Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Jianni Liu, Jason A. Dunlop, Michael Steiner, Degan Shu
Summary: A new small fossil, Parvibellus atavus, was discovered in the Early Cambrian Chengjiang fauna of China. It has unique characteristics and is possibly related to radiodonts, and could be part of an early radiation of the nektonic lower stem-Euarthropoda.
FRONTIERS IN EARTH SCIENCE
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Cong Liu, Dongjing Fu, Xingliang Zhang
Summary: The study reveals that the lightly sclerotized arthropod Chuandianella ovata from the Chengjiang biota reinforced its carapace with phosphatic mineralization. Fossil record indicates that arthropods and ecdysozoans began mineralization in Cambrian Stage 3 (around 521-514 Ma) and exceeded the range of living counterparts in phylogenetic coverage.
Article
Geology
Hao Yun, Xingliang Zhang, Glenn A. Brock, Luoyang Li, Guoxiang Li
Summary: Chancelloriids, extinct animals from the Cambrian explosion, have a unique body plan and sclerites, leading to controversy over their phylogenetic position within Metazoa. Research indicates that their sclerites possess an organic layer and aragonitic layer, likely mineralized through a template-based strategy. This supports the hypothesis that chancelloriids represent an epitheliozoan-grade animal exploring early biomineralization methods.
Article
Biology
Huaqiao Zhang, Shuhai Xiao, Mats E. Eriksson, Baichuan Duan, Andreas Maas
Summary: This study reports the exceptional preservation of cycloneuralian introvert musculature in Fortunian rocks of South China, indicating a possible affinity with scalidophorans or priapulans and evolution during the early Cambrian Period.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Biology
Caixia Zhang, Yu Liu, Javier Ortega-Hernandez, Joanna M. Wolfe, Changfei Jin, Huijuan Mai, Xianguang Hou, Jin Guo, Dayou Zhai
Summary: Early evolution of euarthropods involved a significant transition from lobopodian-like organisms to creatures with a segmented and well-sclerotized trunk and limbs. However, the origins of completely arthrodized trunks and arthropodized ventral biramous appendages, as well as the early differentiation of anterior-posterior limbs in stem-group euarthropods, are still debated. New fossil material and micro-computed tomography reveal the morphology of arthropodized biramous appendages in the carapace-bearing euarthropod Isoxys curvirostratus. The results suggest that Isoxys curvirostratus had a non-arthrodized trunk and provide evidence for the early evolution of arthropodized biramous appendages before full body arthrodization.
PROCEEDINGS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Haijing Sun, Fangchen Zhao, Maoyan Zhu
Summary: Several well-preserved fossil taxa from the early Cambrian Chengjiang biota in South China have been significant for constructing and analyzing the early evolutionary tree of metazoans. However, some Chengjiang taxa have limited information about their paleobiology, making it difficult to assess their phylogenetic significance. Through the study of Glossolites magnus, it has been determined that it is not a hyolith as previously proposed, providing further insights into its biological affinities and paleoautecology.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Paleontology
Jun Zhao, Imran A. Rahman, Samuel Zamora, Ailin Chen, Peiyun Cong
Summary: The article describes the fossil of Sprinkleoglobus extenuatus gen. et sp. nov. from Yunnan Province, China, which represents the first unequivocal echinoderm discovered from the early Cambrian of South China and among the oldest globally. Research suggests that early echinoderms were adapted for attaching to hard substrates, indicating that the so-called Cambrian substrate revolution was not a strong control on early evolution of attachment in echinoderms.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Biology
Deng Wang, Jean Vannier, Cedric Aria, Jie Sun, Jian Han
Summary: This study explores the paleobiology of tube-dwelling worms, focusing on Selkirkia fossils from the Chengjiang Lagerstatte in China. The research reveals Selkirkia as a stem-group priapulid, capable of movement inside its protective tube. The presence of brachiopod epibionts suggests a potential ecological relationship and evolutionary significance of tube-dwelling in early Cambrian animals.
