The Kuanchuanpu Biota(535 Ma;Fortunian,Cambrian)represents an exceptionally phosphatized fossil Lagerstätte,yielding abundant fossils of embryonic and adult soft-bodied animals,small shelly fossils,and algae.This biota serves as a crucial taphonomic window for unraveling the marine ecosystem during the very beginning of the Cambrian Explosion.However,previous studies have primarily focused on well-known groups such as the cni-darians represented by Olivooides and the ecdysozoans represented by scalidophorans(e.g.,Eokinorhynchus),leav-ing numerous enigmatic taxa of this fossil assemblage uninvestigated.This study reports a newly discovered enig-matic fossil taxon,Linglongsphaera ornata n.gen.n.sp.,from the Kuanchuanpu Biota.This taxon is characterized by a spherical body with its diameter ranging from 544 to 1088 pm.Its surface is ornamented with nodular projec-tions,and its interior consists of cells with an average diameter of 24 pm.During different developmental stages,Linglongsphaera ornata exhibits a variable number of chambers ranging from 8 to over 180.The volume of an in-dividual chamber increases at the beginning and then gradually decreases as the overall number of chambers in-creases.The chambers are distributed from the periphery to throughout the interior,with the total volume of cham-bers being stabilized at approximately 36％of the total volume of the organism body.Based on available evidence,we propose that Linglongsphaera ornata may represent an extinct multicellular eukaryote,with possible close af-finity to multicellular algae.However,its precise classification and phylogenetic position remain uncertain.This discovery contributes to a more comprehensive understanding of the diverse and enigmatic taxa of the Kuanchuanpu Biota,and sheds light on the complex early Cambrian biosphere during the Cambrian Explosion.
维普
万方数据
