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The Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas have a long and complex tectonic evolutionary history. Cratons and blocks, such as northern India, Lhasa, Qiangtang, Qaidam and Central Qilian, and their in-between orogenic belts constitute the main part of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau. During the Cambrian Period, most of these cratons and blocks were on the northwestern periphery of Gondwana, and were associated with the surrounding blocks, e.g. Arabian, Central Iran, Afghanistan, Tarim, Alxa, North China, South China and Sibumasu through the Proto-Tethys Ocean. The Cambrian stratigraphic sequences on these stable blocks are composed of mixed siliciclastic and carbonate rocks deposited in the shallow-water marine environments, and contain the trilobite assemblages of shelf facies. The Cambrian stratigraphic sequences in the Qilian tectonic belts, however, are characterized by the intermediate-basic igneous rocks and silicates formed in the Proto-Tethys Ocean, and contain the trilobite assemblages of deep-water slope facies. Combining with previous data, field observations and newly discovered fossils through funding by the Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research, the general characteristics of the Cambrian strata in different tectonic units of the Qinghai-Tibetan Plateau and its surrounding areas have been summarized in this paper. Furthermore, efforts have been made to subdivide and correlate the Cambrian strata across these areas by utilizing available biostratigraphic and geochronological data. As a result, a comprehensive litho- and biostratigraphy chart has been compiled. Finally, from the biogeographic perspective, this paper also provides a brief overview of the Cambrian paleogeographical reconstruction of the major tectonic blocks, and discusses the problems associated with the evolution of the Proto-Tethys tectonic belt. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As a significant evolutionary innovation, multicellularity has independently evolved multiple times throughout the evolutionary history of eukaryotes, making a substantial contribution to their diversity. In retracing the multicellularity of eukaryotes, deep‐time fossil records play an irreplaceable role. In this paper, we report a new acritarch Concavaesphaera ornata gen. et sp. nov. from the early Cambrian Kuanchuanpu biota (535 Ma). These fossils are generally spherical, with diameters ranging from 450 to 950 μm, and feature an envelope with complex ornament. Inside, there are two groups of cells varying in size. Larger cells are relatively fewer in number and each resides within a sac‐like cavity distributed along the inner wall of the envelope. Statistical data show a positive correlation between the diameter and cavity volume during the development of large cells. Small cells are numerous, have a diameter of about 15 μm, and fill the entire interior of the specimens. We interpret the large cells as reproductive cells and the small cells as somatic cells. These observations show that Concavaesphaera evolved multicellular complexity equivalent to that of modern Volvox, with germ‐soma differentiation and separation. Available evidence suggests that the similarities between Concavaesphaera and Volvox are more likely to be the result of convergent evolution. Therefore, Concavaesphaera may represent an extinct multicellular eukaryote which evolved during the Cambrian explosion and probably documented an independent innovation of multicellularity in eukaryotic evolutionary history. This implies that multicellularity evolved many more times in eukaryotes than previously estimated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Eggs, embryos, and hatchlings of olivooids are common and distinctive components of the earliest Cambrian small shelly fossil assemblage (Anabarites trisulcatus–Protohertzina anabarica Zone) at the northern and northwestern edge of the Yangtze Platform. Embryos are preserved in 3D as phosphatized permineralizations with superficial cellular structures. Nanofocus X-ray computed tomography reveals that diagenetic structures characterize the interior of most phosphatized eggs and embryos. The Olivooidae fam. nov. is herein distinguished from the possibly related hexaconulariids. Statistical size investigations and morphological studies indicate that at least three, but possibly five or more species of olivooids occur in the early Cambrian of South China. Fossilized smooth egg stages reflect a high biodiversity, encompassing 8–10 or more biological species. Eggs and embryos of Olivooides multisulcatus, Olivooides mirabilis and Quadrapyrgites quadratacris are represented by distinct and characteristic size clusters. The size ranges of embryonic parts of hatchlings roughly correspond to the size clusters of the embryos. From reconstruction of the developmental series of Olivooides multisulcatus it appears that the cleavage mode of olivooids was transitional between superficial and total cleavage. Late embryos and hatchlings of Olivooides multisulcatus and Olivooides mirabilis are characterized by pentaradial symmetry, whereas tubes of Quadrapyrgites quadratacris exhibit tetraradial symmetry. Tubular hatchlings of olivooids may represent larval or adult stages, or perhaps, nonfeeding larvae. Although the biological affinity of olivooids is weakely constrained, we hypothesize that they belong within an extinct clade of the Cycloneuralia. Their assignment to the Cnidaria is considered unlikely. