| Fossilized hydrothermal communities were found in sulfide deposits (Little 2004), so the direct representatives of the fauna, at least hard parts of the fauna, are recorded directly within the sulfide deposits produced by the hydrothermal vents or the sediments around the vents. Shells of mollusks at deeper hydrothermal vents, below the CCD, have been noted to partially dissolved or to have potentially completely dissolved (Killingley et al. 1980). |
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| Fossilized organisms from an Early Jurassic vent fauna. A, left = anterior portion of tube of Arcovestia ivanovi (tube worm); A, right = anterior portion of tube of Ridgeia piscesae (tube worm); B = Francisciconcha maslennikovi (mollusk); C = Anarhynchia gabbi (brachiopod). (modified from Little et al. 2004) |
Hydrothermal vent introduction
Where are thermal vents found?