Recently Ratified and Proposed Cambrian Global Standard Stratotype-section and Points

This paper briefly summarizes an officially ratified Global Standard Stratotype-section and Point （GSSP） and a proposed GSSP for global stages of the Cambrian System. The Luoyixi section near Luoyixi town, Guzhang, northwestern Hunan is ratified as the boundary stratotype for the base of the global Guzhangian Stage, which is the upmost stage of an unnamed series termed provisionally as Cambrian Series 3. The GSSP position lies 121.3 m above the base of the Huaqiao Formation in the section, coinciding with the first appearance of the cosmopolitan agnostoid trilobite Lejopyge leavigata.The Duibian B section at Duibian village, Jiangshan, western Zhejiang, is proposed as the boundary stratotype for the base of the proposed global Jiangshanian Stage that is the second stage of the Furongian Series. The proposed GSSP position lies 108.12 m above the base of the Huayansi Formation in the section, coinciding with the first appearance of the cosmopolitan agnostoid trilobite Agnostotes orientalius. This horizon is also with the first appearance of the cosmopolitan polymerid trilobite lrvingella angustilimbata.

Furongian(upper Cambrian) Guole Konservat-Lagersttte from South China

The Guole biota contains common shelly fossils and some exceptionally well-preserved softbodied fossils. Stratigraphically, it is located in the mudstones and siltstones of the Sandu Formation near Guole Town, Jingxi County, Guangxi, South China. It is the first Furongian （late Cambrian） Burgess Shale-type biota found in the world, thereby filling the gap between middle Cambrian and Lower Ordovician Burgess Shale-type Lagerstaitten. Preliminary studies suggest that the Guole biota includes approximately seven metazoan groups as well as algae. These will provide important new evolutionary and ecological information.

Cambrian Research in the New Century rathe Fourth International Symposium on the Cambrian System

The International Subcomission on Cambrian Stratigraphy （ISCS） of the International Commission on Stratigraphy （ICS） held its Fourth International Symposium on the Cambrian System in Nanjing, the capital city of Jiangsu Province, China, on 18-24 August, 2005. The Symposium was held in conjunction with the Tenth Field Conference of the Cambrian Stage Subdivision Working Group of the ISCS. Technical sessions were held in the conference center of Southeast University, and hosted by the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, the Geological Institute, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, and Guizhou University. Associated with the meeting were five field excursions to classical Cambrian localities in North China and South China.

The 15th International Symposium on Ostracoda

Ostracodologists from 36 countries attended the 15th International Symposium on Ostracoda in Berlin last September. Four days filled with scientific sessions, workshops and a mid-symposium fieldtrip attracted 160 participants. As expected, the scientists from Germany were the but surprisingly they were closely followed by a large delegation from Japan, which had hosted the previous 14th meeting in Shizuoka. Under the slogan ＂Ostracodology--linking bio- and geosciences＂, the 15th International Symposium on Ostracoda, mainly organized by Michael and Ulla Schudack, Steffen Mischke, Benjamin Sames and Rolf Kohring from the Institute of Geological Sciences of the Freie Universitaet Berlin, assembled the international community of biologists and palaeontologists working on ostracods or using their shells. This was the second time that the meeting was held in Germany, the first being the 5th meeting in 1974 in Hamburg more than 30 years ago. In comparison with the meeting in Shizuoka, the number of participants in Berlin increased by more than 50%, probably mainly due to the good accessibility of the venue for participants from Europe.

The newly-developed Cambrian biostratigraphic succession and chronostratigraphic scheme for South China

Biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy are common means of subdividing rock strata. The biostratigraphic succession and chronostratigraphic scheme are regarded as the basis for the subdivision and correlation of regional and global stratigraphic units. This paper reviews research on the biostratigraphy and chronostratigraphy carried out in the Jiangnan Slope Belt, South China since 1978, and, in particular, the biostratigraphic succession and chronostratigraphic scheme developed in the last decade. The updated biostratigraphic succession of South China includes 36 biozones, the base of each of which is defined by the first appearance of a single taxon (index fossil), and a poorly fossiliferous interzone. The updated chronostratigraphic scheme of South China comprises 4 series and 10 stages, embracing 3 global chronostratigraphic units, the Guzhangian Stage, Furongian Series, and Paibian Stage, and 2 GSSPs, all of which are erected in northwestern Hunan and 2 International Tie Points recognized in sections also in northwestern Hunan and each was accepted by the International Subcommission on Cambrian Stratigraphy for defining the base of the global stage. The biostratigraphic and chronostratigraphic systems are recognized as Chinese standards both domestically and worldwide. Future research is suggested for improving the two sets of stratigraphic standards.