New Localities and Palaeoscolecid Worms from the Cambrian(Stage 4,Series 2)Guanshan Biota in Kunming,Yunnan,South China

The Guanshan Biota from the Cambrian Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation is a typical Burgess-shale type Lagerst？tte that had witnessed the Cambrian explosion. Here we report two new localities of the Guanshan Biota, which is located at Baimei village, south of Kunming and Xinglong village, Wuding County, Yunnan Province respectively. Both localities produce soft-body fossils and several new taxa, e.g. a new species of palaeoscolecidans （Palaeoscolex xinglongensis sp. nov.） reported herein. The comparative study of the new species with similar form not only indicates that there is a diversification of palaeoscolecid species in Guanshan Biota, but also strengthens the ties between the older Chengjiang Biota and the younger Kaili Biota （and also the coeval Burgess Shale community）. Three paleoecological features, including high diversity, little disparity and richness of palaeoscolecid worms, are summarized as a case study to represent the differences between Guanshan and Chengjiang Biota.

First report on Guanshan Biota(Cambrian Stage 4) at the stratotype area of Wulongqing Formation in Malong County, Eastern Yunnan, China

Exceptionally preserved fossils,such as those from Cambrian Burgess Shale-type fossil-Lagerstatten are critical because of their unique contributions to knowledge of the phylogenetic radiation and palaeoecological expansion of metazoans during the Cambrian explosion.Critically,these deposits provide information that is usually unobtainable from shelly and skeletonized fossils alone.The Guanshan Biota(Cambrian Series 2,Stage 4)in the Yunnan Province of South China,has produced abundant and diverse,exquisitely preserved fossils that often retain soft tissues and organs.To date,most fossils from the Guanshan Biota have been collected from localities such as Gaoloufang and Gangtoucun,which have become inaccessible due to new urban expansions and constructions of residential buildings.Here we present the first report of soft bodied fossils from a new section at Kanfuqing,close to the Wulongqing village in Malong County,approximately 3 km east of the Wulongqing Formation stratotype section.Fossils retain soft morphology,and include brachiopods with delicate marginal setae,priapulids with well-preserved sclerites and vetulicolians with entire sections of body.In addition,this fauna includes rare occurrences of trilobites preserved with soft tissues replicated as pyrite pseudomorphs after weathering.This discovery represents an important palaeogeographical extension of soft-bodied fossils of the Guanshan fauna to the east of the Xiaojiang Fault(related to Tsinning tectonic movements ca.700 Ma).The fauna from the new Kanfuqing section is similar to that reported from the Wulongqing Formation west of the Xiaojiang Fault,and thus has significant implications for early Cambrian palaeogeography,faunal successions and palaeoenvironments of eastern Yunnan.

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

The Guanshan biota from eastern Yunnan(Cambrian Series 2,early Stage 4) is a Burgess Shale-type fossil biota with abundant exceptionally preserved soft-bodied fossils after the discovery of the well-known Cambrian Chengjiang fauna and Kaili biota in South China.The geological settings,sedimentology,taphonomy,and the fossil assemblage of the Guanshan biota are briefly summarized here.The Guanshan biota consists of about 60 taxa belonging to more than 10 metazoan groups and algae,among which the lobopods,eldonids,hyolithids with helens,and green algae are reported for the first time.The common occurrence of soft-bodied preservation in many groups,notably the trilobites and brachiopods,makes the Guanshan biota a significant fossil lagersttte for understanding the metazoan evolution during Cambrian explosion and taphonomy of the Burgess Shale-type fossils.

New anomalocaridid frontal appendages from the Guanshan biota,eastern Yunnan

Anomalocaridids were large predators of the Cambrian seas at the top of the trophic pyramid.Complete anomalocaridid specimens have been rarely discovered and the rigid isolated frontal appendages and mouthparts are more commonly preserved.Here we study new material of the frontal appendages from the Wulongqing Formation,Cambrian Stage 4,Series 2 near Kunming,eastern Yunnan.Two new forms of anomalocaridid frontal appendages are described,namely Anomalocaris kunmingensis sp.nov.and Paranomalocaris multisegmentalis gen.nov.,sp.nov.The frontal appendage of A.kunmingensis sp.nov.probably comprises15 podomeres of which the first one has a weakened skeletoned,the second one is armed with small spines,and the third one is armed with remarkably robust proximal ventral spines with 6 anisomerous auxiliary spines;paired auxiliary spines are associated with podomeres 4–14;podomeres 12–14 are armed with paired dorsal spines,and the last podomere bears 2 distal spines,one spine distinctly larger than the other.The frontal appendage of P.multisegmentalis tapered backwards,consisting of 22 visible podomeres;the most ventral spine is armed with 5 pairs of auxiliary spines,and podomeres 12–21 bear dorsal spines,the last podomere with 2 small distal spines.The new material provides additional evidence for our understanding of the diversity of anomalocaridids in the Cambrian.The morphology of these new finds may indicate the importance of different feeding strategies of anomalocaridids in the Cambrian ecosystem.

New observations on Vetulicola longbaoshanensis from the Lower Cambrian Guanshan Biota(Series 2, Stage 4), South China

Cambrian vetulicolians are enigmatic metazoans which play an important role in understanding the early animal evolution. Vetulicola longbaoshanensis Yang et al., 2010 is a unique species reported from the Guanshan Biota, Cambrian Series2, Stage 4 at eastern Yunnan, South China, which expands our understanding of vetulicolians. Here, new exceptionally preserved materials of V. longbaoshanensis from the Lower Cambrian Wulongqing Formation(which yields the so-called Guanshan Biota)in both Wuding and Kunming areas are described, in which the gill structures of V. longbaoshanensis are well preserved. The gill structures of our fossils are more complicated than those in the type species: the gill sac is gourd-shaped and can be divided into a smaller anterior part and a larger posterior part, prominent gill silt and dense gill filaments present in the joint of the two parts. Comparative analyses indicate that vetulicolians from the Guanshan Biota are similar to the Vetulicola rectangulata Luo et Hu, 1999 from the Chengjiang Biota in gross morphology. However, compared with the V. rectangulata, the Guanshan forms possess a larger body size, a higher length/height ratio of anterior body, and a higher ratio of gill sac width to anterior body height, probably typifying the derive characters anticipated of vetulicolians. These new materials, therefore, shed new light on our understanding of vetulicolians morphology and the early evolution of the gill structures.

