|
The Burgess Shale is unusual among fossil locations because it contains fossil imprints of soft tissue organisms, not just organisms with hard parts. Between 60% and 80% of the fossil remains are those of soft organisms. These organisms were preserved because they were buried rapidly in a mudslide. The Burgess Shale reveals new species, but it also includes trilobites, corals, and sponges. It contains one of the earliest fossil chordates, an ancestor of the vertebrates. |