Anchient jawed polychates: evolution and palaeogeography in the Lower Palaeozoic

• Applicant: Dr. Peter Königshof
• Subject Area: Palaeontology
• Term: since 2023
• Project identifier: Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) - Project number 511973862

Polychaete worms are one of the most common components of benthic invertebrate faunas in the present-day oceans. The origin of the group dates back to the Cambrian and the abundance and diversity was steeply rising since Ordovician. Despite of this fact the studies of this group are geographically and stratigraphically rather limited. To fill this gap, we have chosen to study and compile data on fossil polychaetes from various palaeocontinents – Gondwana (Prague Basin, Iran, Argentine Precordillera), Avalonia (Eifel synclines), and Baltica (Estonia). Within this project we intend to intergrade taxonomic analysis with sedimentological and microfacies data, and to focus on sedimentological successions within the Ordovician – Devonian, especially where fundamental environmental changes were recorded, e.g. extinction events. Understanding such events in Earth`s history will provide insights in evolutionary and environmental changes which are nowadays key issues. This approach should elucidate strategies of fossil eunicids during ecological perturbations over a long time-span and also test their facial dependence. The main goal is to integrate and interpret data gained from taxonomic analysis of Ordovician to Devonian polychaete communities from different palaeogeographic regions. These studies will be combined with sedimentological, geochemical (isotope studies) and microfacies analysis and will particularly focus on specific stratigraphic levels where fundamental environmental changes (such as events) were recorded.

• DFG Programme: Research Grants
• International Connection: Czech Republic
• Cooperation Partner: Dr. Petra Tonarova