The microfauna of the Early-Middle Cambrian boundary interval of Nevada and south-east California (western Laurentia)

小壳化石（SSFs）提供了一个基本的潜力，生物和生态地层学，古生物地理学，和沉积序列的相关性，包括寒武纪系列2和寒武纪系列3的间隔（传统的早中寒武世边界间隔）。特别是在沉积序列的特点是缺乏生物地层相关类群（archaeochyathans或三叶虫），他们提供重要的，往往是唯一的古生物地理和生物地层信息。虽然SSFs的知识已经从根本上增加了大多数世界各地的早中寒武世的继承，其数据基础仍然非常贫穷的劳伦特剖面。拟议项目的核心是对内华达州和加州东南部早中寒武世边界区间的SSF进行首次详细调查。该地区的特点是最完整和暴露的早中寒武世美国的继承，从而提供了丰富多样的微型动物。关于早中寒武世SSFs的分类学、古生物学以及区域和地层分布模式的知识将异常增加。在数据库中收集分类群将支持实现生物地层对比的目标，并有助于重建迁移路径。

Small shelly fossils (SSFs) offer a fundamental potential for bio- and ecostratigraphy, paleobiogeography, and the correlation of sedimentary successions covering the Cambrian Series 2 and Cambrian Series 3 interval (the traditional Early-Middle Cambrian boundary interval). Especially in sedimentary succession characterized by the absence of biostratigraphical relevant taxa (archaeochyathans or trilobites) they deliver important and often the only paleobiogeographic and biostratigraphic information. Whereas the knowledge in SSFs has been fundamentally increased for most of worldwide Early-Middle Cambrian successions, its data base is still very poor for Laurentian sections. Central to the proposed project is the first detailed investigation of SSFs of the Early-Middle Cambrian boundary interval of Nevada and south-eastern California. This region is characterized by the most complete and well exposed Early-Middle Cambrian successions of the United States, thus offering an abundant and diverse microfauna. An exceptional increase in knowledge about taxonomy, paleobiology, and regional and stratigraphical distribution patterns of Early-Middle Cambrian SSFs is expected. The collection of taxa in a database will support the aim to achieve a biostratigraphic correlation and help to reconstruct migration pathways.