Lobopodians And Anomalocaridids From The Cambrian Series 2—Guanshan Biota In Yiliang Yunnan,South China

This paper summarizes the early history of the development of life on earth,expounds the significance of paleontological researches during the early Phanerozoic,and introduces the general situation of previous study on the two Cambrian(Series 2)fossil biota in Yunnan,southern China.Historically,studies on Guanshan Biota maybe divided into two phases,and accordingly this study makes a brief summary on the achivements done by former scholars,emphasizing the paleontological significance of the Guanshan Biota.On the basis of elucidating the important research sections,this paper discusses the fossil enrichment layer of Guanshan biota,on the basis of summarizing the key research on Wulongqing Formation at the Lihuazhuang section in Yiliang,Yunnan,and compares the multiple output fossil sections profiles of Guanshan Biota.This study describes a new lobopodian and anomalocaridids,together with their extraordinary preservation and functional morphology,and associated taphonomy and paleobiology,revealing the substantial diversity of lobopodians and anomalocaridids in the Guanshan Biota.The described specimens are extremely rare and very difficult to be found.After decades of extensive researches carried out by other scientists in this area,new discoveries can still be made by us,this means that our field work has been done with great care.In general this work reports a new lobopodian and two new anomalocaridid taxa.The new finding extends the geographical distribution and stratigraphic range of Collisium in Yunnan area,and provides additional information for a better understanding about the taxonomy and phylogenetics of lobopodians,and the ecological surrondings and habits of the intriguing Collisium.In this study,based on newly discovered material two anomalocaridid species were described.The living habits and ecological status of Augustus lihuaensis were clarified as well as unique skeletal features,by means of comparison with morphological characteristics determined from various other anomalocaridids,to point out the evolution direction of the Cambrian anomalocaridids.Taxanomically,the total known lobopodians of the Guanshan biota have been increased to 2 genera and 3 species,whereas the anomalocaridids expanded to 4 genera and 5 species,including a new affinity unknown one.Functionally,the frontal appendages of anomalocaridids is morphologically comparable to that of extant squillids,representing not only a fresh discovery in the Guanshan Biota,but also a new lineage of the Cambrian predatorial arthropods.To a certain extent,our discovery infers the likely relationship between of the Cambrian clades(i.e.,stem-group euarthropods and onychophorans)and representatives of later times.Therefore this work proves the necessity of continuing study on the Guanshan Biota,which,with in-depth investigations on these exceptionally preserved fossil Lagerstatten,emphasizes the significance of the Cambrian Guanshan biota to be an important source of new understanding about the Cambrian Explosion.