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Cambrian Chengjiang Fossil Site and Lagerstätte

CHINA

Innovatiocaris maotianshanensis

Innovatiocaris maotianshanensis (ELRC 20001), a nearly complete anomalocaridid specimen, represents the Cambrian giant predator. (Scale bar = 10 mm).

Geological Period

Cambrian Epoch 2, Age 3 (Approximately 518 million years ago)

Main geological interest

Paleontology

Location

Chengjiang City, Yunnan Province, China.
24°40’08.0″N, 102°58’38.0″E

Innovatiocaris maotianshanensis (ELRC 20001), a nearly complete anomalocaridid specimen, represents the Cambrian giant predator. (Scale bar = 10 mm).

Reveals a spectacular, fascinating, and diverse biota that records the early Cambrian explosion.

The fossil site presents an exceptional record of the diversification of life on Earth during the early Cambrian, when almost all the major groups of animals appeared in the stratigraphic record for the first time. It is also recognized as the globally outstanding example of a major stage in the history of life, representing a palaeobiological window of great significance (Hou et al., 2017). The fossils were recognized to be of the highest quality of preservation and convey the earliest record of a complex marine ecosystem (Chen et al., 1994; Zhao et al., 2010).

The Maotianshan, the site of the initial discovery of Chengjiang fossils

The Maotianshan, the site of the initial discovery of Chengjiang fossils, is the core area of the UNESCO World Heritage Chengjiang Fossil Site.

  • Geological description

The Chengjiang fossils represent an unparalleled record of the fundamentally important rapid diversification of metazoan life in the early Cambrian (Cambrian explosion) and the primary establishment of a complex marine ecosystem.

The fossils and rocks of the site provide direct evidence for the roots of animal biodiversity. Over 300 representing more than 20 phyla have been reported. They display a great diversity of metazoan body plans, many comparable with those of living groups. These fossils bear upon fundamental questions regarding the design of animal body plans and the genetic generation of evolutionary novelty. The diverse vertebrates, representing the “missing” history between an amphioxus-like ancestor and craniate vertebrates, provide an important understanding of the early evolution of the vertebrates (Chen et al., 1995, 1999; Shu et al., 1999).

It is one of the earliest records of a complex marine ecosystem with food webs capped by sophisticated predators (Chen et al., 1994). The exceptional fossils display the anatomy of hard and soft tissues of a great variety of organisms in exquisite detail (Hou et al., 2017). The mode of preservation imparts an extraordinary and rare beauty to the fossils, extending their value from the scientific to the aesthetic.

  • Scientific research and tradition

The Chenjiang Fossil Site was discovered in 1984. More than thirty years of intensive study have made this fossil fauna one of the best known in the geological column. The site has been well protected. It became a national Geopark in 2001 and a World Natural Heritage site in 2012.

Location and detailed map of Chengjiang Fossil Site

Location and detailed map of Chengjiang Fossil Site.

  • Reference

Chen, J., Ramsköld, L. and Zhou, G. (1994) ‘Evidence for Monophyly and Arthropod Affinity of Cambrian Giant Predators’, Science, 264(5163), pp. 1304–1308. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1126/science.264.5163.1304.

Chen, J.-Y. et al. (1995) ‘A possible Early Cambrian chordate’, Nature, 377(6551), pp. 720–722. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/377720a0.

Chen, J.-Y., Huang, D.-Y. and Li, C.-W. (1999) ‘An early Cambrian craniate-like chordate’, Nature, 402(6761), pp. 518–522. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/990080.

Hou, X.-G. et al. (2017) The Cambrian Fossils of Chengjiang, China: The Flowering of Early Animal Life. Second Edition. Oxford: John Wiley & Sons.

Shu, D.-G. et al. (1999) ‘Lower Cambrian vertebrates from south China’, Nature, 402(6757), pp. 42–46. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1038/46965.

Zhao, F., Zhu, M. and Hu, S. (2010) ‘Community structure and composition of the Cambrian Chengjiang biota’, Science China Earth Sciences, 53(12), pp. 1784–1799. Available at: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11430-010-4087-8.

  • Author(s)

Fangchen Zhao
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

Ailin Chen
Yuxi Normal University, Yunnan, China

Renbin Zhan
Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences

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