Chengjiang:

clearance sale of predators
 

(Deutscher Text unten)

No specific number is known - but there must have been hundreds of thousands of the most bizarre soft fossils from the Lower-Cambrian Lagerstätte around the Chinese city of Chengjiang. They were excavated in the course of the years not only by scientists, but also by "grave robbers" or profiteers. Many of these fossils match the Burgess organisms, which are actually 15 million years younger. I know a Japanese collector, who himself owns several thousand Chengjiang fossils. There were numerous Chinese dealers, who at times sold masses of these 520-million-year-old living beings from Hong Kong via the Internet to collectors all over the world. In many cases, the fossils were sold for only 1 Dollar, when the auctions on eBay did not go that well...

Today, this is over. There had been attempts by the government to protect this unique finding place, but the final measure was taken when the UNESCO declared the finding place a World Heritage Site in 2012. Ever since that date, the thumbscrews have been put on and the dealers have been withdrawn from this business, in order to prevent a further clear-ance sale of these treasures. As far as I am concerned, I have lent my specimens mostly to interested scientists and have passed on contacts with collectors, so that possibly important information will not get lost.

Photo: Regina Troppenz

The biota association in the Maotianshan Shales (symbol: Maotianshania worm) of the Yunnan Province in the People's Republic of China is part of the Heilinpu Formation. It is a claystone deposit with a thickness of about 50 m, extending over tens of thousands of square kilometres and offering abundant scattered outcrops. The claystone fossils' state of preservation is superior to that of the Burgess Shale fossils, which can be compressed. Thus, they are easier to investigate, showing delicate details that allow conclusive interpretations.

Actually, the Chinese deposits have been known for more than 100 years. The Frenchman Mansuy, for example, made excavations in the years 1909 and 1910 and described as early as 1912 Kunmingella douvillei from Yunnan. In the 1930s and 1940s, Chinese researchers like Chen, Wang, Chiang and Lu worked hard in this area. About half a century ago, in 1965, Huo described among others Kunyangella cheni, a bivalved arthropod.

The actual thunderbolt, however, did not occur until 1984. Xiguang Zhang and  Xianguang  Hou,  both at the Yunnan  University in  Kunming,  conducted palaeontological investigations at the Maotian Mountain and were closely examining the delicate claystones, which had originally been grey, and were now yellow from weathering. They were working assiduously for ten weeks, from June until August.

NARAOIA. Finder and photo: Marc R. Hänsel

Their third find already was the key for their success and this outcrop's fame: When splitting a claystone, they uncovered a complete animal with a size of approximately 5 cm. "The animal almost appeared alive on the wet surface", Hou and Bergström wrote in 1997 in "Fossils and Strata". The find was Naraoia longicaudata; since 1997 it has been called Misszhouia longicaudata in honour of a brilliant preparator: Miss Zhou.

Since then, a tropical underwater world that had existed close to the Proterozoic-Phanerozoic turning point has gradually come to light. The incredibly diverse metazoa biota can serve as a database, as it were, for our understanding of the "Cambrian Explosion". In 1992, Prof Chen Jun-yuan (Nanjing University), Dr Berndt-Dietrich Erdmann (Technical University Berlin) and Dr Michael Steiner (Freie Universität Berlin) expressed it very vividly in the journal "Fossilien": "With the Chengjiang fossils, it was probably a combination of several favourable circumstances that enabled us to observe the anatomy of these early stages of animal life as if we were looking through a crystal-clear window. With all other fossils, we are at best allowed a look through the frosted glass of shell preservation."

   

The Chengjiang biota is incomparable: Apart from the trilobitomorphs Naraoia and Misszhouia and the genuine trilobites Eoredlichia, Paleolenus or Yunnanocephalus, there were floating animals like the indefinable Vetulicola (picture) or the largest "predator" of the time, Anomalocaris with its dangerous tentacles; also jellyfish were floating through the water.
On the sea floor, other animals were running around or digging into the ground. They included the lobopodian Microdictyon with its stubby feet and shell, Hallucigenia with its spikes on its back, the crablike creatures Leanchoilia or Chengjiangocaris, or Alalcomenaeus with its five eyes. Furthermore, there were a great number of bivalved arthropods like Waptia or Isoxys. Worms were digging into the sediment: Cricocosmia, Palaeoscolex or Maotianshania. Sessile beings like sponges, hyoliths, algae or brachiopods (e.g. Lingulella with pedicle) were also around.

The most exciting thing, however, was probably the fact that Chengjiang contained the earliest Chordata - even eight different species! Among them was the fish-like Haikouella lanceolata (Picture below). In 1999, Jun-Yuan Chen at Nanjing University and other authors recounted in "Nature" of 305 finds with sizes up to 4 cm, which they found approximately 35 km south-east of Haikou. The fossils showed exciting details like hearts, blood vessels, gills, hints at a cranium, a neural tube and a relatively "large" brain, tooth-like structures... "These findings", wrote the authors, "will add to the debate on the evolutionary transition from invertebrate to vertebrate" - and thus up to us, the human vertebrates, as well!

