Qingjiang biota
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The Qingjiang biota are a major discovery of fossilized remains dating from the early
sponge
spicules.
The site is a
Burgess Shale type preservation,[1] and has been widely compared[1][3][4] to the Burgess Shale in terms of the site's richness and significance. The discovery has been described as one of the most significant of its kind in the last 100 years.[2] Initial publications regarding the site stated that 4,351 of the collected specimens had been examined,[2] and 101 species had been identified, 53 of which were new to science.[5]
Talks are reportedly underway with local government to protect the site to ensure the longevity of continued research on the deposited specimens.[4]
List of Taxa
Bacteria
| Genus | Species | Phylum | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Qingjiangonema[6] | Q. cambria | Thermodesulfobacteriota | "Qingjiangonema is a long filamentous form comprising hundreds of cells filled by equimorphic and equidimensional pyrite microcrystals with a light sulfur isotope composition. Multiple lines of evidence indicate Qingjiangonema was a sulfate-reducing bacterium that exhibits similar patterns of cell organization to filamentous forms within the phylum Desulfobacterota, including the sulfate-reducing Desulfonema and sulfide-oxidizing cable bacteria." |
Eukaryota incertae sedis
| Genus | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|
| Chuaria[7] | Chuaria is a spheroidal and thick-walled eukaryote that is typically regarded as having algal affinities based on cell walls and biogeochemical analyses. It appears to have existed from the late Paleoproterozoic (1670–1640 Ma) to the Qingjiang Formation (518 Ma). "Like many Precambrian microfossils (Simpson, 1944, Schopf, 1994, Dvořák et al., 2015), its extraordinarily slow rate of evolutionary change was probably due to the asexual reproduction and wide ecological tolerance. Accordingly, if Chuaria represented a homogeneous eukaryote, it would make sense that it retained a consistent morphology for an exceptionally long geological time. Such hypobradytelic organism can be seen in macro-organisms as well, e.g., Marchantites Brongniart, 1849 of bryophyte (Li et al., 2014), or Lampetra Bonnaterre, 1788 of chordate (Gess et al., 2006)." | 
|
Algae
| Genus | Species | Clade | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Megaspirellus?[1] | Megaspirellus was originally identified as an alga but has been more recently tentatively re-interpreted as a cololite (fossilized intestinal casts of faecal material) and a junior synonym of Cilindrotomaculum.[8] | |||
| Qingjiangthallus[9] | Q. cystocarpium | Florideophyceae | A red alga. "Thalli comprise flat and ribbon‐shaped branches showing different branching patterns, some short branchlets, discoid or globose holdfasts and an unexpected occurrence of possible cystocarps (reproductive bodies)." | |
| Sinocylindra[1] | Chlorophyta? | "Smooth cylindrical ribbons 0.19–2.2mm wide and up to 74.0 mm long. Ribbons are flexible and can be curved, looped or folded, but are not regularly coiled as in Megaspirellus or Grypania. No branching or holdfast structures are associated with the ribbons."[10] |
Non-Bilaterian Animals
| Genus | Species | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Choia[1] | Porifera |
Demospongiae |
Protomonaxonida | Choiidae | 
| ||
| Crumillospongia[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida | Hazeliidae | |||
| Halichondrites[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida | Halichondritidae | 
| ||
| Hazelia[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida | Hazeliidae | |||
| Leptomitella[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida | ||||
| Leptomitus[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida | Leptomitidae | |||
| Paraleptomitella[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida | Leptomitidae | |||
| Saetaspongia[1] | Porifera | Demospongiae | Protomonaxonida[11] | ||||
| Sanshapentella[12] | S. tentoriformis | Porifera | Hexactinellida |
"Owing to the presence of definite hexactines and hexactine-derived spicules, Sanshapentella can be assigned to Hexactinellida... Sponge body is composed of a stout trunk (usually 10–35 mm in thickness) and four or five conical branches at the top." | |||
| Allonnia[1] | Possible stem-group Eumetazoa[13] | Chancelloriida | Chancelloriidae | 
| |||
| Xianguangia[1] | X. sinica | Stem-group Ctenophora[14] | Dinomischidae | Resolved as being in the monophyletic family Dinomischidae with Daihua and Dinomischus. | |||
| Dinomischus[1] | Stem-group Ctenophora[14] | Dinomischidae | |||||
| Sphenothallus[1] | Cnidaria | Conulatae |
Their shell composition and microstructure indicate relatedness to conulariids[15] | 
|
Spiralia
| Genus | Species | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Ambrolinevitus[1] | Possible stem-group Lophotrochozoa[16] | Hyolitha | |||||
| Archotuba[1] | Possible stem-group Lophotrochozoa[16] | Hyolitha | |||||
