The Parker Quarry Lagerstätte of Vermont—The first reported Burgess Shale–type fauna rediscovered

Abstract

Soft-bodied fossils of Cambrian age, now known as Burgess Shale–type biotas, were first described from the Parker Slate of the northwest Vermont (USA) slate belt in the late 19th century, 25 years before the discovery of the Burgess Shale in British Columbia, Canada. Here, we report the rediscovery of fossiliferous horizons at Parker’s Cobble, the site of the original quarry, which was thought to have been exhausted by excavation. New discoveries include a radiodont, multiple specimens of a new bivalved arthropod, a priapulid, and other undescribed forms. Pervasive soft-sediment deformation suggests accumulation near the toe of a steep unstable slope, similar to the setting of the Burgess Shale. Although fossils are rare, the exceptional preservation of some soft-bodied taxa suggests that recovered diversity was limited by transport into an inhospitable benthic setting rather than by decay, and this implies a potential for future discoveries of new taxa.