The Ediacaran Aspidella‐type impressions in the Jinxian successions of Liaoning Province,northeastern China

Macroscopic impression fossils from the Xingmincun Formation of the Jinxian Group, Liaoning Province of northeastern China, are identified as members of the Aspidella plexus of Ediacaran age. This is the first recognition of the taxon in the Liaoning Province, although such fossils have been previously recorded in the succession, but were referred to as new species and relegated to an earlier Neoproterozoic age. A revision of the taxonomic interpretation and relative age estimation of the previous record is provided, as well as an evaluation of abiotic vs. biotic processes that could produce similar structures to studied impressions. The mode of preservation of the fossils is considered from a biochemical point of view and along with the properties of organic matter in the integument of soft‐bodied metazoans. The selective preservation of the Ediacaran organisms, including metazoans, as impressions (moulds and casts) against the organically preserved contemporaneous cyanobacterial and algal microfossils, and an exceptionally small number of terminal Ediacaran metazoan fossils (Sabellidites, Conotubus and Shaanxilithes), demonstrates the non‐resistant characteristics and the very different biochemical constitution of the Ediacaran metazoans compared with those that evolved in the Cambrian and after. The refractory biomacromolecules in cell walls of photosynthesizing microbiota (bacterans, cutans, algaenan and sporopollenin groups) and in the chitinous body walls of Sabellidites contrast sharply with the labile biopolymers in Ediacaran metazoans known only from impressions. The newly emerging biosynthesis of resistant biopolymers in metazoans (chitin and collagen groups) initiated by the annelids at the end of Ediacaran and fully evolved in Cambrian metazoans, considered with the ability to biomineralize, made their body preservation possible. The Chengjiang and Burgess Shale metazoans show evidence of this new biochemistry in body walls and cuticles, and not only because of the specific taphonomic window that enhanced their preservation.     

寒武纪早期岩家河生物群:研究进展和展望*

埃迪卡拉纪-寒武纪转换时期动物的起源、演化和"寒武纪大爆发"一直是国际古生物学界研究的热点问题,其中寒武纪早期小壳化石群与埃迪卡拉纪化石群和寒武纪早期澄江化石库之间的内在关系是古生物学界研究的难题,其主要原因是寒武纪早期与小壳化石群伴生的宏体动、植物化石的缺乏。发现于峡东地区的寒武纪早期岩家河生物群填补了这一缺失环节,该生物群包含宏体动物、宏观藻类、小壳化石、球形化石(可能的胚胎化石)、微古植物和蓝菌类等化石,部分宏体化石显示了从埃迪卡拉纪向寒武纪过渡色彩。化石保存方式有碳质膜、黄铁矿化、磷酸盐化、硅化。因此对岩家河生物群生物多样性和埋藏学进行综合研究,将可提供纽芬兰世(梅树村期)碳酸盐台地—碳酸盐台地内部的局部凹陷盆地相的一个较完整的生物景观图,对探索"寒武纪大爆发主幕"前夕生物的辐射、演化模式及保存机制具有重要的科学意义。     

Facies control on lower Cambrian wrinkle structure development and paleoenvironmental distribution, southern Great Basin, United States

Assessing the role that physical processes play in restricting microbial mat distribution has been difficult due to the primary control of bioturbation in the modern ocean. To isolate and determine the physical controls on microbial mat distribution and preservation, a time in Earth’s history must be examined when bioturbation was not the primary control. This restricts the window of observation primarily to the Precambrian and Cambrian, which precede the development of typical Phanerozoic and modern levels of bioturbation. Lower Cambrian strata of the southern Great Basin, United States, record the widespread development of seafloor microbial mats in shallow shelf and nearshore settings. These microbial mats are recorded by wrinkle structures, which consist of millimeter-scale ridges and sinuous troughs that represent the former presence of a surface microbial mat. Wrinkle structures within these strata occur exclusively within heterolithic deposits of the offshore transition, i.e., between fair-weather wave base and storm wave base, and within heterolithic tidal-flat deposits. Wrinkle structures are not preserved in siltstone-dominated offshore deposits or amalgamated shoreface sandstones. The preservation of wrinkle structures within these environments is due to: (1) the development of microbial mats atop clean quartz-rich sands for growth and casting of the structures; and (2) the draping of the microbial mat by finer-grained sediment to inhibit erosion. The exclusion from offshore deposits may be due to a lack of sufficient sunlight, whereas the restriction from the shoreface is likely due to the amalgamation of proximal tempestites, resulting in the erosion of any incipient microbial mat development.     