Photo: Regina Troppenz

(English - from the book "Troppenz: The New Precambrian",

Deutsch aus dem Buch "Troppenz: Wohin die Spuren führen" , Bd. 2.)

 

DEUTSCHER TEXT.

Chengjiang: Ausverkauf der Prädatoren

Es gibt keine Zahl - aber es müssen Hunderttausende von skurrilsten Weichteil-Fossilien aus der unterkambrischen Lagerstätte um die chinesische Stadt Chengjiang sein, die von Wissenschaftlern, aber auch “Raubgräbern“ und Geschäftemachern im Laufe der Jahre geborgen worden sind und oft mit den 20 Millionen Jahre jüngeren Burgess-Organismen übereinstimmen. Ich kenne einen japanischen Sammler, der allein mehrere tausend Chengjiang-Fossilien besitzt, und es gab zahlreiche chinesische Händler, die zeitweise massenhaft dieser 525 Millionen Jahre alten Lebewesen von Hongkong aus per Internet unter die Sammler brachten - oftmals für Cent-Beträge, wenn die Ebay-Auktion nicht so gut lief...

Heute ist damit Schluss. Es gab zwar früher schon Versuche, den einmaligen Fundort seitens der Regierung zu schützen; aber spätestens seit die UNESCO 2012 die Fossilfundstätte auf die Liste des Weltnaturerbes gesetzt hat,  werden die Daumenschrauben an- und die Händler aus dem Verkehr gezogen, um einen weiteren Ausverkauf dieser Schätze zu verhindern. Ich selbst habe meine Stücke größtenteils interessierten Wissenschaftlern zur Kenntnis gegeben und Kontakte mit Sammlern vermittelt, damit möglicherweise wichtige Informationen nicht verloren gehen.

Die Faunengemeinschaft im Maotianshan-Schiefer (Symbol: Wurm Maotianshania) der Yunnan-Provinz in der VR China gehört zur Heilinpu-Formation. Es ist eine etwa 50 m mächtige Tonsteinlage, die sich über zehntausende von Quadratkilometern erstreckt und zahlreiche verstreute Aufschlüsse bietet. Die Tonstein-Fossilien sind von besserer Erhaltung als die manchmal verdrückten Schiefer-Fossilien von Burgess und lassen sich infolgedessen auch besser untersuchen, zeigen feinste Details, die schlüssigere Interpretationen erlauben.

Eigentlich sind die chinesischen Vorkommen schon seit mehr als 100 Jahren bekannt. So beschrieb der Franzose Mansuy nach Grabungen in den Jahren 1909 und 1910 bereits 1912 Kunmingella douvillei aus Yun-nan, in den 30er und 40er Jahren arbeiteten Chinesen wie Chen, Wang, Chiang und Lu intensiv im Gelände, vor einem halben Jahrhundert (1965) folgte Huo u. a. mit Kunyangella cheni, einem zweiklappigen Arthropoden.

Der Paukenschlag kam aber erst im Jahre 1984, als Xiguang Zhang und Xianguang Hou, beide von der Yunnan-Universität in Kunming, bei paläontologischen Untersuchungen am Maotianberg die feinen, ursprünglich grauen, gelb verwitterten Tonsteine gründlich unter die Lupe nahmen. Zehn Wochen lang, von Juni bis August, gingen sie emsig zu Werke.

Aber bereits ihr dritter Fund war der Schlüssel zum Erfolg und zur Berühmtheit dieses Aufschlusses: beim Spalten eines Tonsteins kam ein etwa 5 cm langes komplettes Tier zum Vorschein - es wirkte, so Hou und Bergström 1997 in “Fossils and Strata“, “auf der feuchten Fläche wie lebendig“. Der Fund war Naraoia longicaudata, ab 1997 Misszhouia longicaudata. Mit dem neuen Namen wurde übrigens eine hervorragende Präparatorin geehrt: Miss Zhou.

Seither kam nach und nach eine tropische Unterwasserwelt ans Licht, die nahe an der proterozoisch-phanerozoischen Wende existierte. Die überaus artenreiche Metazoen-Fauna kann sozusagen als “Datenbank“ dienen für das Verständnis der “Kambrischen Explosion“. Professor Chen Junyuan von der Universität Nanjing, Dr. Berndt-Dietrich Erdmann (TU Berlin) und Dr. Michael Steiner (FU Berlin) drückten es 1992 in „Fossilien“ sehr plastisch aus: “Im Falle der Chengjiang-Fossilien dürfte eine Verknüpfung verschiedenster begünstigender Umstände dazu geführt haben, dass wir die Anatomie frühesten tierischen Lebens wie durch ein kristallklares Fenster sehen können, während sonst im günstigsten Falle nur Blicke durch das Mattglas der Schalenerhaltung gestattet sind.“

Die Chengjiang-Fauna ist unvergleichlich: Neben den Trilobitomorpha Naraoia und Misszhouia sowie den echten Trilobiten Eoredlichia, Paleolenus oder Yunnanocephalus tummeln sich freischwimmernde Tiere wie die undefinierbare Vetulicola oder das größte „Raubtier“ seiner Zeit, Anomalocaris mit seinen gefährlichen Greifarmen, Quallen schweben durchs Wasser.

