Burgess Shale
Proper noun
Meaning
English Wikipedia has an article on:Burgess ShaleWikipedia
Burgess shale
A rock formation in the Canadian Rockies that contains very many fossils from the Cambrian period.
Examples
The Burgess Shale is not unique, but for those who study evolution and fossils it has become something of an icon. It provides a reference point and a benchmark, a point of common discussion and an issue of universal scientific interest.
About two-thirds of the Burgess Shale organisms lived by feeding on the organic content in the muddy sea floor, while almost a third filtered out fine particles from the water column.
In February 2014, the discovery was announced of another Burgess Shale outcrop in Kootenay National Park to the south.
Many Burgess Shale organisms represent stem-group members of the modern animal phyla, though crown-group representatives of certain phyla are also present.
Stratigraphy Walcott Quarry of the Burgess Shale showing the Walcott Quarry Shale Member.
This led scientists to recognise that Walcott had barely scratched the surface of information available in the Burgess Shale, and also made it clear that the organisms did not fit comfortably into modern groups.