The Guanshan Biota [Chinese]

About this book

Language: Chinese with 7-page English summary, bilingual figure legends in English and Chinese, and scientific nomenclature

The early Cambrian Guanshan biota (approximate age 515–510 Mya) represents a typical Burgess Shale-type fauna from the Wulongqing Formation of eastern Yunnan, China. Stratigraphically, the Guanshan biota is slightly younger than the Chengjiang biota, but older than the Kaili biota and the Burgess Shale fauna. Like these well-known Cambrian faunas, fossils of the Guanshan biota exhibit extraordinarily preserved soft tissues and organs. To date, more than 60 species have been recoverd, with arthropods and brachiopods representing the most dominant phyla. The Guanshan biota records a highly diversified shallow marine community before the end-Early cambrian mass extinction. Due to its age and the quality of fossil preservation, the Guanshan biota plays an important role in linking the earlier faunas and later deposits with Burgess Shale-type preservstion, and has a great significance for understanding the "Cambrian explosion" of animals. The Guanshan Biota aims to provide readers with an overview on the Guanshan biota using selected fossils, includng a number of undescribed species and new specimens of known taxa. Some new species await future taxonomic description.

Contents

- Introduction
    1. Historical Background
    2. Age and Stratigraphy
    3. The Fossil Sites
    4. A Comparison with the Chengjiang Biota
    5. The Guanshan Biota and the Cambrian Explosion
- Palaeoenvironment and Sedimentology
    1. Environmental Changes during the Early Cambrian in East Yunnan
    2.Sedimentology of the Wulongqing Formation
- Taphonomy of the Guanshan Biota
- Community Structure
- Biodiversity of the Guanshan Biota
    1. Algae
    2. Spongia
    3. Chancelloriids
    4. Cnidaria
    5. Ctenophora
    6. Priapuliida
    7. Lobopodia
    8. Arthropoda
    9. Anomalocaridids
   10. Mollusca
   11. Hyolitha
   12. Brachiopoda
   13. Medusiform Animals
   14. Vetulicolian
   15. Echinodermata
   16. Problematic Fossils
   17. Trace Fossils
Summary
References
Appendix: Species Recorded from the Guanshan Biota

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