Microstructures and in-situ spectroscopic analyses of Conotheca (Orthothe-cide) from the early Cambrian Kuanchuanpu biota
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Abstract:
The early Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Formation in south Shaanxi Province yields not only abundant phosphatized small shelly fossils, but also various soft-bodied animals at embryonic and adult stages with three-dimensional preservation, providing a crucial taphonomic window to explore the diversity of biomineralization of early metazoans, the early evolution of develop-ment of metazoans, as well as the early evolutionary radiation process of metazoan body plans. However, the majority of previous investigations on the Kuanchuanpu Biota have been focusing on phylogenetic affinities of animal fossils, detailed taphonomic analyses of post-mortem and diagenetic processes are relatively rare. In this study, we targeted the host rocks of the Kuanchuanpu biota, phosphatic limestones from the Kuanchuanpu Formation in Dahe Town, Xixiang County, Shaaxi Province, and conducted comprehensive microscopic and spectroscopic analyses on the microtubular fossils and the rock matrix. The results including information of spatial distribution of elements and minerals within microtubular fossils and rock matrix, spatial distribution of microtubular fossils within the rock, as well as microstructures of the microtubular fossils, provide new insights not only into the biology of these microtubular fossils, but also the preservation mechanism of the Kuanchuanpu biota.
