New Small Shelly Fossils(Acanthocassis and Xinlispina Gen.Nov.) from the Fortunian Stage(Early Cambrian) in Southern China

We describe new material of three-dimensionally phosphatized small shelly fossils Acanthocassis and Xinlispina gen.nov.from the Fortunian Stage（early Cambrian） of southern Shaanxi and northern Sichuan Provinces.The new materials allow description of the delicate morphology of these skeletons, and also their skeletogenesis.Acanthocassis and Xinlispina have comparable morphological features： a main branch and radially arranged sub-branches.They differ from each other in many details, e.g., the presence of a single central branch only in Xinlispina, and the presence of small nodes only in Acanthocassis.Acanthocassis cannot be a naked anthopolyp or hydropolyp because of the more-or-less stiffened cuticle and the absence of a mouth.Acanthocassisand Xinlispina differ from coeval sponge spicules and chancelloriid sclerites and rosettes of crossed pedicellariae of echinoderms, and might be cuticular ornaments of animals of unclear affinities.They occur in the first small shelly fossil assemblage zone, and could be adopted as auxiliary fossils for biostratigraphic correlation in southern China.

Genesis of Silica-phosphatic Nodules with Small Shelly Fossils Preserved in the Lowermost Cambrian of South China

Silica-phosphatic nodules are abundant in black shales of the Yanjiahe Formation in the Three Gorges Area of South China,which is correlated to the Fortunian Stage,Terreneuvian Series,Cambrian System.The nodules are rich in small shelly fossils and hence attract the attention of numerous paleontologists and sedimentary geologists.However,the genesis of the nodules and the preservation of the small shelly fossils are poorly understood.Here we analyze morphological,structural,mineralogical and chemical features of the nodules in multiscale using a combination of micro-X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy,X-ray diffraction,scanning electron microscopy and confocal laser Raman spectroscopy.Results reveal that nodules are concentric in chemical and mineralogical compositions,comprising a silica-phosphatic core encrusted sequentially by a phosphatic zone,a siliceous zone and a very thin pyrite outer rim.The black shales hosting the nodules demonstrate a laminated texture of alternating clayey and silty laminae,which were respectively deposited in sulfidic/less sulfidic,high/low production,intense/weak chemical weathering conditions.The phosphogenesis of the nodules resulted in the phosphatization of small shelly fossils,which prevented the fossils from being dissolved during diagenesis,whereas the silica encrustation sealed the fossils within the nodules and thus protected the fossils from alteration by deep burial and surface weathering.

DISCOVERY OF MEISHUCUNIAN SMALL SHELLY FOSSILS AND THE PRECAMBRIAN-CAMBRIAN BOUNDARY IN WESTERN PART OF ZHEJIANG PROVINCE

In the late 1970s, small shelly fossils of the Precambrian-Cambrian transitional age in the western part of Yangtze Platform were widely studied. This note is the first report of Meishucunian small shelly fossils found in its eastern part (Fig. 1)

REE Enrichment in Early Cambrian Gezhongwu Formation Phosphorous Rock Series in Sanjia, Zhijin County, Guizhou Province, China

Phosphate concretions from the Gezhongwu Formation at Sanjia, Zhijin County, China, were studied systematically in this work. In terms of the rules of variation of REE, trace elements, major elements and oxides, in combination with the concentration characteristics of small shelly fossils, it is considered that small shelly fossils occurring at the bottom of the Cambrian System contribute a lot to the phosphate concretions and that there are two stages of REE and phosphorus minerogenesis. The phosphate concretions have a good correlation with the contents of REE and phosphorus rather than the abundance of small shelly fossils.

Stratigraphic Implications of Skeletal Microfossils from the Cambrian of Korea:A Preliminary Report

Diverse small shelly fossils and other associated fossils were recently recovered from the Cambrian Hanaeri section, southwestern Mungyeong, Korea. The fauna includes conoidal problematica, poriferans （sponge spicules）, coeloscleritophorans （chancelioriids）, brachiopods, monoplacophorans, trilobite （？） fragments, echinoderms, and conodonts. A preliminary assessment of faunal associations, stratigraphic implications, and the correlation of these skeletal fossils is given, based on occurrences of Actinotheca cf. mira （He）, Microcornus sp., Torellela laevigata （Linnarsson）, Torellela sp., Archiasterella quadratina Lee, Chancelloria sp., LinguleUa sp., Prototreta sp., Phakelodus tenuis （Miiller）, Phakelodus elongates （An）, Hertzina sp., and Furnishina sp.

THE GLOBAL BIOSTRATIGRAPHICAL CORRELATION OF THE MEISHUCUNIAN STAGE AND THE PRECAMBRIAN-CAMBRIAN BOUNDARY

The Meishucunian Stage is rich in fossils and is characterized by their distinct evolutionsequence, so based on the established zonation of small shelly fossils, the sequence of tracefossils and the stratotype point (China "B", the dividing point between Units 6 and 7 or be-tween fossil zones Ⅰ and Ⅱ), the Meishucun section is more widely applicable to both region-al and intercontinental correlations. In this respect, the stage is well suited for both thecarbonate and the clastic-rock sedimentary regions. The Meishucunian small shelly fossil assem-blages are correlated with those found in Siberia of U.S.S.R., Mongolia, Central England,South Australia and Northwestern Canada. The Meishucunian trace fossil sequence can alsobe broadly correlated with that in the Russian Platform of U.S.S.R., Northwest Europe,Great Britain, Spain, Australia, the Western United States and Southeastern Canada.

“融入式”教育 让孩子轻松学英语——访迪士尼英语中心运营副总裁泰雪莉(Shelli Taylor)

笔者:能先简单介绍一下迪士尼英语吗?何时进入中国,目前在中国有几家中心,有多少小学员?泰雪莉(以下简称"泰"):迪士尼英语是华特迪士尼公司通过迪士尼全球出版部门在中国开展的一项新业务,为儿童英语学习设定了全新标准。迪士尼英语由培训中心,丰富的培训材料以及由权威的国内外专家团队研发的课程组成,旨在为2至12岁的儿童提供全新的英语学习体验。2008年9月,迪土尼英语在上海开设了首家培训中心。2010年5月,两家迪士尼英语培训中心在北京盛大开幕。