Burgess shale

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Burgess shale Layer of siltstone in a quarry in Yoho National Park, e British Columbia, Canada. Discovered in 1909 by US scientist Charles Walcott, it contains a large number of animal fossils from the Cambrian period. The silt has preserved traces of many of the soft bodies of sea creatures. The fossils include the oldest known chordate – a forerunner of all animals with backbones. They also include a number of kinds of animals that have completely vanished, and apparently do not belong to any of the 32 or so phyla of animals we know today.

http://www.nmnh.si.edu/paleo/shale

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