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Abstract: The study discusses the detailed composition of Terreneuvian small shelly fossil (SSF) assemblages of eastern Yunnan Province (Meishucun, Xianfeng and Huize regions). The described sections represent shallow water deposits of the Yangtze Platform that include a number of stratigraphical hiati. The reported SSF assemblages can be assigned to the regional SSF biozones I–III (Anabarites trisulcatus–Protohertzina anabarica Assemblage Zone; Paragloborilus subglobosus–Purella squamulosa Assemblage Zone; Watsonella crosbyi Assemblage Zone). Zones II and III are slightly redefined based on new data. Two subzones of Zone II are proposed here, namely, Annelitellus yangtzensis–Obtusoconus honorabilis Subzone and Maikhanella cambriana–Oelandiella korobkovi Subzone. Claviconchella qianyii gen. et sp. nov. and Bubiites simplex gen. et sp. nov. are reported. Here we also provide a critical revision of the SSF distribution for the well-known Meishucun section. The correlation scheme for East Yunnan documents the extent and duration of stratigraphical hiati. The distribution of SSFs and the lithological characterization indicate three major events of exposure of the carbonate platform resulting in sedimentary breaks and possible karstification. This prompts new consideration of the previously described stable isotope stratigraphy of shallow platform strata. Considering the complexity of the Terreneuvian Earth history as well as the uniqueness of SSF, an integration of sedimentology, geochemistry and paleontology is needed for future SSF study. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Although various types of shell microstructures are documented from Cambrian molluscs, the precise organization and mineralogical composition of Terreneuvian molluscs are relatively unknown. Anabarella was one of the first helcionellid molluscs to appear in the Terreneuvian, with the genus surviving until the third epoch of the Cambrian. Here, shell microstructures of Anabarella australis have been studied based on new collections from the lower Cambrian (Series 2) Xinji Formation of the North China Block. Results show that A. australis has a laminar inner shell layer that consists of crossed foliated lamellar microstructure (CFL). Nacreous, crossed-lamellar and foliated aragonite microstructures previously documented in the older (Terreneuvian) species A. plana are here revised as preservational artefacts of the CFL layers. This complex skeletal organization of Anabarella suggests that mechanisms of molluscan biomineralization evolved very rapidly. Morphologically, specimens from the Chaijiawa section show a pattern of distinct 'pseudo-dimorphism' as external coatings are identical to Anabarella, while associated internal moulds are similar to the helcionelloid genus Planutenia. In contrast, internal moulds from the Shangzhangwan section show considerable morphological variation owing to preservational bias and show greater similarities to specimens from South Australia, Northeast Greenland and Germany. These observations demonstrate that the extensive morphological variation seen in the internal moulds of the cosmopolitan genus Anabarella are primarily preservational artefacts and are unlikely to represent the real intra- and interspecific variability of the animal. In these cases, Planutenia is here confirmed to be a subjective synonym of Anabarella. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Hyoliths were among the earliest biomineralizing metazoans in Palaeozoic marine environments. They have been known for two centuries and widely assigned to lophotrochozoans. However, their origin and relationships with modern lophotrochozoan clades have been a longstanding palaeontological controversy. Here, we provide broad microstructural data from hyolith conchs and opercula from the lower Cambrian Xinji Formation of North China, including two hyolithid genera and four orthothecid genera as well as unidentified opercula. Results show that most hyolith conchs contain a distinct aragonitic lamellar layer that is composed of foliated aragonite, except in the orthothecid New taxon 1 that has a crossed foliated lamellar microstructure. Opercula are mostly composed of foliated aragonite and occasionally foliated calcite. These blade or lath‐like microstructural fabrics coincide well with biomineralization of Cambrian molluscs rather than lophophorates, as exemplified by the Cambrian members of the tommotiid‐brachiopod linage. Accordingly, we propose that hyoliths and molluscs might have inherited their biomineralized skeletons from a non‐mineralized or weakly mineralized common ancestor rather than as a result of convergence. Consequently, from the view of biomineralization, the homologous shell microstructures in Cambrian hyoliths and molluscs strongly strengthen the phylogenetic links between the two groups. