Paleobiology of the Doushantuo Formation: Multiple Taphonomic Windows into the Late Neoproterozoic Biosphere

陡山沱组的古生物学研究：新元古代晚期生物圈的多重埋藏窗口摘要本研究以中国南方新元古代陡山沱组（550 - 600 Ma）为研究对象。陡山沱组是在一个关键的地质时期沉积在中国南方的扬子地台上的，可能是在新元古代气候危机之后，但在埃迪卡拉纪宏观动物辐射之前。陡山沱组还发现了三个异常清晰的埋藏窗，分别保存在磷块岩、硅质岩和碳质页岩中。这些互补的埋藏窗口使我们能够理解与每个埋藏途径相关的埋藏偏倚，结合起来，它们提供了新元古代生物圈的更完整的图景。本研究的目的是通过进一步记录陡山沱组中的磷酸化、硅化和碳质生物化石，通过对这些埋藏窗口的对比，了解这些不同埋藏途径所施加的制约，并将陡山沱古生物学研究扩展到深水相。PI及其同事将在未来三年内对陡山沱组进行广泛的野外工作，以了解其分布，沉积环境和古生物。

Paleobiology of the Doushantuo Formation: Multiple Taphonomic Windows into the Late Neoproterozoic BiosphereAbstractThis study will focus on the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation (550 - 600 Ma) in South China. The Doushantuo Formation was deposited across the Yangtze Platform in South China during a critical geological time interval, - probably after the Neoproterozoic climatic crises but before the Ediacaran radiation of macroscopic animals. The Doushantuo Formation is also known to contain three extraordinarily clear taphonomic windows preserved in phosphorites, cherts, and carbonaceous shales. These complementary taphonomic windows allow us to understand the taphonomic bias associated with each taphonomic pathway and, in combination, they provide a more complete picture of the Neoproterozoic biosphere.The goals of this study is to improve our knowledge about the early evolution of multicellular organisms by further documenting phosphatized, silicified, and carbonaceous biotas in the Doushantuo Formation, to understand the constraints imposed by these different taphonomic pathways by comparing and contrast these taphonomic windows, and to expand the investigation of Doushantuo paleobiology into deep-water facies. The PI and his colleagues will conduct extensive fieldwork on the Doushantuo Formation in the next three years in order to understand its distribution, sedimentary environment, and paleobiology.