| Burithes[1] | B. yunnanensis | Possible stem-group Lophotrochozoa[16] | Hyolitha | ||||
| Qingjianglepas[17] | Q. elegans | Mollusca | Helcionelloida | "Limpet-formed shell, flattened, with elliptical aperture. Radial sculpture of numerous high and narrow primary and secondary ribs, intersecting the concentric growth lines as imbrications. A prominent fold on anterior flank of shell, extending from apical region toward the anterior edge of aperture." | |||
| Heliomedusa[1] | H. orienta | stem-group Brachiopoda |
Mickwitziidae | Whether Heliomedusa and Mickwitzia are the same genus is debated.[18] | |||
| Diandongia[1] | Brachiopoda | Lingulata | Lingulida | Neobolidae[19] | "The generic composition of the Botsfordiidae was recently emended by Popov et al. (2015), who restricted the family to include only genera exhibiting a pitted larval shell, a finely pustulose postlarval shell and lacking well-developed muscle platforms as well as a prominent dorsal median ridge. The linguloid family Neobolidae was reintroduced, encompassing several early Cambrian lingulide genera that previously had been assigned to the Botsfordiidae, including Neobolus and Edreja (Holmer and Popov, 2000). " |
||
| Lingulella[1] | Brachiopoda | Lingulata | Lingulida | Obolidae | 
|
Ecdysozoa
| Genus | Species | Phylum | Class | Order | Family | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alalcomenaeus[1] | Arthropoda |
Megacheira | Leanchoiliida | Leanchoiliidae | 
| ||
| Branchiocaris[1] | B. yunnanensis | Arthropoda | Hymenocarina | Protocarididae |
| ||
| Burgessia[1] | Arthropoda | The affinities of Burgessia are contentious. It may be a basally derived crown-arthropod[20]. | 
| ||||
| Combinivalvula[1] | C. chengjiangensis | Arthropoda | Sunellidae | The family Sunnellidae includes three genera: Combinivalvula, Sunella, and Jinningella. "Sunellids resemble Isoxys Walcott, 1890 to which they may be closely related; both possess a bivalved, elongated carapace with cardinal spines that almost entirely covers the body. However, neither cephalic appendages nor proximal portions of trunk limbs are visible in sunellids, and thus, their systematic position remains uncertain."[21] | |||
| Duplapex[22] | D. anima | Arthropoda | Hymenocarina | Tuzoiidae | "The general morphology of Duplapex gen. nov. clearly indicates affinity with the Family Tuzoiidae, supported by the unmineralized bivalved carapace, reticulate ornamentation, small marginal spines and annulated eye stalks. However, its layered valves are distinguished from those of Tuzoia (the only genus found in the Family Tuzoiidae), and Duplapex has unique ventral notches and doublure spines. These justify the erection of a new genus within the Family Tuzoiidae." | 
| |
| Estaingia | Arthropoda | Trilobita | Ptychopariida | Estaingiidae | 
| ||
| Isoxys[23] | I. minor | Arthropoda | Isoxyida | Isoxyidae | I. minor appears to have produced many eggs (approximately 300 per clutch), and egg-bearing individuals were about half the size of adults, indicating r-selection in this species. This is currently the earliest diverging arthropod that displays brood behavior. | 
| |
| Leanchoilia[1] | Arthropoda | Megacheira | Leanchoiliida | Leanchoiliidae | 
| ||
| Misszhouia[1] | M. longicaudata | Arthropoda | Nektaspida | Naraoiidae | 
| ||
| Mollisonia[1] | Arthropoda | Mollisoniida | Stem-group Chelicerata | 
| |||
| Naraoia[1] | N. spinosa | Arthropoda | Nektaspida | Naraoiidae | 
| ||
| Redlichia[1] | Arthropoda | Trilobita | Redlichiida | Redlichiidae | 
| ||
| Sunella[1] | S. grandis | Arthropoda | Sunellidae |
Deuterostomes
| Genus | Species | Clade | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eldonia[1] | Stem-group Ambulacraria[24] | A member of the stem-ambulacrarian clade Cambroernida . |
| |
| Yunnanozoon[1] | Possible stem-group Deuterostome[24] | 
| ||
| Banffia[1] | Possible stem-group Deuterostome[25] | Banffia is a member of the clade Vetulicolia, which may belong to stem-Deuterostomia. | 
|
References
- ^ PMID 30898931.
- ^ a b c Cheung, Helier (24 March 2019). "Huge fossil discovery made in China's Hubei province". BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation. Archived from the original on 15 June 2023. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ Lewis, Dyani. "Chinese fossil site rivals Burgess Shale". Cosmos. Archived from the original on 29 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ a b Greshko, Michael. "Spectacular new fossil bonanza captures explosion of early life". National Geographic. Archived from the original on March 21, 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
- ^ "Paleontologists Discover 518 Million-Year-Old Fossil Site in China". Sci-News. 26 March 2019. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 9 April 2019.
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- PMC 9198775.
- doi:10.1130/G48428.1.
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- ^ PMC 8289160.
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- S2CID 252945654.
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