Data from: Taphonomic controls on a multi-element skeletal fossil record

Animals with multi-element skeletons, including vertebrates, echinoderms,
and arthropods, are some of the most biodiverse and ecologically important
animal groups. Understanding the relative impact of the myriad geological
and biological factors that impact the quality of multi-element skeletal
fossils is thus crucial for disentangling perceived changes in
biodiversity through time and shedding light on gaps in the fossil record.
We have characterised the specimen-level taphonomic history of virtually
the entire Palaeozoic fossil record of echinoids, the class of echinoderms
which includes the living sea urchins. We find that the majority of this
fossil record consists of disarticulated skeletal elements, and as
preservational quality increases, so does the proportion of specimens that
can be identified with higher taxonomic precision. We then assessed the
relative impacts of multiple geological and biological factors on our
specimen quality, identifying that fine-grained host matrix, as well as
siliciclastic lithology, are the biggest factors in determining the
quality of fossil echinoid preservation, while aspects intrinsic to
specific taxonomic groups also play a role. Differential sampling of the
fossil record seems to play little role in influencing the distribution of
taphonomic grades, and fluctuations in the North American record of
Siliciclastic rocks are positively correlated with fluctuations in
taphonomic grades. Our results highlight that the factors controlling the
animal macrofossil record are varied, and that the interplay between these
variables, taphonomic grade, and taxonomic precision impacts our ability
to use the fossil record to understand macroevolution.