The origin of the animals and a ‘Savannah’ hypothesis for early bilaterian evolution

The earliest evolution of the animals remains a taxing biological problem, as all extant clades are highly derived and the fossil record is not usually considered to be helpful. The rise of the bilaterian animals recorded in the fossil record, commonly known as the ‘Cambrian explosion’, is one of the most significant moments in evolutionary history, and was an event that transformed first marine and then terrestrial environments. We review the phylogeny of early animals and other opisthokonts, and the affinities of the earliest large complex fossils, the so‐called ‘Ediacaran’ taxa. We conclude, based on a variety of lines of evidence, that their affinities most likely lie in various stem groups to large metazoan groupings; a new grouping, the Apoikozoa, is erected to encompass Metazoa and Choanoflagellata. The earliest reasonable fossil evidence for total‐group bilaterians comes from undisputed complex trace fossils that are younger than about 560 Ma, and these diversify greatly as the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary is crossed a few million years later. It is generally considered that as the bilaterians diversified after this time, their burrowing behaviour destroyed the cyanobacterial mat‐dominated substrates that the enigmatic Ediacaran taxa were associated with, the so‐called ‘Cambrian substrate revolution’, leading to the loss of almost all Ediacara‐aspect diversity in the Cambrian. Why, though, did the energetically expensive and functionally complex burrowing mode of life so typical of later bilaterians arise? Here we propose a much more positive relationship between late‐Ediacaran ecologies and the rise of the bilaterians, with the largely static Ediacaran taxa acting as points of concentration of organic matter both above and below the sediment surface. The breaking of the uniformity of organic carbon availability would have signalled a decisive shift away from the essentially static and monotonous earlier Ediacaran world into the dynamic and burrowing world of the Cambrian. The Ediacaran biota thus played an enabling role in bilaterian evolution similar to that proposed for the Savannah environment for human evolution and bipedality. Rather than being obliterated by the rise of the bilaterians, the subtle remnants of Ediacara‐style taxa within the Cambrian suggest that they remained significant components of Phanerozoic communities, even though at some point their enabling role for bilaterian evolution was presumably taken over by bilaterians or other metazoans. Bilaterian evolution was thus an essentially benthic event that only later impacted the planktonic environment and the style of organic export to the sea floor.     

The Sirius Passet Lagerstätte of North Greenland—A geochemical window on early Cambrian low‐oxygen environments and ecosystems

The early Cambrian Sirius Passet fauna of northernmost Greenland (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3) contains exceptionally preserved soft tissues that provide an important window to early animal evolution, while the surrounding sediment holds critical data on the palaeodepositional water‐column chemistry. The present study combines palaeontological data with a multiproxy geochemical approach based on samples collected in situ at high stratigraphic resolution from Sirius Passet. After careful consideration of chemical alterations during burial, our results demonstrate that fossil preservation and biodiversity show significant correlation with iron enrichments (Fe_HR/Fe_T), trace metal behaviour (V/Al), and changes in nitrogen cycling (δ¹⁵N). These data, together with Mo/Al and the preservation of organic carbon (TOC), are consistent with a water column that was transiently low in oxygen concentration, or even intermittently anoxic. When compared with the biogeochemical characteristics of modern oxygen minimum zones (OMZs), geochemical and palaeontological data collectively suggest that oxygen concentrations as low as 0.2–0.4 ml/L restricted bioturbation but not the development of a largely nektobenthic community of predators and scavengers. We envisage for the Sirius Passet biota a depositional setting where anoxic water column conditions developed and passed over the depositional site, possibly in association with sea‐level change, and where this early Cambrian biota was established in conditions with very low oxygen.     

