Zhao Yuanlong

Cambrian Burgess Shale–type deposits share a common mode of fossilization

Although Cambrian Burgess Shale–type (BST) biotas are fundamental to understanding the radiation of metazoans, the nature of their extraordinary preservation remains controversial. There remains disagreement about the importance of the role of early mineral replication of soft tissues versus the conservation of primary organic remains. Most prior work focused on soft-bodied fossils from the two most important BST biotas, those of the Burgess Shale (Canada) and Maotianshan Shale (Chengjiang, China). Fossils from these two deposits do not provide ideal candidates for specimen-level taphonomic study because they have been altered: the Burgess Shale by greenschist facies metamorphism and the Maotianshan Shale by intensive subsurface weathering. Elemental mapping of soft-bodied fossils from 11 other BST deposits worldwide demonstrates that BST preservation represents a single major taphonomic pathway that may share a common cause wherever it occurs. The conservation of organic tissues, and not early authigenic mineralization, is the primary mechanism responsible for the preservation of BST assemblages. Early authigenic mineral replacement preserves certain anatomical features of some specimens, but the preservation of non-biomineralized BST fossils requires suppression of the processes that normally lead to the degradation of organic remains in marine environments.

A restudy of Oryctocephalus indicus (Reed, 1910)

Abstract Restudy on morphology of Oryctocephalus indicus (Reed, 1910), based on suecimens from Guizhou, China and Nevada USA, suggests that the subspecies regarded previously as Oryctocephalus indicus indicus (Reed, 1910), O. indicus latus Zhoa et Yuan 2002, and O. indicus kobayashi Saito, 1934, are synonymous, and Oryctocephalus americanus Sundberg et Mc Collum, 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 Early Cambrian, the alternation of acritach assemblages, the change of trace elements (RFE) and stable isotopes (carbon) at the Wu...

Speciation of the genus Arthricocephalus Bergeron, 1899 (Trilobita) from the late Early Cambrian and its stratigraphic significance

Abstract The genus Arthricocephalus Bergeron, 1899 is revised , and Halipanktos Balker & Peel, 1997 is suggested here as a senior synonym. The subgenus Arthricocephalus (Arthricocephalites) Chien & Lin in Lu et al., as a separate genus. Of the 20 previously assigned species of Arthricocephalus (Arthricocephalus) Bergeron, 1899, Arthricocephalus (Arthricocephalites) Chien & Lin in Lu et al , 1974, Arthricocephalus (Euarthricocephalus) Ju, 1983 are lumped into eight species. The speciation trend of Arthricocephalus and Arthricocephalites is demonstrated based on their stratigraphic occurrences. It not only enhances the resolution of the biostatigraphic zonation in the uppermost Lower Cambrian, but also represents a potential candidate to define the Duyunian stage. The base of the stage is suggested at the first appearance datum (FAD) of Arthricocephalus chauveaui Bergeron, 1899 within the evolutionary lineage from Ar. jiangkouensis Yin in Yin & Li, 1978 to Ar. chauveaui in the global scale. Supported by Nat...

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.

Phragmodictya jinshaensis sp. nov., a hexactinellid dictyosponge from the Cambrian of Jinsha, south China

A new fossil species from Cambrian strata of Jinsha, south China, is interpreted as the earliest known hexactinellid dictyosponge. Phragmodictya jinshaensis sp. nov. occurs within the Niutitang Biota, the oldest known Burgess Shale-type biota. The new species is characterized by a convex, disc-shaped body consisting of reticular skeletal network surrounded by frill-bearing radial ridges. The discovery of this sponge is unexpected and provides additional evidence bearing on the nature of Precambrian sponges and the early evolution of hexactinellid dictyosponges. It also invites re-evaluation of the taxonomy of both Ediacaran and Phanerozoic sponges.