A Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage from the Hongjingshao Formation （Cambrian Stage 3） at Chenggong,Kunming, Yunnan

A new Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage is reported herein from the lower part of the Hongjingshao Formation at Xiazhuang village of Chenggong,Kunming,Yunnan.The fossil assemblage,named as Xiazhuang fossil assemblage,yields predominantly soft-bodied fossils,including arthropods,brachiopods,priapulids,lobopods and some problematic taxa,with arthropods being the most dominant group.Preservation and composition of the fossil assemblage are very similar to the typical Chengjiang biota,which is preserved in the middle Yu’anshan Formation in the large area of eastern Yunnan.The associated trilobites demonstrate that the soft-bodied fossil assemblage belongs to the late Qiongzhusian in age(Stage 3,Cambrian),suggesting that the Hongjingshao Formation is probably a diachronous lithostratigraphic unit ranging from the upper Qiongzhusian to the lower Canglangpuan stages in eastern Yunnan.The fossil assemblage from the Xiazhuang area fills up the missing link between the typical older Chengjiang biota and the younger Malong and Guanshan biotas,making eastern Yunnan a unique area in the world to reveal the early evolutionary history of animals and palaeocommunity dynamics during the‘‘Cambrian explosion’’.     

Lower Cambrian small shelly faunas from Zhejiang (China)and their biostratigraphical implications

Despite a long history of research on the Early Cambrian in China most available data on small skeletal fossils concern fossil associations of the shallow carbonate platform. Information on skeletal fossils from marginal shelf environments of the Yangtze Platform is scanty, which may reflect the rarity of fossils in deeper sedimentary environments but is also due to limitation of carbonate distribution and outcrops, difficulties in fossil extraction, and a general research focus on the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary beds on the carbonate platform. Here we present a documentation of Meishucunian to Qiongzhusian small skeletal fossils from the lower Hetang Formation and the chert unit at its base from the Jiangshan region, Zhejiang Province, representing a relatively deep shelf environment compared to the inner shelf region. The earliest association (Meishucunian) from the chert unit underlying the Hetang Formation is mainly characterized by the occurrence of Protohertzina anabarica, P. unguliformis, Fengzuella zhejiangensis, and Kaiyangites novilis, which differs somewhat in composition from SSF-associations of typical inner shelf deposits. The enigmatic skeletal fossil Fengzuella zhejiangensis, which exhibits an unusual secretional growth mode previously unrecognized from the Early Cambrian, is described in detail. A younger (Qiongzhusian) fossil association contains numerous arthropod remains, such as disarticulated spines of arthropods (Jiangshanodus- and Kijacus-type), which have previously been considered as conodont-like fossils, and bradoriid valves.     

Arthropod trace fossils from the Zhujiaqing Formation (Meishucunian, Yunnan) and their palaeobiological implications

1　Biostratigraphicbackgroundandgeologi calsettingIneasternYunnan ,thesupra tointertidaldolomitesoftheXiaowaitoushanMember (Upper mostDengyingFormation =LatestSinian)areun conformablyoverlainbythesubsequent (earliestCambrian) phosphoritesoftheZhujiaqingFormation(MeishucunianStage) .TheoutcropsnearMeishucuninJinningCounty ,southwestofKunmingrepresentsakeysectionforthePC/CtransitionontheYangtzeplatform[1] .TheZhujiaqingFormationbelongstotheEarlytoMiddleMeishucunian (=Nemakit DaldynSt…     

A venomous arthropod in the Early Cambrian Sea

A number of recently evolved animals possess poison glands for feeding and/or defense.However,examples of such animals are rare in the fossil record.We report a fossil arthropod Isoxys curvirostratus from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang biota of China.This species is regarded as the oldest known venomous arthropod based on the presence of venomous glands in its head region.The adult animal is 2-5 cm long and the body is covered entirely with a carapace.The presence of large stalk eyes and a pair of stout grasping appendages with a terminal spine suggest it was raptorial.Interestingly,the two pear-shaped,three-dimensionally preserved objects that are present in the head region and at the base of the grasping appendages closely resemble the venom glands of some living arthropods in size,shape,and position.These features indicate that the presence of venomous predators could date back 520 million years.Furthermore,our observations suggest that the feeding strategies and organs adapted for this purpose had already reached a high level of diversity and anatomical sophistication in the Early Cambrian ecosystems.     