云南东部寒武系第二统关山生物群奇虾类群的潜在研究空间

含软体附肢的节肢类化石在滇东有着丰富的埋藏.数十年来,处于滇东寒武系第二统古生物群落食物链顶端的奇虾类群一直是人们研究的热点,且积累丰富的研究成果.关山生物群的奇虾类群在化石产出剖面数量、属种发现数量上虽远低于澄江生物群,但其存在着较大的寒武系早期捕食类群的演化意义,无论在躯体构建、形态功能、生态地位上仍存在潜在的研究空间.

节肢动物吐卓虫咬痕化石在云南昆明附近寒武纪早期关山生物群的发现及意义

本文报道了一块来自云南省昆明市附近寒武纪第二世第四期关山生物群具咬痕的双瓣壳节肢动物吐卓虫(Tuzoia)化石,系吐卓虫咬痕化石在全球范围的首次发现。该发现证实作为主动捕食者的吐卓虫很可能被大型捕食者(如奇虾类或莱德利基虫类三叶虫等)捕食,说明寒武纪早期的海洋生物群落已经具有高度复杂化的食物链,为进一步了解吐卓虫的生态位及深入探讨寒武纪大爆发时期海洋生态系统食物网结构提供了新的信息。

腕足动物支撑的关山生物群层状底栖群落揭示寒武纪早期生态系统复杂性

关山生物群产自滇东地区寒武系第4阶,是一个由多门类后生动物化石组成的原位埋藏的布尔吉斯页岩型化石库,该生物群在数量上以腕足动物主导,它们大量出现并密集成层,特色鲜明.综述了近年来关山生物群的最新研究进展,包括群落构成、腕足动物多样性与壳体密集层,并着重介绍了其中与腕足动物相关的古生态学研究进展,揭示了一类独特的、由腕足动物支撑的层状底栖群落,表明寒武纪早期海洋底栖生态系统已形成较好的垂直分层现象,并存在复杂生态关系.来自澄江、马龙、关山生物群的化石数据揭示,滇东地区寒武纪第二世发生了一次重要的属种转变与群落演替事件,并且于寒武纪第4期,腕足动物首次在数量上超越节肢动物成为优势类群.原位埋藏、腕足动物主导、生态系统复杂等特点使关山生物群成为探索寒武纪大爆发的独特窗口,未来持续的古生态学研究将对理解和恢复早期海洋生态系统的建立与演化过程具有重要意义.同时,开展该时期古环境的纵向演变研究,探索影响群落演替的关键控制因素,将对寒武系第二统全球地层对比工作提供重要参考.

高性能微区X射线荧光光谱仪在寒武纪特异保存软躯体化石研究中的探索:以腕足动物化石为例

随着国家对基础研究的日趋重视,我国的古生物学,包括早期生命和寒武纪大爆发研究取得了长足的进步,研究手段和仪器设备日益改善和提高,例如扫描电子显微镜(SEM)和X射线显微断层成像技术(Micro-CT)的使用已经十分广泛。本研究以我国滇东地区寒武纪澄江化石库和乌龙菁组关山生物群特异保存的腕足动物化石为例,运用高性能微区X射线荧光光谱仪对化石标本和围岩的成分进行了定性和半定量分析。由于X射线有一定的穿透能力,且生物体与围岩的组成元素不同,因此对标本的定性分析可快速清晰地显示出某些生物体在光学显微镜下未显示出的生物解剖结构;对化石中化学元素(Na-U)和化合物的半定量分析数据可大致揭示澄江生物群与关山生物群沉积矿物元素的区别,并且筛选出更适合用于高精度元素分析的标本。微区X射线荧光光谱仪在测试和扫描前对样品普遍不用进行前期处理,可用于样品表面扫描和微区分析,操作快捷、有效,加之其较大的样品台空间,是一种先进的高灵敏度、非破坏性的元素分析手段,能为对比研究诸如澄江生物群与关山生物群等不同时代生物群的特异埋藏条件和沉积环境提供新的信息。

关山生物群中始海百合化石的再研究

关山生物群是继澄江生物群之后云南寒武纪早期地层中发现的又一个特异埋藏的化石宝库。现已报道10多个门类的化石动物,对研究寒武纪生命大爆发、后生动物起源及演化、寒武纪早期生态系统的复原等重大学术问题具有特殊的意义。始海百合属于棘皮动物门海蕾亚门,于寒武纪早期出现,志留纪灭绝。笔者将荧光显微镜等先进成像方式与传统的研究手段相结合,对新采集到的关山生物群始海百合化石标本进行深入细致的系统古生物学研究,对其精细形态学构造和生活习性获得更深入的了解。这对于认识寒武纪早期的生物多样性和棘皮动物的演化都具有重要的意义。

葫芦虫化石在寒武纪关山生物群中的发现及其意义

报道产自昆明高楼房的寒武纪早期关山生物群中的葫芦虫化石,这是该类动物在全球的第三例化石记录。葫芦虫化石在关山生物群的发现对了解该类动物以及寒武纪动物群生态和演化等均有着重要意义。