Macroalgal holdfasts and their interaction with environments from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation in Guizhou, South China

Numerous macro-organisms of the Doushantuo macrobiota, which were found in the black carbonaceous mudstone of the upper Neoproterozoic Ediacraan Doushantuo Formation in Jiangkou County, Guizhou Province, China, are considered to live on sea floor by their holdfasts. The appearance and preserved forms of the macroalgal holdfasts may provide some data to the study of the living and buried environments of macrobiota. They lived in the lower energy and clear environment, and fixed on a soupground with rich water (about 79 water). Currents, possibly ocean currents, could pull out the macroalgal holdfasts from the soupground and break off the macroalgal foliations. After such events, the corpses of macro-organisms would be covered in a reduced environment by the deposits. Afterwards, a new community, including regenerating and undying macro-organisms, lived continuously on a new deposit. __________ Translated from Acta Micropalaeontologica Sinica, 2005, 23(2): 154-C164 译自: 微体古生物学报]