New Data of Macrofossils in the Ediacaran Wenghui Biota from Guizhou,South China

The abundance and diversity of macrofossils in the Ediacaran have attracted much attention.The upper Doushantuo macrobiotas in South China,including the Miaohe biota from Hubei and the Wenghui biota from Guizhou,are mainly preserved as the carbonaceous compressions and dominated by macroscopic algae and metazoans.Here,we describe 10 genera and 10 species（including 6 new genera and species） of macrofossils from the Wenghui biota.At present,the Wenghui biota yields macrofossils in more than 31 genera and 33 species,excluding those given no image and established on a few unascertained specimens.Based on the occurrence and distribution of macrofossils in both Miaohe and Wenghui areas,the middle-late Ediacaran（back shales of the upper Doushantuo Formation） in South China can be subdivided into two assemblage biozones in biostratigraphy：（i） the Protoconites-Linbotulitaenia-Eoandromeda Anomalophton assemblage biozone characterized by abundant and diverse macrofossils and by the ranges of Protoconites,Linbotulitaenia and Anomalophton;and（ii） the Baculiphyca-Gesinella-Cucullus-Beltanelliformis assemblage biozone characterized by the acme of the longer macrofossils Baculiphyca and Gesinella,and by few shorter and discoidal macrofossils.

Ediacaran Macrofossils in Shunyang Valley,Sixi,Three Gorges District,Hubei Province,China

Previously undescribed Ediacaran macrofossils are documented in and close to a quarry southwest of Zigui in Shunyang Valley, near Sixi Village, Yangtze Three Gorges region, Hubei Prov- ince, China. Discoidal impressions, vendotaenids, and a new branching form occur in bedded carbon- ates through the entire 235 m thickness of the Dengying Formation. The quarry and nearby outcrops in the stream valley have significant potential for further discoveries of Ediacaran macrofossils.

A New Diverse Macrofossil Lagersttte from the Uppermost Ediacaran of Southwestern China

A new macrofossil Lagerstatte was discovered from the uppermost Ediacaran Jiucheng Member at Jinning and Jiangchuan of the eastern Yunnan, yielding numerous diverse well-preserved thallophyte macrofossils. These include the previously-known representatives of vendobionts, Vendotaenia and Tyrasotaenia, and the biggish multicellular benthos such as Chuaria-like and Tawuia- like fossiis, as well as Longfengshaniaceaens with diverse holdfast structures. There are still some other problematic macrofossils with peculiar configurations as well as uncertain relatives. The distinct dominance of the giant, unbranching thallophytes occasionally with holdfast structures distinguishes this assemblage from the other Ediacaran macrofossil Lagerstattes in the Doushantuo Formation at Miaohe, Wenghui and Lantian, and the contemporary assemblage in the Shibantan Member of Dengying Formation, Yangtze Gorges area. This paper outlines the characteristics of some of the multicellular macrofossils from the Jiucheng Member at Jiangchuan. They include some macrofossils with different types of holdfast structure, larger Chuaria-like and Tawuia-like morphology and questionable affinities as well. The discovery of greater diverse macrofossil assemblages from the Jiucheng Member of eastern Yunnan has further indicated that an important diversification and evolutionary radiation of metaphytes took place in the latest Ediacaran time. This radiation of largescale, benthic metaphyte along with phytoplankton was likely important contributors to the early Cambrian explosion of metazoans.

Fossil Association from the Lower Cambrian Yanjiahe Formation in the Yangtze Gorges Area,Hubei,South China

Apart from previously reported Small Shelly Fossils （SSFs）, a macroscopic fossil assemblage, comprising abundant algae, cone-shaped tubular fossil forms, and probable impressions of a megascopic metazoan, comes from the Lower Cambrian Yanjiahe Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of western Hubei Province, south China. The visible fossils are preserved in thinlaminated siltstone or muddy siltstone intercalated between 8-15 ram-thick carbonate deposits, probably representing sedimentary settings of a constrained local depression in the shallow water carbonate platform during the Early Cambrian Meishucunian Stage. The macroscopic fossil association provides significant fossil evidence about the evolution of life from the late Precambrian to the ＇Cambrian explosion＇ interval.

High-resolution patterns of palaeoenvironmental changes during the Little Ice Age and the Medieval Climate Anomaly in the northwestern Iberian Peninsula

