View source for Doushantuo Formation

{{Short description|Fossil formation in south-central China}}
{{infobox rockunit
|image = Doushantou Embryo Yinetal2007.jpg
| caption = A purported [[Ediacaran]] [[embryo]] contained within an acritarch from the Doushantuo Formation
| region = South China
| period = Ediacaran
| age = [[Ediacaran]]<br />~{{fossil range|635|551|ref=<ref name="Jiang2011" />}}
| underlies = [[Dengying Formation]]
| prilithology   = [[Shale]]
| otherlithology = [[Mudstone]], [[marl]], [[carbonate mineral|carbonate]] or [[phosphate mineral]]s
| thickness = Up to 400 m; usually around 200 to 250 m
| overlies = [[Nantuo Formation]]
| country = [[China]]
| namedfor = Doushantuo, [[Hubei]]
| namedby = [[Li Siguang]] and {{ill|Zhao Yazeng|zh|趙亞曾}}
| year_ts = 1924<ref name="Lee1924">{{cite journal|last1=Lee|first1=J. S.|last2=Chao|first2=Y. T.|year=1924|title=Geology of the Gorges Area of the Yangtze (from Ichang to Tzekuei) with special reference to the development of the gorges|journal=Bulletin of the Geological Society of China|volume=3|issue=3–4|pages=351–392|doi=10.1111/j.1755-6724.1924.mp33-4004.x}}</ref>
}}
{{CEXNAV}}

The '''Doushantuo Formation''' (formerly [[Romanization of Chinese|transcribed]] as '''Toushantuo''' or '''Toushantou''',<ref name="Lee1924"/> from {{lang-zh|c=陡山沱 |p=dǒu shān tuó |l=steep mountain bay}}) is a [[geological formation]] in western [[Hubei]], eastern [[Guizhou]], southern [[Shaanxi]], central [[Jiangxi]], and other localities in [[China]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Xiao|first1=S.|last2=Knoll|first2=A. H.|year=2000|title=Phosphatized Animal Embryos from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation at Weng'an, Guizhou, South China|journal=Journal of Paleontology|volume=74|issue=5|pages=767–788|doi=10.1666/0022-3360(2000)074<0767:PAEFTN>2.0.CO;2|s2cid=85771456 }}</ref> It is known for the fossil [[Lagerstätten]] in [[Zigui County|Zigui]] in Hubei, [[Xiuning County|Xiuning]] in Anhui, and [[Weng'an County|Weng'an]] in Guizhou, as one of the oldest beds to contain minutely preserved  [[microfossil]]s, [[phosphatic fossilization|phosphatic fossils]] that are so characteristic <ref>{{cite journal |last1=Awramik |first1=S.M. |last2=McMenamin |first2=D.S. |last3=Yin |first3=C. |last4=Zhao |first4=Z. |last5=Ding |first5=Q.
|last6=Zhang |first6=Z. |title=Prokaryotic and eukaryotic microfossils from a Proterozoic/Phanerozoic transition in China |date=1985 |journal=Nature |volume=315 |issue=6021 |pages=655–658 |doi=10.1038/315655a0 |bibcode=1985Natur.315..655A }}</ref> they have given their name to "[[Doushantuo type preservation]]". The formation, whose deposits date back to the Early and Middle Ediacaran,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Leiming |first1=Yin |last2=Xunlai |first2=Yuan |date=8 October 2007 |title=Radiation of Meso-Neoproterozoic and Early Cambrian protists inferred from the microfossil record of China |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0031018207001903 |journal=Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology |volume=254 |issue=1–2 |pages=350–361 |doi=10.1016/j.palaeo.2007.03.028 |bibcode=2007PPP...254..350L |access-date=16 October 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref><ref name="Jiang2011" /> is of particular interest because it covers the poorly understood interval of time between the end of the [[Cryogenian]] [[geological period]] and the more familiar fauna of the Late Ediacaran [[Avalon explosion]],<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Chuanming |first1=Zhou |last2=Guwei |first2=Xie |last3=McFadden |first3=Kathleen A. |last4=Shuhai |first4=Xiao |last5=Xunlai |first5=Yuan |date=28 November 2006 |title=The diversification and extinction of Doushantuo-Pertatataka acritarchs in South China: causes and biostratigraphic significance |journal=Geological Journal |volume=42 |issue=3–4 |pages=229–262 |doi=10.1002/gj.1062 |s2cid=129367730 |doi-access=free }}</ref> as well as due to its microfossils' potential utility as biostratigraphical markers.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=McFadden |first1=Kathleen A. |last2=Xiao |first2=Shu |last3=Chuanming |first3=Zhou |last4=Kowalewski |first4=Michał |date=September 2009 |title=Quantitative evaluation of the biostratigraphic distribution of acanthomorphic acritarchs in the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China |url=https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0301926809000564 |journal=Precambrian Research |volume=173 |issue=1–4 |pages=170–190 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2009.03.009 |bibcode=2009PreR..173..170M |access-date=16 October 2022|url-access=subscription }}</ref> Taken as a whole, the Doushantuo Formation ranges from about 635&nbsp;Ma (million years ago) at its base to about 551&nbsp;Ma at its top, with the most fossiliferous layer predating by perhaps five Ma the earliest of the 'classical' Ediacaran faunas from [[Mistaken Point]] on the [[Avalon Peninsula]] of [[Newfoundland (island)|Newfoundland]], and recording conditions up to a good forty to fifty million years before the [[Cambrian explosion]] at the beginning of the [[Phanerozoic]].

