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A new vauxiid sponge from the Kaili Biota (Cambrian Stage 5), Guizhou, South China

Part of: From Snowball Earth to the Cambrian Explosion: Evidence from China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  23 January 2017

XINGLIAN YANG ,
YUANLONG ZHAO ,
LOREN E. BABCOCK  and
JIN PENG
XINGLIAN YANG*
Affiliation:
College of Resource and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS, Nanjing 210008, China
YUANLONG ZHAO
Affiliation:
College of Resource and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
LOREN E. BABCOCK
Affiliation:
School of Earth Sciences, The Ohio State University, Columbus 43210, USA
JIN PENG
Affiliation:
College of Resource and Environment Engineering, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China
*
†Author for correspondence: yangxinglian2002@163.com
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Abstract

The skeleton of a new vauxiid sponge (Order Verongida), Angulosuspongia sinensis gen. et sp. nov., described on the basis of material from calcareous mudstones of the Kaili Formation (Cambrian Stage 5), Jianhe area, Guizhou, South China, is composed of two layers of fused spicules outlining hexagonal or polygonal openings. These vauxiid remains are the first reported from outside Laurentia, and represent only the second genus attributed to the family. Its age is close to but still slightly older than the Burgess Shale Biota, and it appears to be a primitive relative of other members of the Vauxiidae. The morphological differences between Chinese and Laurentian vauxiid sponges may be a result of vicariance. These specimens not only extend the geographic distribution of vauxiids, but also help to fill a chronostratigraphical gap between North Greenland and North American material and provide additional evidence for understanding the evolutionary history of the Demospongiae.

Keywords

VauxiiddemospongespiculeCambrianChina

Information

Type
Original Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 154 , Issue 6: THEMATIC ISSUE: From Snowball Earth to the Cambrian Explosion: Evidence from China , November 2017 , pp. 1334 - 1343
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2017 

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