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Cambrian Period is the first period of the Phanerozoic Eon and witnessed the explosive appearance of the metazoans, representing the beginning of the modern earth-life system characterized by animals in contrary to the Precambrian earth-life system dominated by microbial life. However, understanding Cambrian earth-life system evolution is hampered by regional and global stratigraphic correlations due to an incomplete chronostratigraphy and consequent absence of a highresolution timescale. Here we briefly review the historical narrative of the present international chronostratigraphic framework of the Cambrian System and summarize recent advances and problems of the undefined Cambrian stage GSSPs, in particular we challenge the global correlation of the GSSP for the Cambrian base, in addition to Cambrian chemostratigraphy and geochronology. Based on the recent advances of the international Cambrian chronostratigraphy, revisions to the Cambrian chronostratigraphy of China, which are largely based on the stratigraphic record of South China, are suggested, and the Xiaotanian Stage is newly proposed for the Cambrian Stage 2 of China. We further summarize the integrative stratigraphy of South China, North China and Tarim platforms respectively with an emphasis on the facies variations of the Precambrian-Cambrian boundary successions and problems for identification of the Cambrian base in the different facies and areas of China. Moreover, we discuss stratigraphic complications that are introduced by poorly fossiliferous dolomite successions in the upper Cambrian System which are widespread in South China, North China and Tarim platforms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The diversification of animals during the Cambrian Period is one of the most significant evolutionary events in Earth's history. However, the sequence of events leading to the origin of 'modern' ecosystems and the exact temporal relationship between Ediacaran and Cambrian faunas are uncertain, as identification of the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary and global correlation through this interval remains problematic. Here we review the controversies surrounding global correlation of the base of the Cambrian and present new high-resolution biostratigraphic, lithostratigraphic and δ13C chemostratigraphic data for terminal Ediacaran to basal Cambrian strata in the Zavkhan Basin of Mongolia. This predominantly carbonate sequence, through the Zuun-Arts and Bayangol formations in southwestern Mongolia, captures a distinct, negative δ13C excursion close to the top of the Zuun-Arts Formation recognized as the BAsal Cambrian carbon isotope Excursion (BACE). In this location, the nadir of the BACE closely coincides with first occurrence of the characteristic early Cambrian protoconodont Protohertzina anabarica. Despite recent suggestions that there is an evolutionary continuum of biomineralizing animals across the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition, we suggest that this continuum is restricted to tubular forms, and that skeletal taxa such as Protohertzina depict 'true' Cambrian representatives that are restricted entirely to the Cambrian. Employing the first appearance of the trace fossil Treptichnus pedum to define the base of the Cambrian suffers significant drawbacks, particularly in carbonate settings where it is not commonly preserved. As T. pedum is the only proxy available to correlate the Cambrian Global boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) defined at Fortune Head, Newfoundland, we suggest that the GSSP be redefined elsewhere, in a new stratigraphic section that contains secondary markers that permit global correlation. We propose the nadir of the BACE as the favored candidate to define the base of the Cambrian. However, it is essential that the BACE be complemented with secondary markers. In many global sections the nadir of the BACE and the first occurrence of the genus Protohertzina are closely juxtaposed, as are the BACE and T. pedum. Hence these taxa provide essential biostratigraphic control on the BACE and increase potential for effective global correlation. We also recommend that an Auxiliary boundary Stratotype Section and Point (ASSP) be simultaneously established in order to incorporate additional markers that will aid global correlation of the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary. The BAY4/5 section through the upper Zuun-Arts and Bayangol formations yields key shelly fossils and δ13C values and is therefore an ideal candidate for consideration as the GSSP for the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chengjiang-type fossil brachiopods with preservation of non-mineralized tissues are reported for the first time from the Lower Cambrian Shipai Formation of the Three Gorges area, western Hubei Province, China. Recent excavation in the Wangjiaping and Aijiahe sections resulted in the new discovery of some linguloid brachiopods, showing strong similarity in preservation with those occurring in the well-known Chengjiang fauna (Yu’anshan Formation of eastern Yunnan, China). The brachiopods can be referred to Palaeobolus liantuoensis , Lingulellotreta malongensis and Eoobolus . sp. The new material of Palaeobolus exhibits a flattened impression of proximal pedicle, which also represents the first report of pedicle known from this cosmopolitan linguloid taxon. The occurrence of Lingulellotreta in the Shipai Formation ( Redlichia meitanensis and Palaeolenus lantenoisi zones) represents an important geological extension of this genus to upper Tsanglangpuan Stage (Series 2, Stage 4) in the Yangtze Platform, and signifying that the FAD of Lingulellotreta in the regional Lower Cambrian of the Yangtze Platform seems not synchronous. