Synonyms
Early biomineralization event; Small shelly fossils
Definition
Animal skeleton. Biologically, an animal skeleton is a hard or rigid framework that could provide protection and support in many types of animals. Most of the animal skeletons are mineralized, but some of them may not be mineralized (e.g., some annelid tubes being agglutinated). They could be subdivided into exoskeletons and endoskeletons, excluding hydroskeletons. The “skeletons” of resistant organic biopolymers are not included herein.
Exoskeleton . Exoskeletons are external hard parts. They may enclose the soft tissues and organs of the body, or may be external sclerites.
Endoskeleton . Endoskeletons are internal hard parts (typical of many vertebrates). Most of the endoskeletons are generally surrounded by skin and musculature.
Small shelly fossils(SSF or SSFs) . A non-taxonomic term was first used by Matthews and Missarzhevsky in the title of their review paper in 1975 to denote the earliest...
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Li, G., Zhu, M., Chen, Z. (2011). Animal Skeletons, Advent. In: Reitner, J., Thiel, V. (eds) Encyclopedia of Geobiology. Encyclopedia of Earth Sciences Series. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9212-1_5
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