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Encyclopedia of Geobiology pp 53–58Cite as

Animal Biocalcification, Evolution

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series ((EESS))

Definition

SOM. Soluble organic matrix

IOM. Insoluble organic matrix

GRN. Gene regulatory network

Introduction

One of the major events in the evolution of multicellular animals was the transition from soft-bodied organisms to those that possessed mineralized hard parts for protection and support. This major evolutionary hallmark supported the rapid diversification of animals and their occupation of a diverse range of novel ecological niches at the dawn of the Phanerozoic, between 560 and 530 million years ago, when mineralized skeletons appeared relatively synchronous in a variety of Phyla during the so-called Cambrian Explosion (Knoll, 2003; Conway Morris, 2006). However, it is still unclear exactly what drove this sudden capacity to construct mineralized structures, be it changes in ocean chemistry (Brennan et al., 2004) or the evolution of more diverse ecologies (Cohen, 2005), including predators (Vermeij, 1989). Investigation of biomineralization processes will provide insight...

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth & Environmental Sciences Palaeontology and Geobiology, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Richard-Wagner-Str. 10, 80333, München, Germany

    Gert Wörheide

  2. Courant Research Center Geobiology, University of Göttingen, Goldschmidtstr. 3, 37077, Göttingen, Germany

    Daniel J. Jackson

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  1. Gert Wörheide
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  2. Daniel J. Jackson
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. University of Göttingen, Göttingen, Germany

    Joachim Reitner  & Volker Thiel  & 

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Wörheide, G., Jackson, D.J. (2011). Animal Biocalcification, Evolution. In: Reitner, J., Thiel, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geobiology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9212-1_32

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