Precambrian paleontology and acrochrons of the biosphere evolution: On the theory of the expanding biosphere |
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| Authors: | B S Sokolov |
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| Institution: | 1.Division of Earth Sciences,Russian Academy of Sciences,Moscow,Russia |
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| Abstract: | What is pre-life? We have no idea, since it is hidden in chemical molecules that conceal its future genetic potential. From the biological standpoint, a prokaryotic cyanobacteria cell represents a culmination of biochemical evolution. Its appearance on the Earth marked the starting point of the formation of the first biogeocoenosis on the planet, i.e., the onset of its biosphere. After having started, approximately 4.0–3.7 Ga ago, biosphere evolution has continued uninterrupted on the Earth. Its whole course is reflected in the geochronological record of the stratisphere, the stratified shell of the Earth. In the stratigraphic sense, this record comprises the Archean, Proterozoic (i.e., Karelian and Riphean), and Phanerozoic (i.e., Paleozoic, Mesozoic, and Cenozoic). They correspond to acrochrons, i.e., the main stages in biosphere evolution. According to the Precambrian paleontology, the first three acrochrons represent a pre-Vendian stage in the evolution of unicellular prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms that terminated in the Riphean with the appearance of their colonial communities. The true metacellular structure of tissue Metaphyta and Metazoa started forming only in the Late Neoproterozoic (Late Riphean). The Vendian Period was marked by a radiation of macrotaxonomic diversity with the appearance of the main multicellular types of the Phanerozoic organization level. Therefore, the last acrochron (lasting from approximately 650 Ma ago) should be considered as corresponding to the Vendian-Phanerozoic period. The Cambrian explosion corresponds to the mass expansion of skeletal Metazoa. |
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