A new mode of ammonite preservation – implications for dating of condensed phosphorite deposits

Unusual phosphatic casts of the ammonites Mortoniceras (Subschloenbachia) sp. and Stoliczkaia sp. from the upper Albian condensed phosphorite bed at Annopol, Poland, are discussed in terms of their taphonomic history. These specimens are interpreted as ‘secondary’ external casts of ammonite replicas preserved originally as attachment scars on oyster shells. The following genetic history is suggested for this previously undocumented mode of ammonite preservation: (1) settling of shells of dead ammonites on the seafloor; (2) colonization of these shells by oysters and formation of ammonite replicas on left valves of oysters; (3) dissolution of ammonite shells; (4) reworking and fragmentation of oyster shells; (5) casting of ammonite replicas by phosphatic material; and (6) separation of ammonite casts from oyster shells, either through mechanical disintegration or dissolution of the latter. The specimens studied were formed after dissolution of the ammonite conchs, not prior to this event as in the case of typical ammonite steinkerns (internal moulds). Therefore, they are here referred to as ‘pseudo‐steinkerns’. The time interval between loss of the original ammonite shells and the formation of oyster‐mediated pseudo‐steinkerns may be very extensive. Therefore, the pseudo‐steinkerns may potentially mislead in biostratigraphic dating of condensed phosphorite deposits.     

Tracing the fate of steroids through a hypersaline microbial mat (Kiritimati,Kiribati/Central Pacific)

Eukaryotic steranes are typically absent or occur in very low concentrations in Precambrian sedimentary rocks. However, it is as yet unclear whether this may reflect low source inputs or a preservational bias. For instance, it has been proposed that eukaryotic lipids were profoundly degraded in benthic microbial mats that were ubiquitous prior to the advent of vertical bioturbation in the Cambrian (“mat‐seal effect”). It is therefore important to test the microbial turnover and degradation of eukaryotic steroids in real‐world microbial mats. Here we assessed steroid inventories in different layers of a microbial mat from a hypersaline lake on Kiritimati (Central Pacific). Various eukaryote‐derived C₂₇‐C₃₀ steroids were detected in all mat layers. These compounds most likely entered the mat system as unsaturated sterols from the water column or the topmost mat, and were progressively altered during burial in the deeper, anoxic mat layers over c. 10³ years. This is reflected by increasing proportions of saturated sterols and sterenes, as well as the presence of thiosteranes in certain horizons. Sterol alteration can partly be assigned to microbial transformation but is also due to chemical reactions promoted by the reducing environment in the deeper mat layers. Notably, however, compounds with a sterane skeleton were similarly abundant in all mat layers and their absolute concentrations did not show any systematic decrease. The observed decrease of steroid/hopanoid ratios with depth may thus rather indicate a progressive “dilution” by lipids derived from heterotrophic bacteria. Further, pyrolysis revealed that steroids, in contrast to hopanoids, were not sequestered into non‐extractable organic matter. This may lead to a preservational bias against steroids during later stages of burial. Taken together, steroid preservation in the microbial mat is not only controlled by heterotrophic degradation, but rather reflects a complex interplay of taphonomic processes.     

A new species of the conifer Frenelopsis from the Cretaceous of Sudan

Conifer fragments from the Lower Cretaceous of Sudan are preserved as internal and external silica moulds. Low viscosity silicone rubber has been used to prepare casts showing fine epidermal details which enable identification of the plants. One is I'seudofrenelopsis parceramosa (Fontaine) Watson, the other is described as a new species of Frenelopsis Schenk.     