Discovery of sponge body fossils from the late Meishucunian (Cambrian) at Jinsha, Guizhou, south China

Here we report discovery of a sponge body fossil Triticispongia sp. from the base of lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation at Jinsha, Guizhou. Stratigraphically, the fossil horizon is located below Ni-Mo ore layer with the Niutitang Biota above, and is equivalent to the late Meishucunian. The species is global in shape with skeletons composed of stauractins and monaxons. Triticispongia sp. reported here may be the earliest sponge body fossils of Cambrian, which provides new information for understanding early evolution and radiation of sponge animals.     

Sponge fossil assemblage from the Early Cambrian Hetang Formation in southern Anhui

Abundant well-preserved large articulated sponge fossils and isolated spicules have been reported from the Early Cambrian Hetang Formation, southern Anhui Province. This unique epifaunal fossil assemblage dominated by articulated sponge fossils is called the Xidi Sponge Fauna. The sponge fauna lived in a quiet oxygenic environment below the storm wave base. Bloom of phytoplankton and rapid sedimentation rate resulted in the deposition of the black shales. Sufficient food supply, lack of other competitors, abundant ecological niches, and demand for oxygen during early Cambrian were in favor of the diversification and evolution of large sponges in the Early Cambrian.     

Preliminary notes on softbodied fossil concentrations from the Early Cambrian Chengjiang deposits

The Chengjiang fauna has played a pivotal role in our understanding of the origin and diversification of metazoans since its discovery in 1984. To date, this fauna has been documented as consisting of 121 genera with 140 species belonging to 24 phyla[1-27]. The geo- graphic distribution of the Chengjiang fauna has been expanded from Chengjiang County to eastern Yunnan Province including Haikou, Malong, Yiliang, Anning and elsewhere[25-33], with about 20 localities in to- tal[25,33]. Succes…     

Sponge spicules in phosphorites of the Early Cambrian Gezhongwu Formation, Zhijin, Guizhou

Phosphorites occurring at the bottom of the Cambrian system contain abundant small shelly fossils, which are the product of the first episode of life explosion in the Cambrian. It was previously reported that the small shelly fossils are dominated by hyolithids, olivooids, zhijinitids, conodontomorphs, yubelichitids, camenitids and algae, with minor amounts of sponge fossils. Large amounts of sponge spicules, diverse in form, have been found for the first time in the Gezhongwu Formation phosphorites at Shixing, Zhijin County, Guizhou Province, of which such spicules as diaxon-triactins, diaxon-tetractins, pentaxon-pentactins and hexon-hexactins account for 30%. These spicules constitute the sponge clastic phosphorites made up of sponge clastics. Meanwhile, it is also expected that the radiation and diversity of sponge animals started as early as in the earliest Early Cambrian. Habit and burying environment of sponge animal are discussed in the paper.     

Early Cambrian eodiscoid trilobites of the Yangtze Platform and their stratigraphic implications

Analysis of the taxonomy and stratigraphic distribution of the Early Cambrian eodiscoid trilobites of the Yangtze Platform indicates that species of Tsunyidiscus and Hupeidiscus can be used for biostratigraphic correlation. T. aclis occurs only in the lower Qiongzhusian, T. armatus occurs in the lower and middle Qiongzhusian, while T. niutitangensis and T. tingi occur mainly in the middle and upper Qiongzhusian, with only T. tingi extending upward into the lower Canglangpuian. H. orientalis first appears in the upper Qiongzhusian, reaching peak abundance in the lower Canglangpuian and becoming extinct above the Drepanuroides Zone. Biostratigraphic and lithostratigraphic correlations indicate that the limestone in the lower part of the Mingxinsi Formation, the Upper Member of Jiumenchong Formation, and the upper part of the Middle Member of the Huangbailing Formation, can be correlated with each other as Hupediscus, an index fossil of the lower Canglangpuian, is abundant in all these units. The lower part of the Niutitang and Jiumenchong formations in eastern Guizhou, which mainly represent Qiongzhusian strata, can be correlated with the Lower Member of the Huangbailing Formation. The basal part of the Niutitang Formation, which may be equivalent to the Upper Meishucunian Shiyantou Formation in eastern Yunnan, is very condensed. Well-preserved sponge faunas and non-mineralized fossils in the lower part of the Niutitang and Hetang formations are not older than Qiongzhusian in age.     

