A REVIEW OF PROTEROZOIC ORGANIC-WALLED MICROFOSSILS-TAPPANIA AND ITS BIOLOGIC AND GEOLOGIC IMPLICATIONS
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Abstract:
Organic-walled microfossil-Tappania was firstly described and reported from the Beidajian Formation of the Ruyang Group in the Yongji area,Shanxi Province,North China,which was deposited during the period of late Paleoproterozoic-early Mesoproterozoic in the period from about 1 700—1 400 Ma.So far,Tappania has been widely found in roughly coeval sediments distributed in India,Australia,Siberia,America,etc.Certainly,it becomes significant microfossil evidence of stratigraphic correlation in the geological time.Furthermore,it is recognized as a complex eukaryotic microfossil by possessing features like dynamic cytoskeleton and membrane system,and forms the evidence of indicating the divergence of stem group eukaryotes during the geological period. The paper is aimed to understand morphological features and biological affinity of Tappania and to discuss its ecological environment and relative geological background.In combination with paleogeographic and geochemical research data,it could be suggested that the appearance of Tappania was relevant with important geological events that happened in the geological interval. Though cyanobacteria and unicellular algae dominated in late Paleoproterozoic-early Neoproterozoic marine basins,some multicellular organisms with function of osmotrophy were already actively reproductive in the suitable ecological niche.