Pyritized preservation of chancelloriids from the Cambrian Stage 3 of South China and implications for biomineralization

The enigmatic Cambrian animal chancelloriids were discovered in a wide range of taphonomic settings; however, preservation of biomineralized sclerite microstructure was solely known from secondarily phosphatized skeletal remains. Here, we investigate a uniquely pyritized chancelloriid from the lower Cambrian Guojiaba Formation in southern Shaanxi Province, China, using a combination of advanced analytic techniques. Results of the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Raman spectrum show that the sclerites and scleritomes are preserved as pyritized internal moulds with a calcitic outer layer. The outer layer enveloping the internal moulds likely represents the recrystallized counterpart of the original biomineralized sclerite wall. Distinctive fibrous microstructures are discovered in the sclerites, which echo the features seen in the phosphatized fossils of chancelloriids. The typical microstructure, along with the recrystallized calcite, corroborate the interpretation that chancelloriid sclerites were originally constructed by fibrous aragonite. The stability of the microstructure and mineral composition in both carbonate and siliciclastic backgrounds indicate that chancelloriids were adapted to exploit aragonitic fibres to build their skeletons regardless of the change of their living environments.     

Facies selectivity of benthic invertebrates in a Permian/Triassic boundary microbialite succession: Implications for the “microbialite refuge” hypothesis

Thrombolite and stromatolite habitats are becoming increasingly recognized as important refuges for invertebrates during Phanerozoic Oceanic Anoxic Events (OAEs); it is posited that oxygenic photosynthesis by cyanobacteria in these microbialites provided a refuge from anoxic conditions (i.e., the “microbialite refuge” hypothesis). Here, we test this hypothesis by investigating the distribution of ~34, 500 benthic invertebrate fossils found in ~100 samples from a microbialite succession that developed following the latest Permian mass extinction event on the Great Bank of Guizhou (South China), representing microbial (stromatolites and thrombolites) and non‐microbial facies. The stromatolites were the least taxonomically diverse facies, and the thrombolites also recorded significantly lower diversities when compared to the non‐microbial facies. Based on the distribution and ornamentation of the bioclasts within the thrombolites and stromatolites, the bioclasts are inferred to have been transported and concentrated in the non‐microbial fabrics, that is, cavities around the microbial framework. Therefore, many of the identified metazoans from the post‐extinction microbialites are not observed to have been living within a microbial mat. Furthermore, the lifestyle of many of the taxa identified from the microbialites was not suited for, or even amenable to, life within a benthic microbial mat. The high diversity of oxygen‐dependent metazoans in the non‐microbial facies on the Great Bank of Guizhou, and inferences from geochemical records, suggests that the microbialites and benthic communities developed in oxygenated environments, which disproves that the microbes were the source of the oxygenation. Instead, we posit that microbialite successions represent a taphonomic window for exceptional preservation of the biota, similar to a Konzentrat‐Lagerstätte, which has allowed for diverse fossil assemblages to be preserved during intervals of poor preservation.     

Unlocking the early fossil record of the arthropod central nervous system

Extant panarthropods (euarthropods, onychophorans and tardigrades) are hallmarked by stunning morphological and taxonomic diversity, but their central nervous systems (CNS) are relatively conserved. The timing of divergences of the ground pattern CNS organization of the major panarthropod clades has been poorly constrained because of a scarcity of data from their early fossil record. Although the CNS has been documented in three-dimensional detail in insects from Cenozoic ambers, it is widely assumed that these tissues are too prone to decay to withstand other styles of fossilization or geologically older preservation. However, Cambrian Burgess Shale-type compressions have emerged as sources of fossilized brains and nerve cords. CNS in these Cambrian fossils are preserved as carbon films or as iron oxides/hydroxides after pyrite in association with carbon. Experiments with carcasses compacted in fine-grained sediment depict preservation of neural tissue for a more prolonged temporal window than anticipated by decay experiments in other media. CNS and compound eye characters in exceptionally preserved Cambrian fossils predict divergences of the mandibulate and chelicerate ground patterns by Cambrian Stage 3 (ca 518 Ma), a dating that is compatible with molecular estimates for these splits.     