Article
Paleontology
Yang Yang, Bi'ang Su, Qiang Ou, Meirong Cheng, Jian Han, Degan Shu
Summary: Cambrian vetulicolians have both deuterostome and protostome characteristics, with a bizarre body plan including pharyngeal gill slits. This study identifies a previously unrecognized structure in the posterior section of vetulicolians, suggesting its possible role in reproduction, excretion, or digestion. The findings contribute to our understanding of vetulicolians and may aid further exploration of early deuterostome anatomy and physiology.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Dayou Zhai, Mark Williams, David J. Siveter, Derek J. Siveter, Thomas H. P. Harvey, Robert S. Sansom, Huijuan Mai, Runqing Zhou, Xianguang Hou
Summary: Micro-CT scanning revealed the unprecedented three-dimensional soft anatomy of the early Cambrian euarthropod Chuandianella ovata, including its unique appendage composition. The study suggests that the appendage structure of this species differs from other groups and does not support a more crownward position on the evolutionary tree.
PALAEONTOLOGIA ELECTRONICA
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Farid Saleh, Romain Vaucher, Jonathan B. Antcliffe, Allison C. Daley, Khadija El Hariri, Khaoula Kouraiss, Bertrand Lefebvre, Emmanuel L. O. Martin, Jean-Philippe Perrillat, Pierre Sansjofre, Muriel Vidal, Bernard Pittet
Summary: The Fezouata Biota in Morocco is a unique Lower Ordovician Lagerstadtte, preserving a diverse biological assemblage with organisms typical of Cambrian Burgess Shale-type ecosystems. Most organisms were already dead and decaying on the seafloor before being buried by occasional storm-induced deposits. The non-preservation of completely cellular organisms like jellyfish in the Fezouata Shale is attributed to pre-burial decay. Despite preservation biases, the autochthonous assemblages offer a unique opportunity to understand Early Palaeozoic seas compared to other Cambrian BST biotas.
EARTH-SCIENCE REVIEWS
(2021)
Article
Biology
Michel Schmidt, Xianguang Hou, Dayou Zhai, Huijuan Mai, Jelena Belojevic, Xiaohan Chen, Roland R. Melzer, Javier Ortega-Hernandez, Yu Liu
Summary: The study focuses on the rare euarthropod Pygmaclypeatus daziensis from the Chengjiang biota, using micro-computed tomography to examine its ventral appendage organization and explore its functional ecology and evolutionary significance. The research reveals a high degree of appendage heteronomy and suggests that a nekto-benthic mode of life and scavenging/detritus feeding strategy for P. daziensis. The findings also highlight the phylogenetic significance of appendage heteronomy within Artiopoda.
PHILOSOPHICAL TRANSACTIONS OF THE ROYAL SOCIETY B-BIOLOGICAL SCIENCES
(2022)
Article
Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
Han Zeng, Fangchen Zhao, Maoyan Zhu
Summary: This study describes in detail an iconic complete radiodont fossil named Innovatiocaris maotianshanensis, providing new insights into the evolution and early diversification of Radiodonta. Two new species, Innovatiocaris? sp. and I.? multispiniformis sp. nov., are also established based on their frontal appendages. Phylogenetic analysis suggests that Innovatiocaris may be a basal member of Hurdiidae or an early-branching lineage of the non-hurdiid clade.
JOURNAL OF THE GEOLOGICAL SOCIETY
(2023)
Article
Multidisciplinary Sciences
Karma Nanglu, Rudy Lerosey-Aubril, James C. Weaver, Javier Ortega-Hernandez
Summary: Tunicates, an evolutionarily significant subphylum of marine chordates, have a poor fossil record, limiting our understanding of their origins. In this study, a 500-million-year-old tunicate fossil is described, suggesting that the modern tunicate body plan was established shortly after the Cambrian Explosion. The fossil provides insights into the early evolution of tunicates and proposes alternative hypotheses for their ancestral state and divergence time.
