The Lantian biota: A new window onto the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms

Abstract

The Lantian biota at the Lantian Town of Xiuning County, Anhui Province, is preserved in black shales of the Ediacaran Lantian Formation. It yields some of the oldest known complex macroorganisms, including fan-shaped seaweeds and possible animal fossils with tentacles and intestinal-like structures reminiscent of modern coelenterates and bilaterians. The Lantian Lagerstätte sheds new light on the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms in relatively quiet and deep environments soon after the Neoproterozoic Marinoan glaciation. The morphological complexity and diversity of early multicellular organisms may be closely related to sexual reproduction and alternation of generations. The fluctuation of oceanic redox conditions during this period may have played a role in the ecology and preservation of the Lantian biota.

Palaeobiology of Indian Proterozoic and Early Cambrian Successions— Recent Developments

“…These studies have shown newer ecological niches adopted by the biotic communities with sudden or gradual changes in the hydrosphere/ atmosphere or lithosphere (Ye et al, 2015;Wang et al, 2015b;Yuan et al, 2011Yuan et al, , 2013Zhu et al, 2016). Molecular phylogenetic studies and cladistic analysis are new dimensions of the Precambrian palaeobiology (Pawloska et al, 2013;Schirrmeister et al, 2013;Butterfield 2015).…”

“…It is also believed that cyanobacteria arose before the GOE and diversified during GOE. It was demonstrated that multicellularity most likely played an important role in cyanobacterial evolution around GOE and their three clades E1, E2 and AC evolved shortly after the rise of atmospheric oxygen (Schirrmeister et al, 2011(Schirrmeister et al, , 2013 (Yuan et al, , 2013 Wang et al (2015b) suggested the existence of three tiered palaeoecosystem of macroalgal forms and established a multilayered ecological pyramid in the biosphere with increasing demand of oxygen which pinnacled at Pc-C boundary. Ye et al (2015) reported carbonaceous compression fossils (benthic macroalgae) from the Marinoan-age Nantuo Formation in South China.…”

“…Chuaria circularis and Tawuia dalensis are the most well documented carbonaceous remains from several basins. They are (Yuan et al, , 2013 (Figs. 9A-B).…”

Enigmatic Ediacaran megascopic bedding plane structures on the Sonia Sandstone, Jodhpur Group, Marwar Supergroup, India: seaweed or problematica?

“…In the absence of unique vascular bundles in the extant forms, high extensibility of tissues in these structures minimizes the chance of breaking by the action of tidal and wave currents in the water column while afloat and during transportation. Recently, Yuan et al (2011Yuan et al ( , 2013 have reported macroscopic multicellular complex eukaryotes (close to seaweed) from the black shales of the Early Ediacaran Lantian Formation of southern Anhui Province, South China. Recently, Yuan et al (2011Yuan et al ( , 2013 have reported macroscopic multicellular complex eukaryotes (close to seaweed) from the black shales of the Early Ediacaran Lantian Formation of southern Anhui Province, South China.…”

“…Seaweeds probably evolved in the Neoproterozoic (Dawes, 1998). The Lantian biota opens a new window to understand the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms in a relatively deeper marginal platform or locally restricted sea environment with a water depth of about 50-200 m (Yuan et al, 2013). The Lantian biota opens a new window to understand the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms in a relatively deeper marginal platform or locally restricted sea environment with a water depth of about 50-200 m (Yuan et al, 2013).…”