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In the study of the phosphate-bearing stratum at the bottom of the Cambrian system, the authors found that there occurred carbon isotope negative anomalies in the Taozichong section phosphate-bearing stratum in Qingzhen, Guizhou Province; they can be correspondingly compared with other synsedimentary carbon isotope negative anomalies both at home and abroad. The results showed that there occurred three negative anomalies of carbon isotopes in the Neoproterozoic-Early Cambrian Taozichong Formation, indicating that the temporal pa- laeo-oceanographical environment changed significantly, in which there happened two times of intensive carbon isotope variation, corresponding to creature extinction. Meanwhile, it is believed that the carbon isotope negative anomalies in phosphorites were caused by the ascending water mass of ocean current with the negative carbon iso- topic composition of deep-ocean hydrothermal deposits.

Recently a rich and well—preserved crinoid community including Traumatocrinus and Encrinus has been found in the Late Triassic Zhuganpo Formation in Guanling and Xingyi, Guizhou province, China. Among the fossils Traumatocrinus is the richest, and most of it occurs as clusters, with each cluster containing 3–42 crinoid branches. Study of the stem and calyx of Traumatocrinus shows that the number of stem-joints (columnals) is equal to the total stem length × K (5.85 per cm × stem—diameter). There are about 376 first- and second—order columnals on the whole stem. This number seems to coincide with the number of days in a year at that time. According to the present study of the palaeoecological environment of the crinoid community, it is considered that the reproduction and preservation of the crinoid community were controlled by the Late Triassic regression and the restricted bay of an interior sea behind the S—shaped shoal zone.

Large amounts of vermicular fossils and a minor amount of sponge animal fossils have been found in the Early Cambrian Xidashan Formation in the region of Quruqtagh, Xinjiang. Vermicular fossils are generally more than 50 mm long and 0.3-1.4 mm wide; their wrinkled lamellae are microfine with 3-10 pieces within the length of every each millimeter. The fossils are considered to be Sabellidites cambriensis Sokolov (1965). The Xidashan Formation is the highest stratum in which Sabellidites occur, as has been so far reported. * Supported by the Major Stage Basic Research Development Program of China (Grant No. 2002CCC02600), National Natural Science Foundation of China (Grant Nos. 400462001, 40062001), Guizhou Provincial Excellent Talent Foundation (2002-013), the Postdoctoral Scientific Foundation of China (20033209) and Guizhou Provincial President’s Funds (2004-233)

The early Early Cambrian strata within the bounds of Guizhou Province are almost predominated by black shale deposition. Recently, however, the authors have found a section consisting of a set of mudstones interbedded with limestones at the basement of the Cambrian at Yingping, Fuquan County, Guizhou Province, which provides favorable conditions for the study of marine geochemical characteristics of the early Early Cambrian. The characteristics of intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary at Yingping, Fuquan County, Guizhou Province, can be correlated with those of global carbon isotopic anomalies at the same time on a global scale, corresponding to the intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies near the Neoproterozoic/Cambrian boundaries at the bottom of the Xiaowaitoushan Member, Huize, Yunnan Province, at the top of the Tsagaan Oloom Formation of Mongolia and at the top of the Salarmy Gol Formation of Siberia, as well as those observed in southwestern United States, Iran, Amman, Poland, Newfoundland, the Great Britain, Canada, etc. Negative carbon isotopic anomalies can be used as the important basis for the division of the Precambrian/Cambrian boundaries. There have been found 8 m-thick black shales and cherts below the intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies in this profile. In the black shales there have been found large amounts of fossils such asBradorida, gernusArchotuba, indicating that during the period of sedimentation of black shales under anaerobic conditions there would be large quantities of organic species living in the sea. But in the section of grayish-green mudstones interbedded with limestones with intense negative carbon isotopic anomalies almost no organic fossil has been found. This may imply that the anaerobic event seems to have little bearing on the mass extinction near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary, whereas the intense negative carbon isotopic anomaly event appears to be more closely related to the mass extinction occurring near the Precambrian/Cambrian boundary.

Phosphorites occurring at the bottom of the Cambrian system contain abundant small shelly fossils, which are the product of the first episode of life explosion in the Cambrian. It was previously reported that the small shelly fossils are dominated by hyolithids, olivooids, zhijinitids, conodontomorphs, yubelichitids, camenitids and algae, with minor amounts of sponge fossils. Large amounts of sponge spicules, diverse in form, have been found for the first time in the Gezhongwu Formation phosphorites at Shixing, Zhijin County, Guizhou Province, of which such spicules as diaxon-triactins, diaxon-tetractins, pentaxon-pentactins and hexon-hexactins account for 30%. These spicules constitute the sponge clastic phosphorites made up of sponge clastics. Meanwhile, it is also expected that the radiation and diversity of sponge animals started as early as in the earliest Early Cambrian. Habit and burying environment of sponge animal are discussed in the paper.

The stratigraphic division and correlation of the Lower/Middle Cambrian boundary is a global problem that has not yet been perfectly solved up to now. That is because there existed two global biogeographic regions during the period from Early Cambrian to Middle Cambrian. Although much work has been done from the angle of paleontology and great achievements have been acquired in this aspect, no biological assemblage has yet been established for global stratigraphic correlations due to the coexistence of the two global biogeographic regions——the Atlantic biogeographic region and the Indian-Pacific biogeographic region during the Early-Middle Cambrian. So, to develop and establish other approaches to the stratigraphic division and correlation of the Lower/Middle Cambrian on a global scale is a possible way to solve the puzzling problem. This work systematically studied acritarch fossils from the Early-Middle Cambrian Kaili Formation at Taijiang County, Guizhou Province. The Lower/Middle Cambrian boundary was divided in terms of acritarch fossil assemblage. The divided boundary is generally consistent with what was divided by trilobite and can be correlated with the Lower/Middle Cambrian boundaries divided by acritarch assemblage in Siberia and Europe. On this basis, the Lower/Middle Cambrian boundary is divided in terms of an obvious carbon isotopic excursion on a global scale during the transitional period from Early Cambrian to Middle Cambrian boundaries in Siberia and North America. The method for the stratigraphic division and correlation of the Lower/Middle Cambrian boundary in terms of carbon isotopic oscillations is helpful to solving the global problem on the division and correlation of the Lower/Middle Cambrian boundary. It is also evidenced that the extinction of a lot of trilobites at the end of Early Cambrian is closely related with this event of carbon isotopic excursion.