Konservat-Lagerstätten 40 Years On: The Exceptional Becomes Mainstream

Abstract

Since Dolf Seilacher coined the term Konservat-Lagerstätten in 1970, these deposits have migrated from the margins to the mainstream of paleontological research. With greater understanding of the controls on their occurrence, new examples of exceptional preservation continue to be discovered. They provide critical data for phylogenies and stratigraphic ranges. Together with molecular data, they calibrate the history of many infrequently preserved taxa. Ostracods, tiny crustaceans with a biomineralized carapace, illustrate the importance of recent discoveries in Konservat-Lagerstätten. The rare examples with fossilized appendages are preserved in a diversity of ways, organically or through authigenic mineralization. They confirm that ostracods were present at least by the late Ordovician, provide evidence of relationships obscured by the morphology of the routinely preserved valves, and extend the stratigraphic range of particular groups. They reveal extraordinary features of the soft-tissue anatomy of ostracods, including reproductive morphology and strategy. While other taxa would provide equally compelling examples of research progress, it is clear that the concept of exceptional preservation is expanding. Future discoveries and new analytical methods will match the reconstruction of coloration in feathered dinosaurs, for example, for unexpected novelty.