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in Sun, Zhao, Zeng, ... et Zhu, 2022. DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac069 |
Abstract
The rapid appearance of major animal groups and complex marine communities during the Cambrian explosion is recorded in large part in Burgess Shale-type lagerstätten. However, the restricted temporal and spatial distribution of known lagerstätten continues to hinder the formation of a comprehensive perspective on Cambrian evolutionary faunas. Here we describe the Linyi Lagerstätte (ca. 504 mya), a new Cambrian Miaolingian lagerstätte from the Zhangxia Formation in Shandong Province, North China. The Linyi Lagerstätte contains a variety of well-preserved soft-bodied fossils, among which the non-trilobite arthropods, particularly the mollisoniids and radiodonts, are the most important groups. The new assemblage is remarkable for its excellent preservation of arthropod limbs, eyes, and guts, as well as for its close similarity in taxonomic composition to Laurentian lagerstätten. The distinctive Linyi Lagerstätte holds great promise for providing additional insights into the morphological disparity, community structure, and paleogeographic range of marine faunas during middle Cambrian (Miaolingian).
Keywords: Cambrian explosion, exceptional preservation, North China Craton, Mollisoniidae, Zhangxia Formation, Drumian
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| Representative fossils from the Linyi Lagerstätte. (Image by NIGPAS) |
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| Spatial and temporal distribution and taxonomic diversity of 16 major Cambrian lagerstätten, and the position of the Linyi Lagerstätte (Image by Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences: NIGPAS) |
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| Life on the platform margin of the Miaolingian Sea, North China, based on data from the Linyi Lagerstätte. (Image by YANG Dinghua) |
Zhixin Sun, Fangchen Zhao, Han Zeng, Cui Luo, Heyo Van Iten and Maoyan Zhu. 2022. The middle Cambrian Linyi Lagerstätte from the North China Craton: A New Window on the Cambrian Evolutionary Fauna. National Science Review. nwac069. DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwac069
Linyi Lagerstätte: A New Window on Cambrian Fauna Evolution