Auf dem Meeresboden laufen und wühlen der stummelfüßige gepanzerte Lobopode Microdictyon oder die auf dem Rücken bestachelte Hallucigenia, die krebsartigen Wesen Leanchoilia oder Chengjiangocaris, dann der fünfäugige Alalcomenaeus. Hinzu kommen sehr viele zweiklappige Arthropoden wie Waptia oder Isoxys. Würmer graben sich ins Sediment: Cricocosmia, Palaeoscolex oder Maotianshania. Sessile Wesen wie Schwämme, Hyolithen, Algen oder Brachiopoden (z. B. Lingulella mit Stiel) kommen hinzu.

Das Aufregendste dürfte aber die Tatsache sein, dass es in Chengjiang die frühesten Chordata gab - sogar acht Arten! Darunter befindet sich die fischartige Haikouella lanceolata. In “Nature“ berichten Jun-Yuan Chen von der Universität Nanjing und Coautoren 1999 von 305 bis zu 4 cm langen Funden, die sie etwa 35 km südöstlich von Haikou gemacht hatten. Die Fossilien ließen aufregende Details erkennen - Herz, Blutgefäße, Kiemen, Andeutung eines Schädels, Neuralrohr und relativ “großes“ Gehirn, zahnähnliche Strukturen... “Diese Funde“, so die Autoren, “dürften einiges zur Debatte beitragen hinsichtlich des evolutionären Übergangs von Invertebraten zu Vertebraten“ - also zu (uns) Wirbeltieren!

         

LONGTANCUNELLA CHENGJIANGENSIS - A RARE COMPONENT OF THE CHENGJIANG BIOTA

This brachiopod mostly occurs in clusters conjoined by the pedicles, although isolited individuals do occur. It is generally found anchored by its pedicle to other animals, such as fragments of trilobites and the shells of orher brachiopods. Longtancunella is a rare component of the Chengjiang. It has been found in the Haikou, Jinning, and Chengjiang areas. Longtancunella has long been regarded as a lingulid brachiopod, but Zhang Zhi-fei et al. (2011a considered it to be an early representative of the rhynchonelliforms, possibly belonging to the class Chileata.

 

A CREATURE OF THE DEEP TIMES IS REVEALED...
EIN LEBEWESEN AUS TIEFSTEN ZEITEN KOMMT ANS TAGESLICHT

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DIVING INTO DEEP TIME - VETULICOLA CUNEATA

Enigmatic fossil Vetulicola cuneata, Chengjiang Biota, Lower Cambrian. Interesting article about First Animals exhibition. https://morethanadodo.com/2020/02/26/diving-into-deep-time/ (until 1st September 2020)

 

 

A NEW PAPER ON GUANGWEICARIS FROM THE GUANSHAN BIOTA - ABOUT 520 MILLIONS

https://app.pan.pl/archive/published/app65/app005082018.pdf…

Introduction: The fuxianhuiids occupy a crucial position in the upper stem-lineage of euarthropods (Legg et al. 2012, 2013; Legg 2013; Legg and Caron 2014; Ortega-Hernández 2016; Yang et al. 2018), and have gained considerable notoriety in recent years, due in large part to the discovery of exceptionally preserved specimens possessing putative nervous tissues (Ma et al. 2012, 2015; Yang et al. 2016), and vascular remains (Ma et al. 2014; but see also Liu et al. 2018, for a critique of this interpretation). Most members of this group have been described to possess a head with a wide carapace, covering a hypostome, a pair of antennae, and a pair of specialized post-antennal appendages (SPAs); a trunk differentiated into a thorax bearing multipodomerous appendages, and a limbless abdomen ending in a telson flanked by a pair of lateral processes. The thorax is divided into the prothorax consisting of a series of anteriorly reduced tergites and the wider opisthothorax bearing pleura (Chen et al. 2018). The prothorax is usually covered by the posterior margin of the carapace. Although temporally and geographically restricted to the lower Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 3 to Stage 4), of Yunnan, southwest China, at least seven species of fuxianhuiid have been unequivocally recognised (Chen et al. 2018: table 1). The youngest of these is Guangweicaris spinatus Luo, Fu, and Hu in Luo et al., 2007, from the Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4) Guanshan Biota. This species occurs within the Wulongqing Member of the Canglangpu Formation, which outcrops in the vicinity of Kunming. Although known from a large number of specimens (at least 150), this taxon is probably the poorest known of all the fuxianhuiids. To rectify this, a study of G. spinatus, including the type material, and a large collection of new specimens, was undertaken.