to identify plant macrofossils,estimate peat humification and calculate hydroclimatic indices based on current bog species,with the overall aim of determining the climate conditions associated with evolution of the bog during the Medieval Climate Anomaly and the Little Ice Age.These proxies,together with historical and climate data,proved to be good indicators of the changes in bog surface wetness.Analysis:of the core led to identification of 9 different periods:two corresponding to the so-called Medieval Climate Anomaly(930 to 1345 AD,1075–665 calibrated years before present[cal.yr BP]);four corresponding to the Little Ice Age(1345 to 1905 AD;665–105 cal yr BP);and three corresponding to the last century(1905 to 2000 AD).The findings revealed a generally dry climate that lasted until the 14th century,followed by a transition to a long period with a more humid,but characteristically very variable climate,which ended at the beginning of the 20th century and was followed by a rapid transition to more humid conditions and finally,a change to drier conditions.The Medieval Climate Anomaly was indicated by the abundance of dry-adapted mosses(Leucobryum glaucum,Hypnum cupressiforme)and characterized by warm dry conditions and high levels of peat humification,with alternating wet phases.The LIA period was dated by a large abundance of Sphagnum species(an indicator of wetness)and a gradual increase in the humification index.However,four different climate phases were differentiated in this period.High-resolution reconstruction of the evolution of the CVM bog and the multiproxy approach have together enabled a more detailed identification of climatic variations in this area,which are generally consistent with the global models,as well as better definition of the elusive climatic oscillations in the last millennium and confirmation of the importance of local modulation of global models.The study provides new information and a detailed chronology of climatic events that will help to refine local modulation of the climate evolution model in the still quite unexplored region of the NW Iberian Peninsula,a key area for understanding the paleoclimatic dynamics in SW Europe.

Enigmatic ribbon-like fossil from Early Cambrian of Yunnan, China

During the Late Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian,a series of paleogeographic and paleoecological events occurred associated with deglaciations and the evolution of life.The appearance of fossils representing diverse phyla,novel body plans and complex ecologies in Ediacaran and Cambrian sedimentary successions has sparked diverse hypotheses about potential drivers for the radiation of early animals during this interval.Recently,new macroscopic fossils of carbonaceous compressions with unique features have been found in Anning,Yunnan,China.The fossils’bodies are ribbon-shaped and bilaterally symmetric,with dense longitudinal features and transversal features.The fossils occur 0.68 m below a bentonite interlayer which has been dated 535.2±1.7 Ma by Ri-xiang Zhu and his team in 2009.The relatively simply morphology of these fossils,coupled with a lack of preserved internal structures challenge efforts taxonomically identify the precursor organism and definitively ally it to a living group.However,the symmetry and unusual features of the body are analogous to members of Platyzoa.The presence of ribbon-shaped fossils in the Zhongyicun Member in Anning indicates that these organisms were at least a locally significant component of Cambrian seafloor ecosystems,and may hold important implications for our understanding of the early evolution of Bilateria.

Climatic changes from the late Pliocene to middle Pleistocene in and around central Japan reconstructed from plant macrofossil assemblages

We used composition of plant macrofossil assemblages obtained mainly from theOsaka Group in central Japan to reconstruct the palaeoclimate between the late Pliocene (about 3.3m.y. B.P.) and the middle Pleistocene (about 0.4 m.y. B.P.). The warmest climate of the periodwas before 3.0 m.y. B.P. Cool-temperate elements increased and subtropical elements decreasedbetween 3 m.y. B.P. and 2.7 m.y. B.P., indicating the first climatic deterioration. The firstoccurrence of subarctic elements characterizes the Plio-Pleistocene boundary as a severe coldstage. After 1.1 m.y. B.P., climatic fluctuation occurred at less than 100,000 year intervals. Asevere cold stage occurred just after the Jaramillo event (about 0.8 m.y. B.P.). The warmest stagein the middle Pleistocene occurred at about 0.5 m.y. B.P. With it evergreen broad-leaved forestexpanded into central Japan. The climatic curves reconstructed from plant macrofossils parallel theclimatic changes reconstructed from loess - paleosol stratigraphy in Central China, radiolarianfaunal stratigraphy in the north Pacific deep sea drilling core, oxygen-isotope data in the NorthPacific, and pollen spectra in western Europe.

Prehistoric agriculture development in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, southwest China： Archaeobotanical evidence

The origin, development and expansion of prehistoric agriculture in East Asia have been widely investigated over the past two decades using archaeobotanical analysis from excavated Neolithic and Bronze Age sites. Research on prehistoric agriculture has predominantly focused in the valleys of the Yellow River and the Yangtze River. Agricultural development during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau of southwest China, an important passageway for human migration into Southeast Asia, still remains unclear. In this paper, based on macrofossil and microfossil analysis and radiocarbon dating at the Shilinggang site, we investigate plant subsistence strategies in the Nujiang River valley during the Bronze Age period. Combined with previous archaeobotanical studies in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau, we explore agricultural development processes in this area during the Neolithic and Bronze Age. Our results indicate that rice and foxtail millet were cultivated in Shilinggang around 2500 cal a BP. Three phases of prehistoric agricultural development in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau can be identified: rice cultivation from 4800–3900 cal a BP, mixed rice and millet crop(foxtail millet and broomcorn millet) cultivation from 3900–3400 cal a BP, and mixed rice, millet crop and wheat cultivation from 3400–2300 cal a BP. The development of agriculture in the Yunnan-Guizhou Plateau during the Neolithic and Bronze Age periods was primarily promoted by prehistoric agriculture expansion across Eurasia, agricultural expansion which was also affected by the topographic and hydrological characteristics of the area.