The Ediacaran Dickinsonia is well-known for being the only fossil to be assigned to many phyla, ranging from lichens, Cnidaria, Piatyheiminthes, Annelida, and a phylum of its own to a nonmetazoan kingdom. A new specim...The Ediacaran Dickinsonia is well-known for being the only fossil to be assigned to many phyla, ranging from lichens, Cnidaria, Piatyheiminthes, Annelida, and a phylum of its own to a nonmetazoan kingdom. A new specimen from the Ediacaran fine-grained sandstone on the Winter Coast of the White Sea in northern Russia, which has an age of -555 million years ago, preserved convincing internal anatomies of definite animals, comparable with meridionai canals of extant ctenophores （comb jellies）. Additionally, we reconsidered Dickinsonia as a biradiaily symmetrical animal rather than a bilateral one as previously thought. The animal nature of Dickinsonia is, thus, well established and its affinities are most probably allied to ctenophores. This research is not only removing Dickinsonia from Vendobionta, but also bringing the fossil record of ctenophores forward to 20 million years before the Cambrian ＂explosion＂.展开更多
The Shibantan Member（Dengying Formation, South China） represents one of only two carbonate settings with Ediacara-type organisms and offers a rare opportunity to study the biogeochemistry of these ecosystems. To eva...The Shibantan Member（Dengying Formation, South China） represents one of only two carbonate settings with Ediacara-type organisms and offers a rare opportunity to study the biogeochemistry of these ecosystems. To evaluate possibilities and limitations for future biomarker studies on fossil-bearing outcrop samples of the Shibantan Member, we analysed the spatial distribution of hydrocarbons in extractable organic matter（i.e. bitumen） on a millimetre scale. Our study demonstrates that the sample and most likely also other rocks from the same setting are contaminated with petroleum-derived compounds that bear the potential for erroneous interpretations in palaeo-reconstructions. The contamination was revealed by distribution patterns and amounts of extractable n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoids. The contamination is linked to the external weathering surfaces but also to cracks within the rock, and the extent most likely depends on concentration gradients between these contamination sources. Here we show that contamination can successfully be distinguished from syngenetic signals obtained from non-extractable organic matter（i.e. kerogen） using catalytic hydropyrolysis（Hy Py）. However, we observed that decalcification is necessary to achieve sufficient yields of kerogen-bound hydrocarbons and to avoid artificial alteration of the biomarker signals due to matrix effects.展开更多
基金Zhang Xingliang gratefully acknowledges the financial support by the National Natural Science Foundation of China(Grant NSFC 40402005)the Program for New Century Excellent Talents(NCET)+1 种基金the Program for Changjiang Scholars and Innovative Research Team in Universities(PCSIRT)Joachim Reitner thanks the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft for finacial support(Leibniz award,Re 665/12-1).
文摘The Ediacaran Dickinsonia is well-known for being the only fossil to be assigned to many phyla, ranging from lichens, Cnidaria, Piatyheiminthes, Annelida, and a phylum of its own to a nonmetazoan kingdom. A new specimen from the Ediacaran fine-grained sandstone on the Winter Coast of the White Sea in northern Russia, which has an age of -555 million years ago, preserved convincing internal anatomies of definite animals, comparable with meridionai canals of extant ctenophores （comb jellies）. Additionally, we reconsidered Dickinsonia as a biradiaily symmetrical animal rather than a bilateral one as previously thought. The animal nature of Dickinsonia is, thus, well established and its affinities are most probably allied to ctenophores. This research is not only removing Dickinsonia from Vendobionta, but also bringing the fossil record of ctenophores forward to 20 million years before the Cambrian ＂explosion＂.
基金supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (grant BL971/1-3)the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB835006)+2 种基金the National Natural Science Foundation of Chinathe Courant Research Centre of the University Gttingenthe German Academic Exchange Service
文摘The Shibantan Member（Dengying Formation, South China） represents one of only two carbonate settings with Ediacara-type organisms and offers a rare opportunity to study the biogeochemistry of these ecosystems. To evaluate possibilities and limitations for future biomarker studies on fossil-bearing outcrop samples of the Shibantan Member, we analysed the spatial distribution of hydrocarbons in extractable organic matter（i.e. bitumen） on a millimetre scale. Our study demonstrates that the sample and most likely also other rocks from the same setting are contaminated with petroleum-derived compounds that bear the potential for erroneous interpretations in palaeo-reconstructions. The contamination was revealed by distribution patterns and amounts of extractable n-alkanes and acyclic isoprenoids. The contamination is linked to the external weathering surfaces but also to cracks within the rock, and the extent most likely depends on concentration gradients between these contamination sources. Here we show that contamination can successfully be distinguished from syngenetic signals obtained from non-extractable organic matter（i.e. kerogen） using catalytic hydropyrolysis（Hy Py）. However, we observed that decalcification is necessary to achieve sufficient yields of kerogen-bound hydrocarbons and to avoid artificial alteration of the biomarker signals due to matrix effects.
