Hypercalcified sponges: palaeogeography, palaeoecology and systematics

 

Hypercalcified sponges are sponges with a calcified skeleton, occurring commonly as fossils, including sphinctozoans, inozoans, stromatoporoids, archaeocyaths, and chaetetids. Hypercalcified sponges with a solid calcareous skeleton had a major functional role in many past reefs and shallow-water non-reef systems, being the main reef building organisms during long periods of Earth's history. Despite a long history of publication, there is much still to be learned regarding their biomineralization, systematics, paleoecology, extinction and palaeobiogeographic significance. Extracting clues from ancient sponge reefs might advise us on the long-term prospects for modern reefs and becomes more complex the more we learn. This special issue addresses hypercalcified sponges using case studies through the geological record, and in the context of this journal includes their palaeogeographic aspects.

Guest editors:

Dr. Stephen Kershaw, PhD
Brunel University London, London, UK
(Hypercalcified sponges, reefs, microbialites, carbonates)

Assoc. Prof. Qijian Li, PhD
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, China
(Reefs, microfacies, hypercalcified sponges, palaeoecology)

Manuscript submission information:

You are invited to submit your manuscript before Dec 1, 2024. For any inquiries about the appropriateness of contribution topics, please contact Executive Guest Editor Stephen Kershaw  (stephen.kershaw@brunel.ac.uk).  

The journal’s submission platform (Editorial Manager®) is available for receiving submissions to this Special Issue. Please refer to the Guide for Authors to prepare your manuscript. To submit your manuscript, please click "Submit New Manuscript" and select the article type “VSI: Hypercalcified sponges” from the dropdown list. 

Keywords:

Hypercalcified sponges: palaeogeography, palaeoecology and systematics

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