Sustained Mesozoic–Cenozoic diversification of marine Metazoa: A consistent signal from the fossil record

Abstract

Research Article| November 01, 2015 Sustained Mesozoic–Cenozoic diversification of marine Metazoa: A consistent signal from the fossil record Andrew M. Bush; Andrew M. Bush 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Richard K. Bambach Richard K. Bambach 2Department of Paleobiology, MRC-121, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Andrew M. Bush 1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology and Center for Integrative Geosciences, University of Connecticut, 75 North Eagleville Road, Storrs, Connecticut 06269-3043, USA Richard K. Bambach 2Department of Paleobiology, MRC-121, National Museum of Natural History, Smithsonian Institution, P.O. Box 37012, Washington, D.C. 20013-7012, USA Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 16 Jul 2015 Revision Received: 02 Sep 2015 Accepted: 07 Sep 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online Issn: 1943-2682 Print Issn: 0091-7613 © 2015 Geological Society of America Geology (2015) 43 (11): 979–982. https://doi.org/10.1130/G37162.1 Article history Received: 16 Jul 2015 Revision Received: 02 Sep 2015 Accepted: 07 Sep 2015 First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Andrew M. Bush, Richard K. Bambach; Sustained Mesozoic–Cenozoic diversification of marine Metazoa: A consistent signal from the fossil record. Geology 2015;; 43 (11): 979–982. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G37162.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract Paleobiological data provide a key historical record of global biodiversity dynamics, but their interpretation is controversial due to geological and sampling biases. Raw data suggest that marine metazoans diversified dramatically during the late Mesozoic and Cenozoic, whereas bias-corrected analyses based on occurrence-level data in the Paleobiology Database (PBDB) have indicated much less Cenozoic diversification. These standardized analyses are cited as evidence that biases strongly conceal underlying patterns in the global fossil record. However, we show that marine diversity did increase substantially and continuously from the Jurassic to the Neogene, even after correcting for biases in PBDB data. Previous standardized analyses did not capture this diversification in full because they were based on incomplete data. In the Cenozoic, observed richness rose to twice the Paleozoic average, which is within the range of values seen in analyses of raw data, suggesting that even the raw global marine fossil record preserves first-order signals of diversity history. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.