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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'. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: Brachiopods are usually thought to contribute little to the tiering complexity from the Paleozoic to the Recent, mainly due to the fact that their recent representatives live primarily in lower tiers directly above or below the water–sediment interface. Here we present the first and oldest record of varied levels of secondary tiering in minute brachiopods attached by exceptionally preserved thread-like pedicles around the branched fronds of the algae-like Malongitubus kuangshanensis Hu, 2005. The specimens illustrated herein were recovered from the Chengjiang fauna (Series 2, Stage 3) in the Lower Cambrian Heilinpu Formation at the Kuangshan section in Malong County, Yunnan Province, southern China. The micro-morphology and oval outline of the attached brachiopods demonstrate that they can be assigned to acrotretoid brachiopods (Linguliformea, Lingulata, Acrotretoidea), described here as Kuangshanotreta malungensis gen. et sp. nov. This is the first report on the occurrence of acrotretoid brachiopods in the Lower Cambrian muddy deposits from southern China. The posterior margins of the Kuangshanotreta shells are invariably either in direct contact with, or directed towards, and then in situ attached to the algal frond of M. kuangshanensis, indicating a secondary tiering in the ecological structure of Early Cambrian brachiopods. The acrotretoid Kuangshanotreta/algae malongitubus association represents both the first and oldest evidence into the enigmatic paleoecology of the diverse acrotretoid linguliformean stock that comprises an important component of the Cambrian evolutionary fauna, and sheds light on medium-high levels of secondary tiering (+5 to +10cm) Cambrian soft substrate suspension-feeding communities. When compared to other Chengjiang brachiopods, the miniature morphology and concomitant weight reduction of the shell of K. malungensis may be a good adaption to a suspended epifaunal tiering life style. We infer that the diversification of micromorphic and miniaturized acrotretoids that occurred from the Middle Cambrian to Early Ordovician may be the result of the increased availability of habitable surfaces provided by high levels of tiering in new types of ecological spaces. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]

Volcanic ash beds from shallow- to deep-water facies strata of the Sinian-Early Cambrian (Meishucunian) on the Yangtze Platform consist of bentonites and tuffites which are readily recognized in the field by their physical features and confirmed by geochemical analyses. Geochemistry suggests that the volcanic ash beds in Meishucunian time are rhyolite and rhyodacite while those in the Qiongzhusian and Sinian are andesite and trachyandesite. The ash beds in the time-equivalent strata, even in different areas display rather similar geochemical features, whereas the ash beds in different strata even in the same areas show large chemical difference. The results suggest that these ash beds can be used for intra- and extra-basinal correlations of the Sinian-Early Cambrian interval on the Yangtze Plat-form. Additionally, these ash beds suggest high potentials for further U-Pb dating strategies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Helens, the curved lateral spines inserted between the conch and operculum of some hyoliths, are a unique morphological adaptation characterizing the order Hyolithida. These structures are paired, movable and had a mechanical function, probably related to orienting the hyolith conch and lifting its aperture above the sea floor. We show that helens are intimately associated with the hyolith opercula and are structurally comparable to the rod like units that constitute the clavicles, internal wall-like structures of the hyolithid operculum that probably evolved to secure the operculum from lateral displacement in the conch aperture. In some early Cambrian hyolith taxa that lack helens, such as Paramicrocornus , new clavicle rods are added in the gap separating the clavicles from the cardinal processes, the same position where helens are inserted in later hyolithids. We also show that the size of incipient helens at the earliest ontogenetic stage matches the size of the clavicles in associated opercula. We propose that helens are modified clavicle rods that were detached from the operculum and developed into lateral spines through allometric growth during early ontogeny. Further, we suggest a four-step model for the evolution of hyolithid hyoliths from orthothecid ancestors: 1, Externally fitting operculum; 2, Stabilizing, radially arranged structures on the inside of the operculum; 3, Ligula and folded operculum; 4, Detachment of clavicle rods and origin of helens. • Hyolithids are extinct benthic invertebrates with a conch and an external operculum. • Helens, lateral processes of Hyolithids, helped stabilize, re-orient and lift the conch. • Helens share a fibrous ultrastructure with the clavicles of hyolith opercula. • Helens evolved from detached clavicle rods. • Through allometric growth, clavicle rods developed into functional clavicles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]