Invertebrates are the most common constituents of the metazoan fossil record, and since they are abundant in Phanerozoic marine sedimentary rocks worldwide, they are of great utility in reconstructing ancient climates and environments. Here, we review two aspects of this record. First, we discuss the utility of invertebrate marine fossil assemblages in interpreting ancient climates and environments, and second, we explore the ways in which shell chemistry may be used to further address these issues.
Interpreting ancient climates
In modern environments, marine diversity is greatest at equatorial latitudes, and declines towards higher latitudes. In general, data from the fossil record is in accord with this observation, showing a similar pattern throughout the Phanerozoic (Hallam, 1994; Parrish, 1998). Although the primary factor governing this pattern is a subject of some debate, many environmental factors other than temperature are clearly important. These include availability of...
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Gaines, R.R., Droser, M.L. (2009). Animal Proxies – Invertebrates. In: Gornitz, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Paleoclimatology and Ancient Environments. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4411-3_5
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