In situ trace metal analysis of Neoarchaean – Ordovician shallow‐marine microbial‐carbonate‐hosted pyrites

Pre‐Cambrian atmospheric and oceanic redox evolutions are expressed in the inventory of redox‐sensitive trace metals in marine sedimentary rocks. Most of the currently available information was derived from deep‐water sedimentary rocks (black shale/banded iron formation). Many of the studied trace metals (e.g. Mo, U, Ni and Co) are sensitive to the composition of the exposed land surface and prevailing weathering style, and their oceanic inventory ultimately depends on the terrestrial flux. The validity of claims for increased/decreased terrestrial fluxes has remained untested as far as the shallow‐marine environment is concerned. Here, the first systematic study of trace metal inventories of the shallow‐marine environment by analysis of microbial carbonate‐hosted pyrite, from ca. 2.65–0.52 Ga, is presented. A petrographic survey revealed a first‐order difference in preservation of early diagenetic pyrite. Microbial carbonates formed before the 2.4 Ga great oxygenation event (GOE) are much richer in pyrite and contain pyrite grains of greater morphological variability but lesser chemical substitution than samples deposited after the GOE. This disparity in pyrite abundance and morphology is mirrored by the qualitative degree of preservation of organic matter (largely as kerogen). Thus, it seems that in microbial carbonates, pyrite formation and preservation were related to presence and preservation of organic C. Several redox‐sensitive trace metals show interpretable temporal trends supporting earlier proposals derived from deep‐water sedimentary rocks. Most notably, the shallow‐water pyrite confirms a rise in the oceanic Mo inventory across the pre‐Cambrian–Cambrian boundary, implying the establishment of efficient deep‐ocean ventilation. The carbonate‐hosted pyrite also confirms the Neoarchaean and early Palaeoproterozoic ocean had higher Ni concentration, which can now more firmly be attributed to a greater proportion of magnesian volcanic rock on land rather than a stronger hydrothermal flux of Ni. Additionally, systematic trends are reported for Co, As, and Zn, relating to terrestrial flux and oceanic productivity.     

Epithelial cell moulds in acrotretoid brachiopods

The preservation of polygonal imprints of epithelial cells in acrotretoid brachiopods is reviewed and supplemented by new data from the Cambrian of southern Great Britain. The imprints are confirmed as representing moulds of epithelial cells rather than an artefact of microstructure or preserved soft tissues, as they are (1) recorded in most taxa reviewed, (2) best preserved in areas where the shell has been thickened and (3) similar in size to cells recorded in Lingula, the closest living relative to the now extinct acrotretoids. Analysis of the morphology and sizes of epithelial cell moulds demonstrates that there is no consistent relationship between cell width and valve size, and that epithelial cells are not a useful taxonomic character within this group.     

Unusual microbial mat‐related structural diversity 2.1 billion years ago and implications for the Francevillian biota

The 2.1‐billion‐year‐old (Ga) Francevillian series in Gabon hosts some of the oldest reported macroscopic fossils of various sizes and shapes, stimulating new debates on the origin, evolution and organization of early complex life. Here, we document ten representative types of exceptionally well‐preserved mat‐related structures, comprising “elephant‐skin” textures, putative macro‐tufted microbial mats, domal buildups, flat pyritized structures, discoidal microbial colonies, horizontal mat growth patterns, wrinkle structures, “kinneyia” structures, linear patterns and nodule‐like structures. A combination of petrographic analyses, scanning electron microscopy, Raman spectroscopy and organic elemental analyses of carbon‐rich laminae and microtexture, indicate a biological origin for these structures. The observed microtextures encompass oriented grains, floating silt‐sized quartz grains, concentrated heavy minerals, randomly oriented clays, wavy‐crinkly laminae and pyritized structures. Based on comparisons with modern analogues, as well as an average δ¹³C organic matter (C_org) composition of ?32.94 ± 1.17‰ (1 standard deviation, SD) with an outlier of ?41.26‰, we argue that the mat‐related structures contain relicts of multiple carbon pathways including heterotrophic recycling of photosynthetically derived C_org. Moreover, the relatively close association of the macroscopic fossil assemblages to the microbial mats may imply that microbial communities acted as potential benthic O₂ oases linked to oxyphototrophic cyanobacterial mats and grazing grounds. In addition, the mat's presence likely improved the preservation of the oldest large colonial organisms, as they are known to strongly biostabilize sediments. Our findings highlight the oldest community assemblage of microscopic and macroscopic biota in the aftermath of the “Great Oxidation Event,” widening our understanding of biological organization during Earth's middle age.     