==Sedimentology==

The whole sequence sits on an [[unconformity]] with the underlying Liantuo formation, which is free of fossils, an unconformity usually being interpreted as a period of erosion. On that unconformity lie [[tillite]]s of the Nantuo formation - cemented [[glacial till]] formed of glacial deposits of cobbles and gravel laid down at the end of the [[Marinoan glaciation]] (also known as Varangian glaciation, this is the second and last of a series of very extensive glaciations during a period called the [[Cryogenian]]—named because '[[Snowball Earth]]' conditions at the time). This latest Cryogenian glacial level is tentatively dated ''ca'' 654 (660 ± 5) — 635 Ma (million years ago).

The Doushantuo formation itself has three layers representing aquatic sediments that formed as sea levels rose with the melting of worldwide glaciation. [[Biomarker]]s indicate highly saline conditions, such as might be found in a lagoon, low oxygen levels, and very little sediment that had been washed off land surfaces.

The richest finds (the ''Lagerstätte'' itself) lie at the bottom of the middle stratum, with a date about 570 Ma, thus from some time after the great [[Gaskiers glaciation (geology)|Gaskiers glaciation]] of [585 ± 1 - 582.1 ± 0.4 Ma].

==Fossils==
{{Further|Fossil embryos}}
Doushantuo fossils are all aquatic, microscopic, and preserved to a great degree of detail. The latter two characteristics mean that the structure of the organisms that made them can be studied at the cellular level, and considerable insight has been gained into the embryonic and larval stages of many early creatures. One contentious claim is that many of the fossils show signs of [[Symmetry (biology)|bilateral symmetry]], a common feature in many modern-day animals which is usually assumed to have evolved later, during the Cambrian Explosion. A nearly microscopic fossil animal, ''[[Vernanimalcula]]'' ("springtime micro-animal") was announced in October 2005, with the claim that it was the oldest known bilateral animal.<ref name=spring>{{Cite journal |last1=Chen |first1=Jun-Yuan |last2=Bottjer |first2=David J. |last3=Oliveri |first3=Paola |last4=Dornbos |first4=Stephen Q. |last5=Gao |first5=Feng |last6=Ruffins |first6=Seth |last7=Chi |first7=Huimei |last8=Li |first8=Chia-Wei |last9=Davidson |first9=Eric H. |date=9 July 2004 |title=Small Bilaterian Fossils from 40 to 55 Million Years Before the Cambrian |journal=[[Science (journal)|Science]] |language=en |volume=305 |issue=5681 |pages=218–222 |doi=10.1126/science.1099213 |issn=0036-8075 |doi-access=free |pmid=15178752 |bibcode=2004Sci...305..218C }}</ref> However, the absence of adult forms of almost all animal types in the Doushantuo (there are microscopic adult [[sea sponge|sponge]]s and [[coral]]s) makes these claims difficult to prove: some argue that their lack suggests these finds are not larval and embryonic forms at all; supporters contend that some unidentified process "filtered out" all but the smallest forms from fossilization. An alternative interpretation suggests that it was created by non-biological [[diagenesis|rock-forming processes]].<ref name="Bengtson2004">{{cite journal
 | author = Bengtson, S.
 |author2=Budd, G.
 | year = 2004
 | title = Comment on ''Small bilaterian fossils from 40 to 55 million years before the Cambrian''
 | journal = Science
 | volume = 306
 | pages = 1291a
 | doi = 10.1126/science.1101338
 | pmid = 15550644
 | issue = 5700
 | doi-access = free
 }}</ref> The team that discovered ''Vernanimalcula'' have defended their conclusion that it was an animal, pointing out that they found ten specimens (not illustrated) of the same size and configuration, and stating that non-biological processes would be very unlikely to produce so many specimens that were so alike.<ref name="ChenDefendVernanimalcula">{{ cite journal
 | year=2004
 | title=Response to Comment on "Small Bilaterian Fossils from 40 to 55 Million Years Before the Cambrian"
 | doi = 10.1126/science.1102328
 | author=Chen, J.Y.
 | author2=Oliveri, P.
 | author3=Davidson, E.
 | author4=Bottjer, D.J.
 | name-list-style=amp
 | journal=Science
 | volume=306
 | issue=5700
 | pages=1291b
| pmid=15550644
 | s2cid=84743928
 | doi-access=
 }}</ref>

