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The rangeomorph fossil Charnia from the Ediacaran Shibantan biota in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  06 December 2022

Chengxi Wu ,
Ke Pang Open the ORCID record for Ke Pang [Opens in a new window] ,
Zhe Chen ,
Xiaopeng Wang ,
Chuanming Zhou ,
Bin Wan ,
Xunlai Yuan  and
Shuhai Xiao Open the ORCID record for Shuhai Xiao [Opens in a new window]
Chengxi Wu
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Ke Pang*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Zhe Chen*
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Xiaopeng Wang
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Chuanming Zhou
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Bin Wan
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Xunlai Yuan
Affiliation:
State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, and Center for Excellence in Life and Palaeoenvironment, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China , , , , , , University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing 100049, China
Shuhai Xiao
Affiliation:
Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
*
*Corresponding author
*Corresponding author
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Abstract

The terminal Ediacaran Shibantan biota (~550–543 Ma) from the Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China represents one of the rare examples of carbonate-hosted Ediacara-type macrofossil assemblages. In addition to the numerically dominant taxa—the non-biomineralizing tubular fossil Wutubus and discoidal fossils Aspidella and Hiemalora, the Shibantan biota also bears a moderate diversity of frondose fossils, including Pteridinium, Rangea, Arborea, and Charnia. In this paper, we report two species of the rangeomorph genus Charnia, including the type species Charnia masoni Ford, 1958 emend. and Charnia gracilis new species, from the Shibantan biota. Most of the Shibantan Charnia specimens preserve only the petalodium, with a few bearing the holdfast and stem. Despite overall architectural similarities to other Charnia species, the Shibantan specimens of Charnia gracilis n. sp. are distinct in their relatively straight, slender, and more acutely angled first-order branches. They also show evidence that may support a two-stage growth model and a epibenthic sessile lifestyle. Charnia fossils described herein represent one of the youngest occurrences of this genus and extend its paleogeographic and stratigraphic distributions. Our discovery also highlights the notable diversity of the Shibantan biota, which contains examples of a wide range of Ediacaran morphogroups.

UUID: http://zoobank.org/837216cd-4a4a-4e13-89e2-ee354ba48a4c

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Journal of Paleontology , Volume 98 , Issue 2 , March 2024 , pp. 232 - 248
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Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of Paleontological Society

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