Modern freshwater microbialite analogues for ancient dendritic reef structures

Microbialites are organosedimentary structures that can be constructed by a variety of metabolically distinct taxa. Consequently, microbialite structures abound in the fossil record, although the exact nature of the biogeochemical processes that produced them is often unknown. One such class of ancient calcareous structures, Epiphyton and Girvanella, appear in great abundance during the Early Cambrian. Together with Archeocyathids, stromatolites and thrombolites, they formed major Cambrian reef belts. To a large extent, Middle to Late Cambrian reefs are similar to Precambrian reefs, with the exception that the latter, including terminal Proterozoic reefs, do not contain Epiphyton or Girvanella. Here we report the discovery in Pavilion Lake, British Columbia, Canada, of a distinctive assemblage of freshwater calcite microbialites, some of which display microstructures similar to the fabrics displayed by Epiphyton and Girvanella. The morphologies of the modern microbialites vary with depth, and dendritic microstructures of the deep water (> 30 m) mounds indicate that they may be modern analogues for the ancient calcareous structures. These microbialites thus provide an opportunity to study the biogeochemical interactions that produce fabrics similar to those of some enigmatic Early Cambrian reef structures.     

A restudy of Oryctocephalus indicus (Reed, 1910)

Restudy on morphology of Oryctocephalus indicus (Reed, 1910), based on specimens from Guizhou, China and Nevada USA, suggests that the subspecies regarded previously as Oryctocephalus indicus indicus (Reed, 1910), O. indicus latus Zhao et Yuan 2002, and O. indicus kobayashi Saito, 1934, are synonymous, and Oryctocephalus americanus Sundberg et McCollum, 2003 is a similar form of O. indicus. Oryctocephalus indicus is rediagnosed as having a glabella that is subconical in outline and tapering forward slightly; a thorax that comprises 12 segments, and a small pygidium that bears 2?3 axial rings with a terminal piece and a postaxial ridge. Oryctocephalus indicus is widely distributed in eastern Guizhou and ranges through a great interval of Kaili Formation. Its first appearance is almost identical with these events of trilobite extinction-recovery occurring at the end of the Early Cambrian, the alternation of acritach assemblages, the change of trace elements (REE) and stable isotopes (carbon) at the Wuliu-Zengjiaya section. As one of the key forms for defining the traditional Lower - Middle Cambrian boundary (the base of Cambrian Series 3 and Stage 5 in the new Cambrian chronstratigraphic standard), O. indicus has received detailed study and has more advantages than other species such as Ovatoryctocara granulata Tchernysheva, 1962 or Arthricocephalus chauveaui Bergeron, 1899.     

滇东地区早寒武世磷块岩的藻类化石

滇东早寒武世磷块岩薄片中发现大量藻类化石。本文所讨论的磷质藻类化石主要有:球状藻类、丝状藻类、疑源类、叠层石类、核形石类和花纹石类(凝块石类)等27个属种(或型),它们构成各种颗粒磷块岩、叠层石磷块岩、藻丘磷块岩,是磷块岩富矿的主要组分,P_2O_5可达30—37％。这些多门类的藻类化石,为生物成磷作用和成矿环境提供了主要依据,也为震旦—寒武系界线划分提供了新的资料。     

广州地区前华夏植物群研究

广州地区晚泥盆世至早石炭世植物群计 2 3属 4 1种,以真蕨纲和种子蕨纲为主,石松纲居次,另外还有少量楔叶纲、科达纲及种子化石.按地层分布当前植物群可分为沙水岗组植物组合、龙江组植物组合及测水组植物组合.分析该植物群的组成特征,其性质属前华夏植物群     

Modern optics in exceptionally preserved eyes of Early Cambrian arthropods from Australia

Despite the status of the eye as an "organ of extreme perfection", theory suggests that complex eyes can evolve very rapidly. The fossil record has, until now, been inadequate in providing insight into the early evolution of eyes during the initial radiation of many animal groups known as the Cambrian explosion. This is surprising because Cambrian Burgess-Shale-type deposits are replete with exquisitely preserved animals, especially arthropods, that possess eyes. However, with the exception of biomineralized trilobite eyes, virtually nothing is known about the details of their optical design. Here we report exceptionally preserved fossil eyes from the Early Cambrian (～ 515 million years ago) Emu Bay Shale of South Australia, revealing that some of the earliest arthropods possessed highly advanced compound eyes, each with over 3,000 large ommatidial lenses and a specialized 'bright zone'. These are the oldest non-biomineralized eyes known in such detail, with preservation quality exceeding that found in the Burgess Shale and Chengjiang deposits. Non-biomineralized eyes of similar complexity are otherwise unknown until about 85 million years later. The arrangement and size of the lenses indicate that these eyes belonged to an active predator that was capable of seeing in low light. The eyes are more complex than those known from contemporaneous trilobites and are as advanced as those of many living forms. They provide further evidence that the Cambrian explosion involved rapid innovation in fine-scale anatomy as well as gross morphology, and are consistent with the concept that the development of advanced vision helped to drive this great evolutionary event.     

