Sedimentological, ecological and temporal patterns of fossil Lagerstätten

Preservation of non-mineralized structures (including plants) and of articulated skeletons results from extraordinary hydrographic, sedimentational and early diagenetic conditions. The corresponding chief causative effects (stagnation, obrution and bacterial sealing) define a conceptual continuum into which individual occurrences may be mapped. A more pragmatic, typological classification of conservation deposits, using a standard questionnaire, reveals ecological replacements, as well as trends related to the evolution of the biosphere, through geological time.