NATURE COMMUNICATIONS
(2023)
Article
Paleontology
Yang Zhao, Jakob Vinther, Yu-Jing Li, Fan Wei, Xian-Guang Hou, Pei-Yun Cong
Summary: Many Ediacaran macrofossils are made up of unique pneus, forming various body shapes through modular growth regimes. The mackenziid organism, Mackenzia costalis, is a poorly understood soft-bodied species from the middle Cambrian, potentially linked to Ediacaran macrobiota. A new mackenziid species, Paramackenzia canalifera, from the early Cambrian revealed similar tubular modules to Ediacaran species, with a pore-canal system resembling that of sponges and archaeocyathids. The mackenziids are likely a blastic or diploblastic grade of stem eumetazoans, sharing similarities with other modular Ediacaran macro-organisms.
PAPERS IN PALAEONTOLOGY
(2022)
Article
Geography, Physical
Huyue Song, Shixue Hu, Michael Benton, Dayong Jiang
Summary: This article examines the end Permian to Middle Triassic interval, which witnessed a significant marine mass extinction and delayed recovery. The focus is on Triassic marine sediments in South China, providing unique documentation of the collapse and recovery of marine ecosystems. Several papers analyze different fossils and their ecological significance, while others study biostratigraphy, reconstruct paleoenvironments, and link records to volcanic eruptions.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Mohammad Firoze Quamar, Upasana Swaroop Banerji, Biswajeet Thakur, Ratan Kar
Summary: The Indian Summer Monsoon is a crucial component of the Asian Monsoon System, impacting rainfall, agricultural productivity, and socio-economic growth in India and nearby regions. The central monsoon zone in India is more responsive to strong monsoon phases than weak ones.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Maria Laura Balestrieri, Valerio Olivetti, David Chew, Luca Zurli, Massimiliano Zattin, Foteini Drakou, Gianluca Cornamusini, Matteo Perotti
Summary: This study presents a multidisciplinary provenance study on legacy cores drilled in the central Ross Sea, Antarctica, providing insights into the oscillation of ice flows and advance and retreat phases of the West Antarctic Ice Sheet.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
P. Depuydt, S. Toucanne, C. Barras, S. Le Houedec, M. Mojtahid
Summary: This study provides a comprehensive overview of the dynamics of the upper branch of the Atlantic Meridional Overturning Circulation (AMOC) in the mid-latitudes of the Northeast Atlantic. It focuses on the European Slope Current (ESC) and its glacial equivalent known as the Glacial Eastern Boundary Current (GEBC). The study reveals significant changes in flow strength and ventilation during the glacial and deglaciation periods, as well as a gradual weakening of the slope current during the Holocene.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Junhee Park, Holly J. Stein, Judith L. Hannah, Svetoslav V. Georgiev, Oyvind Hammer, Snorre Olaussen
Summary: This study reports new Re-Os ages for black shales from Svalbard and evaluates the paleoenvironment during organic-rich shale deposition. The study also proposes correlations of specific Late Jurassic ammonite zones between the Boreal and Tethyan realms.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Guocheng Dong, Weijian Zhou, Feng Xian, Yunchong Fu, Li Zhang, Ling Tang, Pengkai Ding
Summary: The cause of ice-age cycles is still not fully understood, and studying the timing and magnitude of mountain glaciations can provide valuable insights. This study presents new dating results from the Niqingqu Valley in the Tibetan Plateau, showing multiple glacial activities prior to the Penultimate Glacial Maximum. The findings suggest that low atmospheric CO2 content and reduced summer solar insolation/high summer-monsoon precipitation played a role in these glacial fluctuations.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Haoran Dong, Zhitong Chen, Yucheng Wang, Jie Chen, Zhiping Zhang, Zhongwei Shen, Xinwei Yan, Jianbao Liu
Summary: Through sediment records from Lake Nanyi in the lower Yangtze, we found that anthropogenic fire activity played a dominant role in the region, and the temporal pattern of fire activity was asynchronous from east to west. Archaeological evidence suggests an inverse relationship between agricultural and population levels and fire intensity during the mid-Holocene, with fire intensity being influenced by the diversity of landscape types associated with pre-historic subsistence patterns. Overall, changes in regional water-level delayed the transition from hunting-gathering to agriculture in the lower Yangtze region.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Giovanni Coletti, Giulia Bosio, Alberto Collareta, Or Mordecai Bialik, Eleonora Regattieri, Irene Cornacchia, Gianni Insacco, John Buckeridge
