The term ＇Ediacara Biota＇ （or many variants thereof） is commonly used to refer to certain megascopic fossils of Precambrian and early Palaeozoic age - but what does the term actually mean？ What differ- entiates a...The term ＇Ediacara Biota＇ （or many variants thereof） is commonly used to refer to certain megascopic fossils of Precambrian and early Palaeozoic age - but what does the term actually mean？ What differ- entiates a non-Ediacaran ＇Ediacaran＇ and an Ediacaran ＇Ediacaran＇ from an Ediacaran non-＇Ediacaran＇？ Historically, the term has been used in either a geographic, stratigraphic, taphonomic, or biologic sense. More recent research and new discoveries, however, mean that the term cannot actually be defined on any of these bases, or any combination thereof. Indeed, the term is now used and understood in a manner which is internally inconsistent, and unintentionally implies that these fossils are somehow distinct from other fossil assemblages, which is simply not the case. Continued use of the term is a historical relic, which has led in part to incorrect assumptions that the ＇Ediacara Biota＇ can be treated as a single coherent group, has obscured our understanding of the biological change over the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, and has confused research on the early evolution of the Metazoa. In the future, the term ＇Ediacaran＇ should be restricted to purely stratigraphic usage, regardless of affinity, geography, or taphonomy; sufficient terminology also exists where reference to specimens on a geographic, tapho- nomic, or biologic basis is required. It is therefore time to abandon the term ＇Ediacara Biota＇ and to instead treat ecmallv all of the fossils of the Ediacaran System.展开更多
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
华南伊迪卡拉系陡山沱组保存的磷酸盐化球状化石中有一部分被认为是最早的后生动物胚胎化石,但由于缺乏成年或幼年过渡期的化石证据,对这些最早微化石的动物属性还一直存在争议。最近在贵州江口县翁会地区伊迪卡拉(震旦)系陡山沱组的页...华南伊迪卡拉系陡山沱组保存的磷酸盐化球状化石中有一部分被认为是最早的后生动物胚胎化石,但由于缺乏成年或幼年过渡期的化石证据,对这些最早微化石的动物属性还一直存在争议。最近在贵州江口县翁会地区伊迪卡拉(震旦)系陡山沱组的页岩中发现一个与"庙河生物群"相似的宏体碳质压膜化石群,其中包含一个盘状的宏体化石新类型——八臂仙母虫(Eoandromeda octobrachiata,Tang et al.2008),具有八条螺旋状辐射的旋臂,封闭在一个包膜内。这种八辐射结构在八射珊瑚和栉水母动物中都可见到,但同时具有的螺旋特性与现生的所有类群都无法对比。在贵州陡山沱组的"瓮安生物群"中发现的球状胚胎化石同样具有螺旋性状,尽管还没有直接的个体发育证据,但我们认为新属种可能代表这些螺旋状胚胎化石的成年实体化石。最新报道的南澳大利亚Rawnsley石英岩层中也发现相似的印痕化石,被归为同一类别,表明华南的"庙河生物群"与澳大利亚的"伊迪卡拉生物群"时代相当。翁会化石库中少量出露的三辐射化石与俄罗斯"白海生物群"的典型分子—Albumares和Anfesta可以对比。新发现的倾斜保存的八臂仙母虫化石和碳质条带呈子午线状排列的核桃状化石,可能是该类化石归属栉水母类的有力证据,这一发现推测可将栉水母类的最早化石记录从"澄江生物群"的早寒武世推前大约3千万年。展开更多
文摘The term ＇Ediacara Biota＇ （or many variants thereof） is commonly used to refer to certain megascopic fossils of Precambrian and early Palaeozoic age - but what does the term actually mean？ What differ- entiates a non-Ediacaran ＇Ediacaran＇ and an Ediacaran ＇Ediacaran＇ from an Ediacaran non-＇Ediacaran＇？ Historically, the term has been used in either a geographic, stratigraphic, taphonomic, or biologic sense. More recent research and new discoveries, however, mean that the term cannot actually be defined on any of these bases, or any combination thereof. Indeed, the term is now used and understood in a manner which is internally inconsistent, and unintentionally implies that these fossils are somehow distinct from other fossil assemblages, which is simply not the case. Continued use of the term is a historical relic, which has led in part to incorrect assumptions that the ＇Ediacara Biota＇ can be treated as a single coherent group, has obscured our understanding of the biological change over the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary, and has confused research on the early evolution of the Metazoa. In the future, the term ＇Ediacaran＇ should be restricted to purely stratigraphic usage, regardless of affinity, geography, or taphonomy; sufficient terminology also exists where reference to specimens on a geographic, tapho- nomic, or biologic basis is required. It is therefore time to abandon the term ＇Ediacara Biota＇ and to instead treat ecmallv all of the fossils of the Ediacaran System.
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＂.
文摘华南伊迪卡拉系陡山沱组保存的磷酸盐化球状化石中有一部分被认为是最早的后生动物胚胎化石,但由于缺乏成年或幼年过渡期的化石证据,对这些最早微化石的动物属性还一直存在争议。最近在贵州江口县翁会地区伊迪卡拉(震旦)系陡山沱组的页岩中发现一个与"庙河生物群"相似的宏体碳质压膜化石群,其中包含一个盘状的宏体化石新类型——八臂仙母虫(Eoandromeda octobrachiata,Tang et al.2008),具有八条螺旋状辐射的旋臂,封闭在一个包膜内。这种八辐射结构在八射珊瑚和栉水母动物中都可见到,但同时具有的螺旋特性与现生的所有类群都无法对比。在贵州陡山沱组的"瓮安生物群"中发现的球状胚胎化石同样具有螺旋性状,尽管还没有直接的个体发育证据,但我们认为新属种可能代表这些螺旋状胚胎化石的成年实体化石。最新报道的南澳大利亚Rawnsley石英岩层中也发现相似的印痕化石,被归为同一类别,表明华南的"庙河生物群"与澳大利亚的"伊迪卡拉生物群"时代相当。翁会化石库中少量出露的三辐射化石与俄罗斯"白海生物群"的典型分子—Albumares和Anfesta可以对比。新发现的倾斜保存的八臂仙母虫化石和碳质条带呈子午线状排列的核桃状化石,可能是该类化石归属栉水母类的有力证据,这一发现推测可将栉水母类的最早化石记录从"澄江生物群"的早寒武世推前大约3千万年。
