Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jul 18, 2026

Kinematic History of a Salient-recess Junction Explored through a Combined Approach of Field Data and Analog Sandbox Modeling
Published on: August 5, 2016
Cyclicity in the fossil record mirrors rock outcrop area
Andrew B Smith1, Alistair J McGowan
1Department of Palaeontology,The Natural History Museum, Cromwell Road, London SW7 5BD, UK. a.smith@nhm.ac.uk
Abstract:
In a recent article, Rohde & Muller (Rohde & Muller 2005 Nature 434, 208-210) identified a strong 62 Myr cyclicity in the history of marine diversity through the Phanerozoic. The data they presented were highly convincing, yet they were unable to explain what process might have generated this pattern. A significant correlation between observed genus-level diversity (after removal of long-term trends) and the amount of marine sedimentary rock measured at a surface outcrop in Western Europe is demonstrated. This suggests that cyclicity originates from long-term changes in sedimentary depositional and erosional regimes, and raises the strong possibility that the cyclicity apparent in the record of marine fossils is not a biological signal but a sampling signal.
More Related Videos
07:30Using Archival Japanese Paper and Thermoplastic Resins to Prepare Fossils for Storage, Display, Transport, and Radiography
Published on: November 14, 2025
10:14Reconstructing Terrestrial Paleoclimate and Paleoecology with Fossil Leaves Using Digital Leaf Physiognomy and Leaf Mass Per Area
Published on: October 25, 2024
Related Concept Videos
The Fossil Record
The Carbon Cycle
The Evidence for Evolution
What is Evolutionary History?
Global Climate Change
Speciation Rates