Cryogenian and Ediacaran integrative stratigraphy,biotas,and paleogeographical evolution of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas

The complex evolutionary history of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas,including the continental blocks(Indian,Lhasa,South Qiangtang,Tarim,Olongbuluk,Central Qilian,Alxa,North China,Yangtze,Central Iran and Oman)and the orogenic belts between them,has long been the frontier in Earth science research.The Cryogenian and Ediacaran strata are extensively distributed in these blocks.Specifically,relatively complete Cryogenian and Ediacaran successions have been discovered in Oman,Indian,Yangtze,and Tarim blocks,while only the Ediacaran successions have been reported in Iran,the South Qiangtang,Central Qilian,Alxa,and North China blocks.Based on previous studies together with the integration of new materials and advancement obtained through the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research,this review aims to synthesize a correlative stratigraphic framework of the representative Cryogenian and Ediacaran sequences from the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas.Furthermore,the Cryogenian and Ediacaran biotas and major geological events in these areas are comprehensively discussed in aspects of current research status.The results indicate that,in general,Ediacaran fossils of each area exhibit distinct features in preservation and assemblage composition,but the typical late Ediacaran fossils Cloudina and Shaanxilithes have been reported from most of these areas.In addition to the two global Cryogenian glaciations,late Ediacaran glaciogenic deposits are extensively recorded in the areas within and around the northern QinghaiTibetan Plateau(including the North China,Alxa,Central Qilian,Olongbuluk,and Tarim blocks,and the North Qilian Accretionary Belt),as well as central and southern Iran.However,further research is required to determine the age,distribution,and origin of these late Ediacaran glaciogenic deposits.Meanwhile,the middle Ediacaran DOUNCE/Shuram Excursion is widely documented in the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas.The available data show that,after the break-up of the Rodinia supercontinent,most of the continental blocks in the areas were located along the northern margin of East Gondwana and a few(such as North China)were located between the Gondwana and Laurentia.In general,the paleogeographic evolution of most of these blocks during the Cryogenian and Ediacaran remains disputatious,necessitating further research to resolve the controversies surrounding their paleogeographic reconstruction models during this critical time interval.

Cambrian integrative stratigraphy,biotas,and paleogeographical evolution of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas

The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas have a long and complex tectonic evolutionary history.Cratons and blocks,such as northern India,Lhasa,Qiangtang,Qaidam and Central Qilian,and their in-between orogenic belts constitute the main part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau.During the Cambrian Period,most of these cratons and blocks were on the northwestern periphery of Gondwana,and were associated with the surrounding blocks,e.g.Arabian,Central Iran,Afghanistan,Tarim,Alxa,North China,South China and Sibumasu through the Proto-Tethys Ocean.The Cambrian stratigraphic sequences on these stable blocks are composed of mixed siliciclastic and carbonate rocks deposited in the shallow-water marine environments,and contain the trilobite assemblages of shelf facies.The Cambrian stratigraphic sequences in the Qilian tectonic belts,however,are characterized by the intermediate-basic igneous rocks and silicates formed in the Proto-Tethys Ocean,and contain the trilobite assemblages of deep-water slope facies.Combining with previous data,field observations and newly discovered fossils through funding by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research,the general characteristics of the Cambrian strata in different tectonic units of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas have been summarized in this paper.Furthermore,efforts have been made to subdivide and correlate the Cambrian strata across these areas by utilizing available biostratigraphic and geochronological data.As a result,a comprehensive litho-and biostratigraphy chart has been compiled.Finally,from the biogeographic perspective,this paper also provides a brief overview of the Cambrian paleogeographical reconstruction of the major tectonic blocks,and discusses the problems associated with the evolution of the ProtoTethys tectonic belt.

Cambrian integrative stratigraphy and timescale of China

The Cambrian Period is the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon and witnessed the explosive appearance of the metazoans, representing the beginning of the modern earth-life system characterized by animals in contrary to the Precambrian earth-life system dominated by microbial life. However, understanding Cambrian earth-life system evolution is hampered by regional and global stratigraphic correlations due to an incomplete chronostratigraphy and consequent absence of a highresolution timescale. Here we briefly review the historical narrative of the present international chronostratigraphic framework of the Cambrian System and summarize recent advances and problems of the undefined Cambrian stage GSSPs, in particular we challenge the global correlation of the GSSP for the Cambrian base, in addition to Cambrian chemostratigraphy and geochronology. Based on the recent advances of the international Cambrian chronostratigraphy, revisions to the Cambrian chronostratigraphy of China, which are largely based on the stratigraphic record of South China, are suggested, and the Xiaotanian Stage is newly proposed for the Cambrian Stage 2 of China. We further summarize the integrative stratigraphy of South China, North China and Tarim platforms respectively with an emphasis on the facies variations of the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary successions and problems for identification of the Cambrian base in the different facies and areas of China. Moreover, we discuss stratigraphic complications that are introduced by poorly fossiliferous dolomite successions in the upper Cambrian System which are widespread in South China, North China and Tarim platforms.

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’’.

Biodiversity and taphonomy of the early Cambrian Guanshan biota,eastern Yunnan

趋势生物多样性和早寒武纪的 Guanshan 生物区系的 taphonomy。