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296 INTRODUCTION TO PALEOBIOLOGY AND THE FOSSIL RECORD

Scrutton, C.T. 1997. The Palaeozoic corals, I: origins
Review questions and relationships. Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geo-
logical Society 51, 177–208. (First of two useful

1 Superficially sponges seem to be a compact
review papers.)
morphological group but modern molecu- Scrutton, C.T. 1998. The Palaeozoic corals, II: structure,
lar data indicate that they are not mono- variation and palaeoecology. Proceedings of the
phyletic. Are there in fact morphological Yorkshire Geological Society 52, 1–57. (Second of
differences between the main sponge two useful review papers.)
groups that back this up? Scrutton, C.T. & Rosen, B.R. 1985. Cnidaria. In Murray,
2 The archaeocyaths were some of the fi rst J.W. (ed.) Atlas of Invertebrate Macrofossils.
metazoan reef builders, dominating the Longman, London, pp. 11–46. (A useful, mainly
Early to Mid Cambrian tropics. How did photographic, review of the group.)
their reef communities differ from the pre- Wood, R. 1999. Reef Evolution. Oxford University
vious buildups of the Late Proterozoic Press, Oxford, UK. (Comprehensive overview of
Namapoikea and those later dominated reefs through time.)
by the corals and the stromatoporoids?
3 Tabulate corals were important frame- References
building organisms during intervals in the
Paleozoic. Is there any evidence to sug- Debrenne, F. 2007. Lower Cambrian archeocyathan
bioconstructions. Comptes Rendus Palevol 6, 5–19.
gest that they were associated with Dewel, R.A. 2000. Colonial origin for Eumetazoa:
zooanthellae? major morphological transitions and the origin of
4 What do aberrant cnidarian taxa such as bilateralian complexity. Journal of Morphology 243,
Archisaccophyllia and Kilbuchophyllum 35–74.
tell us about the possible track of coral Gill, I.P., Dickson, J.A.D. & Hubbard, D.K. 2006. Daily
evolution? banding in corals: implications for paleoclimatic
5 Metazoan reefs have been an important reconstruction and skeletalization. Journal of Sedi-
part of the marine ecosystem since the mentary Research 76, 683–8.
Early Cambrian. But during intervals of Hammer, Ø. 1998. Regulation of astogeny in halysitid
extreme stress, for example just after tabulates. Acta Palaeontologica Polonica 43,
635–51.
severe extinction events, such reefs disap- Hou Xian-guang, Stanley, G.D. Jr., Zhao Jie & Ma
pear and the planet momentarily returns Xiao-ya 2005. Cambrian anemones with preserved
to a “stromatolite world”. How can such soft tissue from the Chengjiang biota, China. Lethaia
an ecosystem, most characteristic of the 38, 193–203.
Proterozoic, re-establish itself? Kershaw, S. 1990. Stromatoporoid palaeobiology and
taphonomy in a Silurian biostrome in Gotland,
Sweden. Palaeontology 33, 681–706.
Further reading
Riley, N.J. 1993. Dinantian (Lower Carboniferous) bio-
Clarkson, E.N.K. 1998. Invertebrate Palaeontology and stratigraphy and chronostratigraphy in the British
Evolution, 4th edn. Chapman and Hall, London. Isles. Journal of the Geological Society, London 150,
(An excellent, more advanced text, clearly written 427–46.
and well illustrated.) Savarese, M. 1992. Functional analysis of archaeocya-
Rigby, J.K. 1987. Phylum Porifera. In Boardman, R.S., than skeletal morphology and its paleobiological
Cheetham, A.H. & Rowell, A.J. (eds) Fossil Inverte- implications. Paleobiology 18, 464–80.

brates. Blackwell Scientific Publications, Oxford, Sperling, E.A., Pisani, D. & Peterson, K.J. 2007. Porif-
UK, pp. 116–39. (A comprehensive, more advanced eran paraphyly and its implications for Precambrian
text with emphasis on taxonomy; extravagantly paleobiology. Special Paper Geological Society,
illustrated.) London 286, 355–68.
Rigby, J.K. & Gangloff, R.A. 1987. Phylum Archaeocy- Wood, R. 1990. Reef-building sponges. American Sci-
atha. In Boardman, R.S., Cheetham, A.H. and entist 78, 224–35.
Rowell, A.J. (eds) Fossil Invertebrates. Blackwell Wood, R. 2001. Biodiversity and the history of reefs.

Scientific Publications, Oxford, UK, pp. 107–15. (A Geological Journal 36, 251–63.
comprehensive, more advanced text with emphasis Wood, R., Grotzinger, J.P. & Dickson, J.A.D. 2002.
on taxonomy; extravagantly illustrated.) Proterozoic modular biomineralized metazoan from
Rigby, J.K. & Scrutton, C.T. 1985. Sponges, chaetetids the Nama Group, Namibia. Science 296, 2383–6.
and stromatoporoids. In Murray, J.W. (ed.) Atlas of Wood, R., Zhuravlev, A.Yu., Debrenne, F. 1992. Func-
Invertebrate Macrofossils. Longman, London, pp. tional biology and ecology of Archaeocyatha. Palaios
3–10. (A useful, mainly photographic review of the 7, 131–56
group.)