A cryptic record of Burgess Shale‐type diversity from the early Cambrian of Baltica

Exceptionally preserved ‘Burgess Shale‐type’ fossil assemblages from the Cambrian of Laurentia, South China and Australia record a diverse array of non‐biomineralizing organisms. During this time, the palaeocontinent Baltica was geographically isolated from these regions, and is conspicuously lacking in terms of comparable accessible early Cambrian Lagerstätten. Here we report a diverse assemblage of small carbonaceous fossils (SCFs) from the early Cambrian (Stage 4) File Haidar Formation of southeast Sweden and surrounding areas of the Baltoscandian Basin, including exceptionally preserved remains of Burgess Shale‐type metazoans and other organisms. Recovered SCFs include taxonomically resolvable ecdysozoan elements (priapulid and palaeoscolecid worms), lophotrochozoan elements (annelid chaetae and wiwaxiid sclerites), as well as ‘protoconodonts’, denticulate feeding structures, and a background of filamentous and spheroidal microbes. The annelids, wiwaxiids and priapulids are the first recorded from the Cambrian of Baltica. The File Haidar SCF assemblage is broadly comparable to those recovered from Cambrian basins in Laurentia and South China, though differences at lower taxonomic levels point to possible environmental or palaeogeographical controls on taxon ranges. These data reveal a fundamentally expanded picture of early Cambrian diversity on Baltica, and provide key insights into high‐latitude Cambrian faunas and patterns of SCF preservation. We establish three new taxa based on large populations of distinctive SCFs: Baltiscalida njorda gen. et sp. nov. (a priapulid), Baltichaeta jormunganda gen. et sp. nov. (an annelid) and Baltinema rana gen. et sp. nov. (a filamentous problematicum).     

Palaeoredox geochemistry and bioturbation levels of the exceptionally preserved early Cambrian Indian Springs biota,Nevada, USA

The early Cambrian Indian Springs biota of western Nevada, USA, exhibits Burgess Shale‐type (BST) preservation of a diverse array of animal phyla, including the earliest definitive echinoderms. It therefore provides an important window on animal life during the Cambrian radiation. The objective of this study was to analyse the trace metal palaeoredox geochemistry and bioturbation levels of this BST deposit in order to characterize the palaeoenvironmental conditions in which these animals lived and their remains preserved. A total of 28 rock samples were collected from outcrops at three previously reported intervals of exceptional preservation at the Indian Springs locality, as well as from one interval not exhibiting such preservation. An additional 20 random samples were collected from talus for comparison. In the laboratory, the samples were analysed for trace metal palaeoredox indices (V/Cr and V/(V + Ni) ratios). Bioturbation levels were assessed through X‐radiography and petrographic thin sections using the ichnofabric index (ii) method. Additional samples from coeval strata of the Poleta Formation in the White‐Inyo Mountains, CA, that lack BST preservation were also analysed with the same methodology. Results indicate that oxic bottom water conditions dominated during deposition of these strata, despite consistently low bioturbation levels. This pattern holds for intervals with BST preservation and those without. Although ephemeral incursions of low‐oxygen waters may have taken place, there is no evidence for persistent oxygen restriction in these palaeoenvironments. The low levels of bioturbation indicate limited mixed layer development and a redox boundary near the sediment–water interface, likely allowing post‐burial BST preservation to occur even in this setting dominated by oxic bottom waters. Palaeoecological reconstructions and taphonomic hypotheses relating to the Indian Springs Lagerstätte must consider the palaeoredox conditions revealed in this study. With the dispensing of anoxic bottom waters as a requirement for BST preservation, other models proposing a role for clay minerals, the presence of hypersaline brines and the actions of Fe‐reducing bacteria as mechanisms for exceptional preservation warrant renewed consideration.     

