A fossil assemblage from the Liuchapo Formation at the Jiaobang section, Guizhou Province and its significance in biostratigraphy and evolution
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Abstract:
The Ediacaran-Cambrian transition witnessed significant changes in the Earth-life system and was a pivotal time in the evolution of complex multicellular organisms. South China yields essential fossil and stratigraphic records for conducting related research; however, prior investigations have primarily focused on fossil-rich shallow-water platform facies, leaving the biosphere in deep-water regions insufficiently understood. This study presents a detailed examination of a fossil assemblage from the Liuchapo Formation at the Jiaobang section, Jianhe County, Guizhou Province. The Liuchapo Formation represents a slope setting. Through acid etching and thin section observations, we have discovered abundant fossils, including sponge spicules, hyoliths, potential protoconodonts (? Protohertzina sp.)and zhijinitids (? Zhijinites sp.), spherical acritarchs, Megathrix longus and various types of multicellular algae, as well as problematic Poratusiramus sp., globular fossils, and morphologically diverse filamentous and sheet-like fossils. This fossil assemblage belongs to the Fortunian (earliest Cambrian), and the skeletal remains are dominated by sponge spicules. This fossil assemblage includes taxa shared with shallow-water environments and taxa exclusive to deep-water settings. These results augment the palaeontological data from the Fortunian slope facies. This assemblage is significant for potential stratigraphic correlation and evolutionary studies.
