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A Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage from the Hongjingshao Formation (Cambrian Stage 3) at Chenggong, Kunming, Yunnan

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  • Geology
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Chinese Science Bulletin

Abstract

A new Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage is reported herein from the lower part of the Hongjingshao Formation at Xiazhuang village of Chenggong, Kunming, Yunnan. The fossil assemblage, named as Xiazhuang fossil assemblage, yields predominantly soft-bodied fossils, including arthropods, brachiopods, priapulids, lobopods and some problematic taxa, with arthropods being the most dominant group. Preservation and composition of the fossil assemblage are very similar to the typical Chengjiang biota, which is preserved in the middle Yu’anshan Formation in the large area of eastern Yunnan. The associated trilobites demonstrate that the soft-bodied fossil assemblage belongs to the late Qiongzhusian in age (Stage 3, Cambrian), suggesting that the Hongjingshao Formation is probably a diachronous lithostratigraphic unit ranging from the upper Qiongzhusian to the lower Canglangpuan stages in eastern Yunnan. The fossil assemblage from the Xiazhuang area fills up the missing link between the typical older Chengjiang biota and the younger Malong and Guanshan biotas, making eastern Yunnan a unique area in the world to reveal the early evolutionary history of animals and palaeocommunity dynamics during the “Cambrian explosion”.

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Acknowledgments

We thank Prof. Yuan Jinliang for help with trilobite identification, and two anonymous reviewers for helpful comments and suggestions. This work was supported by the Program of Chinese Academy of Sciences (KZZD-EW-02-2), the National Basic Research Program of China (2013CB835006), the National Natural Science Foundation of China (41002002, 41372021, J1210006), the Natural Science Foundation of Jiangsu Province (BK2012893), and the National Science and Technology Major Project (2011ZX05008).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing, 210008, China

    Han Zeng, Fangchen Zhao, Zongjun Yin, Guoxiang Li & Maoyan Zhu

  2. University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, 100049, China

    Han Zeng

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  1. Han Zeng
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  2. Fangchen Zhao
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  3. Zongjun Yin
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Correspondence to Fangchen Zhao.

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Zeng, H., Zhao, F., Yin, Z. et al. A Chengjiang-type fossil assemblage from the Hongjingshao Formation (Cambrian Stage 3) at Chenggong, Kunming, Yunnan. Chin. Sci. Bull. 59, 3169–3175 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11434-014-0419-y

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