllS. Tentaele-bearing Cambrorhytium might be a cnidarian possessing an organic-waUed tube (Conway Morris and Robison 1988). It is worth noting that phosphatized spheroids, in Nemakit-Daldynian strata contain- ing anabaritids, resemble nonplanktotrophic cnidarian actinula larvae (Kouchinsky et al. 1999). 318 Fran~oise Debrenne and Joachim Reitner A CAMBRIAN SalInlty (ppt) 0 B C DEEP HEXACTINELUDS DEMOSPONGES ARCHAEOC"'ATHS CORALlINE spp. CALCAREA CORALOMORPHS CNIDARIANS ~, -- LIMITS OF 'MARINE' ENVIRONMENT ----0, BRACKISH 10 SLOPE P6 61 -- ----------< .- ---------------- • 62 ~ -----------------t--=~--- , 50 63 -- -- - - - - - - - ---- HVPEASALINE , o Figure 14.7 Distribution of sponges and cnidarians in relation to salinity CA), in relation to depth (B), and in relation to time (e) . SPONGES, CNIDARIANS, AND CTENOPHORES 319 CONClUSIONS Siliceous sponges, either as spicules or complete bodies, are known since the Edia- carian. From the Atdabanian and later, they were widespread in low-energy offshore marine environments (figure 14.7), suggesting a deep-water origin on open ocean- facing shelves. Ceractinomorphs are found only from the Middle Cambrian; they ap- pear to have occupied shallow waters. Calcified skeletons occur in different groups: archaeocyaths, pharetronids, and wewokellids. Archaeocyaths (first appearance in the Tommotian) occupied intertropi- cal, intertidal to subtidal environments oflow to normal salinity (figure 14.7), in well- agitated waters associated with reefs. Archaeocyaths with a stromatoporoid grade of organization were present in reefs, whereas the chambered forms ("sphinctozoans") were crypt dwellers. Calcareous spicules are rare in the Early Cambrian. The known pharetronids grew on Atdabanian archaeocyath-calcimicrobe reefs, whereas late Early Cambrian heter- actinids (Wewokellidae) were level-boltom dwellers. 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