Evolution of C isotopes in the Cambrian of China: implications for Cambrian subdivision and trilobite mass extinctions

Carbon and oxygen isotopes were studied in fossiliferous Cambrian carbonates in northwestern Hunan Province (South China) and in northern Anhui and southern Shandong provinces (North China). Two major C isotope excursions related to biological events occur in the Wangcun section (Yongshun County, northwestern Hunan), which consists of a slope carbonate sequence (510 m thick) containing abundant trilobites. The first C isotope excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from -2.3‰ to 2‰) occurs near the boundary between the Qingxudong and Aoxi formations, close to the traditional Lower-Middle Cambrian boundary. The second excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from 0‰ to 3‰) occurs in the interval between the Linguagnostus reconditus Zone and the Glyptagnostus reticulatus Zone. The base of the G. reticulatus Zone define the base of the Paibi Stage and Furongian Series. Similar C isotope excursions also occur in shallow - water carbonate sections in North China. In Jiagou section near Huainan (Anhui Province), recently considered an important interval for defining the lower-middle Cambrian boundary because of dramatic changes in the trilobite fauna (extinction of redlichiids and appearances of ptychopariids), a negative C isotope excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from +1.21‰ to -1.93‰) occurs at the top of the lower member of the Mantou Formation. In the Gushan section (Changqing County, Shandong Province), a C isotope excursion (δ¹³C value shifts from -0.04‰ to 2.23‰) occurs at the base of the Changshan Formation and is coincident with the base of the Chuangia Zone. This excursion can be correlated with the excursion in the lower part of Glyptagnostus reticulatus Zone in the Wangcun section. The above two distinct C isotope excursions, which occur both in slope carbonates in South China and in shallow - water carbonates in North China, have also been recognized in Cambrian sections on other continents, and they coincide with global mass extinctions of trilobites. The two excursions evidently reflect global changes of Cambrian sea level, and they have utility for Cambrian subdivisions and for both regional and global stratigraphic correlation. In addition, a negative carbon excursion below the base of the Ptychagnostus atavus Zone in the Wangcun section supports previous suggestions that the FAD of P. atavus can be considered as a global correlatable horizon within the middle Cambrian.