滇西楚雄盆地上三叠统云南驿组二段碳酸盐微相及沉积相分析

上三叠统云南驿组二段发育了一套较为完整的海相碳酸盐岩,对研究此处沉积环境具有重要意义。采用微相分析的方法,对本套碳酸盐岩的生物组合、微相类型和沉积环境进行研究,将树苴水泥厂处的云南驿组二段沉积归纳为8种微相:砂屑砾屑灰岩、含生物碎屑砂砾屑灰岩、介壳灰岩、含完整化石的泥-微晶灰岩、含生物碎屑泥晶-微晶灰岩、含生物碎屑砂屑球粒灰岩、含有机质纹层状泥晶-微晶灰岩、无纹层无化石泥晶-微晶灰岩。碳酸盐岩微相类型的垂向序列指示了此处云南驿组二段形成于海相斜坡环境及盆地边缘相沉积环境。     

The first hominin of Europe

The earliest hominin occupation of Europe is one of the most debated topics in palaeoanthropology. However, the purportedly oldest of the Early Pleistocene sites in Eurasia lack precise age control and contain stone tools rather than human fossil remains. Here we report the discovery of a human mandible associated with an assemblage of Mode 1 lithic tools and faunal remains bearing traces of hominin processing, in stratigraphic level TE9 at the site of the Sima del Elefante, Atapuerca, Spain. Level TE9 has been dated to the Early Pleistocene (approximately 1.2-1.1 Myr), based on a combination of palaeomagnetism, cosmogenic nuclides and biostratigraphy. The Sima del Elefante site thus emerges as the oldest, most accurately dated record of human occupation in Europe, to our knowledge. The study of the human mandible suggests that the first settlement of Western Europe could be related to an early demographic expansion out of Africa. The new evidence, with previous findings in other Atapuerca sites (level TD6 from Gran Dolina), also suggests that a speciation event occurred in this extreme area of the Eurasian continent during the Early Pleistocene, initiating the hominin lineage represented by the TE9 and TD6 hominins.     

Fossil evidence of water lilies (Nymphaeales) in the Early Cretaceous

Phylogenetic analyses have identified the water lilies (Nymphaeales: Cabombaceae and Nymphaeaceae), together with four other small groups of flowering plants (the 'ANITA clades': Amborellaceae, Illiciales, Trimeniaceae, Austrobaileyaceae), as the first diverging lineages from the main branch of the angiosperm phylogenetic tree, but evidence of these groups in the earliest phases of the angiosperm fossil record has remained elusive. Here we report the earliest unequivocal evidence, based on fossil floral structures and associated pollen, of fossil plants related to members of the ANITA clades. This extends the history of the water lilies (Nymphaeales) back to the Early Cretaceous (125-115 million years) and into the oldest fossil assemblages that contain unequivocal angiosperm stamens and carpels. This discovery adds to the growing congruence between results from molecular-based analyses of relationships among angiosperms and the palaeobotanical record. It is also consistent with previous observations that the flowers of early angiosperms were generally very small compared with those of their living relatives.     

Stratigraphic implications of Sinian-Early Cambrian volcanic ash beds on the Yangtze Platform

Volcanic ash beds from shallow- to deep-water facies strata of the Sinian-Early Cambrian (Meishucunian) on the Yangtze Platform consist of bentonites and tuffites which are readily recognized in the field by their physical features and confirmed by geochemical analyses.Geochemistry suggests that the volcanic ash beds in Meishucunian time are rhyolite and rhyodacite while those in the Qiongzhusian and Sinian are andesite and trachyandesite.The ash beds in the time-equivalent strata, even in different areas display rather similar geochemical features, whereas the ash beds in different strata even in the same areas show large chemical difference.The results suggest that these ash beds can be used for intra- and extra-basinal correlations of the Sinian-Early Cambrian interval on the Yangtze Platform.Additionally, these ash beds suggest high potentials for further U-Pb dating strategies.     

早寒武世疑源类的古生物地理学意义

根据早寒武世疑源类在全球的古地理分布，并参考古地磁和动物化石等方面的资料，进行了早寒武世疑源类的古地理分区。结果表明：早寒武世在全球范围内可分为2个疑源类古地理大区，即波罗的海－北美－亚、澳大区和地中海大区；我国西南地区早寒武区筇竹寺期，可根据疑源类分为两个生态区，即扬子区和江南区。这一研究结果为今后各区生态结构分析，提供了重要基础资料。