Summary: This paper argues that sessile barnacles are an excellent proxy for palaeoenvironmental reconstructions. The shells of barnacles consist of diagenetically stable low-magnesium calcite and record short-term variations. Analyses of several Western Mediterranean barnacle-rich deposits demonstrate the utility of barnacles as proxies for water depth, distance from the coastline, and hydrodynamic conditions. Moreover, the stable isotope ratios of barnacle shells can provide detailed palaeoenvironmental information.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Feng Wu, Xinong Xie, Wen Yan, Youhua Zhu, Beichen Chen, Jianuo Chen, Mo Zhou
Summary: This paper describes the Quaternary evolution of Meiji Atoll in the southern South China Sea. The findings show how variations in sea surface temperature, eustatic sea level, and tectonics have influenced the development of the atoll. These findings have broader implications for understanding the Quaternary evolution of similar tropical carbonate atolls in the region.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Ana Mateos, Ericson Hoelzchen, Jesus Rodriguez
Summary: The Epivillafranchian and the transition to the Galerian was a period of environmental fluctuations and faunal turnover. Hominins and giant hyenas could coexist during the Epivillafranchian, but the transition to the Galerian led to a disruption of the scavenging niche, coinciding with the extinction of P. brevirostris.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Tianyu Du, Wensheng Zhang, Bing Li, Linjing Liu, Yuecong Li, Yawen Ge, Shiyong Yu
Summary: This article presents sedimentary evidence for a dramatic channel displacement of the lower Yellow River about 3000-2600 years ago, and explains the impact of this displacement on the geomorphology and human migration.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Johann Mueller, Michael M. Joachimski, Oliver Lehnert, Peep Mannik, Yadong Sun
Summary: The Late Ordovician mass extinction occurred during an ice age, with maximum ice coverage and a substantial drop in global sea level. This led to the exposure or shallowing of shallow tropical shelf environments. The study suggests that the burial rate of nutrient phosphorus (P) on shelves was minimal during this glacial period, leading to excess bioavailable P entering the open ocean and stimulating phytoplankton production, which in turn lowered oxygen concentrations.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Marina Addante, Patrizia Maiorano, Giovanna Scopelliti, Angela Girone, Maria Marino, Samanta Trotta, Antonio Caruso
Summary: This study presents the first high-resolution results on planktonic foraminiferal stable oxygen isotopes and calcareous plankton assemblages, providing insights into the glacial-interglacial variability and North Atlantic climate variability. The research also reveals evidence of the first significant southward migration of the Subarctic Front in the mid-latitudes.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Bing-Cai Liu, Rui-Wen Zong, Kai Wang, Jiao Bai, Yi Wang, Hong-He Xu
Summary: Phytogeography plays a vital role in the evolution of plants. This paper describes a new species of a spore-bearing plant from the upper Silurian period in West Junggar, China. By analyzing global Silurian macrofossil records, the study reveals the spatial-temporal distribution of Silurian plant macrofossils and identifies two phytogeographic realms during the Pridoli Epoch.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)
Article
Geography, Physical
Francois Fournier, Thomas Teillet, Alexis Licht, Jean Borgomano, Lucien Montaggioni
Summary: This study investigates the temporal evolution of neritic carbonates in the proto-South China Sea to reconstruct East Asian monsoonal currents and winds during the middle to late Paleogene. The results highlight that many of the features of the summer East Asian Monsoon large-scale circulation are rooted in the middle Paleogene.
PALAEOGEOGRAPHY PALAEOCLIMATOLOGY PALAEOECOLOGY
(2024)