Atlas of vertebrate decay: A visual and taphonomic guide to fossil interpretation

Like many other important evolutionary transitions, our knowledge of the origin of vertebrates is limited to windows of exceptional preservation of soft-bodied fossils. Unfortunately, these fossils are rare and have been subjected to complex taphonomic filters including decay, collapse and distortion. To maximize our ability to utilize these crucial fossils to reconstruct the timing and sequence of evolutionary events, we are in the need of a robust taphonomic framework with in which to interpret them. Here, we report the results of a series of experiments designed to examine patterns of transformation and loss during decay of important anatomical characters of chordates and primitive vertebrates (ammocoete, adult lamprey, hagfish, juvenile chondrichthyans and a non-vertebrate chordate, Branchiostoma). Complex and repeated patterns of transformation during decay are identified and figured for informative character complexes including eyes, feeding apparatus, skull and brain, muscles, branchial apparatus, axial structures, viscera, heart and fins. The resulting data regarding character decay and relative loss serve as a guide to recognition and interpretation of the anatomy of non-biomineralized fossil vertebrates. The methods and techniques outlined are eminently applicable to other soft-bodied groups and present a new way to interpret the exceptionally preserved fossil record.