A new scyphozoan from the Cambrian Fortunian Stage of South China

Animals with radial symmetry are abundant in the Cambrian Fortunian Stage of South China, but with relatively low diversity: representatives include Olivooides, Quadrapyrgites, carinachitiids, hexangulaconulariids and Pseudooides. Here, we report a new radial animal, Qinscyphus necopinus gen. et sp. nov., from the Fortunian small shelly fauna of southern Shaanxi Province, South China. Qinscyphus necopinus has a cup‐shaped profile, with slightly raised annuli and five groups of triangular thickenings in pentaradial symmetry. This organism has a comparable morphology to, and thus a close affinity with, Olivooides and Quadrapyrgites, and is interpreted as a coronate scyphozoan. This discovery adds a new crown‐group cnidarian to the Cambrian Explosion.     

The bivalved arthropods Isoxys and Tuzoia with soft‐part preservation from the Lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale Lagerstätte (Kangaroo Island,Australia)

Abstract: Abundant material from a new quarry excavated in the lower Cambrian Emu Bay Shale (Kangaroo Island, South Australia) and, particularly, the preservation of soft‐bodied features previously unknown from this Burgess Shale‐type locality, permit the revision of two bivalved arthropod taxa described in the late 1970s, Isoxys communis and Tuzoia australis. The collections have also produced fossils belonging to two new species: Isoxys glaessneri and Tuzoia sp. Among the soft parts preserved in these taxa are stalked eyes, digestive structures and cephalic and trunk appendages, rivalling in quality and quantity those described from better‐known Lagerstätten, notably the lower Cambrian Chengjiang fauna of China and the middle Cambrian Burgess Shale of Canada.     

Evidence of oxygenic phototrophy in ancient phosphatic stromatolites from the Paleoproterozoic Vindhyan and Aravalli Supergroups,India

Fossil microbiotas are rare in the early rock record, limiting the type of ecological information extractable from ancient microbialites. In the absence of body fossils, emphasis may instead be given to microbially derived features, such as microbialite growth patterns, microbial mat morphologies, and the presence of fossilized gas bubbles in lithified mats. The metabolic affinity of micro‐organisms associated with phosphatization may reveal important clues to the nature and accretion of apatite‐rich microbialites. Stromatolites from the 1.6 Ga Chitrakoot Formation (Semri Group, Vindhyan Supergroup) in central India contain abundant fossilized bubbles interspersed within fine‐grained in situ‐precipitated apatite mats with average δ¹³C_org indicative of carbon fixation by the Calvin cycle. In addition, the mats hold a synsedimentary fossil biota characteristic of cyanobacterial and rhodophyte morphotypes. Phosphatic oncoid cone‐like stromatolites from the Paleoproterozoic Aravalli Supergroup (Jhamarkotra Formation) comprise abundant mineralized bubbles enmeshed within tufted filamentous mat fabrics. Construction of these tufts is considered to be the result of filamentous bacteria gliding within microbial mats, and as fossilized bubbles within pristine mat laminae can be used as a proxy for oxygenic phototrophy, this provides a strong indication for cyanobacterial activity in the Aravalli mounds. We suggest that the activity of oxygenic phototrophs may have been significant for the formation of apatite in both Vindhyan and Aravalli stromatolites, mainly by concentrating phosphate and creating steep diurnal redox gradients within mat pore spaces, promoting apatite precipitation. The presence in the Indian stromatolites of alternating apatite‐carbonate lamina may result from local variations in pH and oxygen levels caused by photosynthesis–respiration in the mats. Altogether, this study presents new insights into the ecology of ancient phosphatic stromatolites and warrants further exploration into the role of oxygen‐producing biotas in the formation of Paleoproterozoic shallow‐basin phosphorites.     

Occurrence of an in situ fern grove in the Aptian Douiret Formation, Tataouine area, South-Tunisia

A level with fern stumps was discovered in the Aptian Douiret Formation, South-Tunisia. These stumps are preserved as external moulds or casts, without any preservation of anatomical structures. These stumps are considered to be affiliated with the numerous fossil plants assigned to the fern genera Alstaettia and Piazopteris that are widely distributed in coeval strata from the same region, either as leaf imprints or as permineralized remains. The record of in situ fossil forests for the Southern Hemisphere reveals that their systematic components are different, i.e. mainly corystosperms and/or conifers, and rarely under tidal influence. The way this fern grove settled in a margino-littoral environment is discussed.