2019/02/28 by Yaoping Cai, Shuhai Xiao, Guoxiang Li +1 · 1 citation
Earth and Planetary Sciences · #Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis #Geology and Paleoclimatology Research #Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
paper · doi:10.1130/g45949.1
openalex publication_date 2019/02/28 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/31
Research Article| February 28, 2019 Diverse biomineralizing animals in the terminal Ediacaran Period herald the Cambrian explosion Yaoping Cai; Yaoping Cai * 1State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China *E-mails: [email protected], [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Shuhai Xiao; Shuhai Xiao * 2Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA *E-mails: [email protected], [email protected] Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Guoxiang Li; Guoxiang Li 3State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Hong Hua Hong Hua 1State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Yaoping Cai * 1State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China Shuhai Xiao * 2Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, Virginia 24061, USA Guoxiang Li 3State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China Hong Hua 1State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi'an 710069, China *E-mails: [email protected], [email protected] Publisher: Geological Society of America Received: 20 Dec 2018 Revision Received: 08 Feb 2019 Accepted: 09 Feb 2019 First Online: 28 Feb 2019 Online Issn: 1943-2682 Print Issn: 0091-7613 © 2019 Geological Society of America Geology (2019) 47 (4): 380–384. https://doi.org/10.1130/G45949.1 Article history Received: 20 Dec 2018 Revision Received: 08 Feb 2019 Accepted: 09 Feb 2019 First Online: 28 Feb 2019 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Get Permissions Search Site Citation Yaoping Cai, Shuhai Xiao, Guoxiang Li, Hong Hua; Diverse biomineralizing animals in the terminal Ediacaran Period herald the Cambrian explosion. Geology 2019;; 47 (4): 380–384. doi: https://doi.org/10.1130/G45949.1 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyGeology Search Advanced Search Abstract The origin and radiation of biomineralizing metazoans represents an important evolutionary innovation in the history of life. The earliest known skeletal metazoans are dominated by four genera in the terminal Ediacaran Period (ca. 550–539 Ma), followed by the diversification of new and diverse shelly fossils in the early Cambrian Period (ca. 539–510 Ma). Thus, terminal Ediacaran skeletal fossils and early Cambrian shelly fossils are commonly regarded as two distinct assemblages, with little overlap in stratigraphic distribution and taxonomic composition, implying a possible extinction event and a subsequent radiation event at the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary. However, it has been shown recently that some Ediacaran skeletal taxa may have extended into the early Cambrian, indicating evolutionary continuity between these two assemblages. Here we document an assemblage of diverse skeletal fossils from the terminal Ediacaran Dengying Formation in South China. This assemblage is dominated by terminal Ediacaran taxa such as Cloudina and Sinotubulites, but also contains rare elements that morphologically resemble early Cambrian shelly fossils. This finding suggests that terminal Ediacaran skeletal animals are more diverse than previously thought and further reinforces the evolutionary continuity of biomineralizing animals across the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.