The discovery was made when the rich phosphate deposits were being mined, and was first reported in 1998. The finds offer direct evidence that confirms expectations that major evolutionary diversification of animals already had occurred before the onset of the Cambrian period, with its apparent 'explosion' of [[metazoan life]]-forms and, therefore, that more remote ancestral forms of the [[Phylum|phyla]] recognizable in Cambrian macrofossils must have existed previously.{{Citation needed|reason=Reliable source needed for the whole sentence|date=June 2015}}

The documented [[biota (ecology)|biota]] now includes [[Phosphatic fossilization|phosphatized microfossils]] of [[algae]], multicellular [[thallophyte]]s (seaweeds), [[acritarch]]s, [[ciliate]]s,<ref>{{The Rise and Fall of the Ediacaran Biota |author=C.-W. Li |author2=J.-Y. Chen |author3=J. H. Lipps |author4=F. Gao |author5=H.-M. Chi |author6=H.-J. Wu |chapter=Ciliated protozoans from the Precambrian Doushantuo Formation, Wengan, South China |pages=151–156 |doi=10.1144/SP286.11}}</ref> and [[cyanophyte]]s, besides adult [[sponge]]s and adult [[cnidaria]]ns (coelenterates; these may be early forms of [[tabulate coral]]s (tetracorallians)).{{Citation needed|date=June 2008}} There also seem to be what scientists cautiously report as bilateral animal embryos, termed ''Parapandorina'', and eggs (''[[Megasphaera]]''). Some of the possible animal embryos are in an early stage of cellular division (that was first interpreted as [[spore]]s or algal cells), including eggs and embryos which are most probably of sponges or [[cnidarian]]s, as well as adult sponges and a variety of adult cnidarians.

An alternative possibility is that the "embryos" and "eggs" are in fact fossils of giant sulfur [[bacteria]] resembling ''[[Thiomargarita]]'', a bacterium so large that it is visible to the naked eye.<ref name=Bailey2007>{{cite journal|title=Evidence of giant sulphur bacteria in Neoproterozoic phosphorites|journal=Nature|volume=445|pages=198–201 |year=2007|doi=10.1038/nature05457|author=Bailey, Jake V.|pmid=17183268|last2=Joye|first2=SB|last3=Kalanetra|first3=KM|last4=Flood|first4=BE|last5=Corsetti|first5=FA|issue=7124|bibcode = 2007Natur.445..198B |s2cid=4346066 }}</ref> The interpretation would also provide a mechanism for [[phosphatic fossilization]] through microbially mediated phosphate [[Precipitation (chemistry)|precipitation]] by the bacteria, which has been observed in modern environments.  If dark spots in the fossil transpire to be fossilised nuclei - an unlikely claim<ref name="Schiffbauer2012">{{Cite journal | last1 = Schiffbauer | first1 = J. D. | last2 = Xiao | first2 = S. | last3 = Sharma | first3 = K. S. | last4 = Wang | first4 = G. | title = The origin of intracellular structures in Ediacaran metazoan embryos | doi = 10.1130/G32546.1 | journal = Geology | volume = 40 | issue = 3 | pages = 223–226 | year = 2012 |bibcode = 2012Geo....40..223S }}</ref> - this would refute the ''Thiomargarita'' hypothesis. That being said, recent comparisons of the Doushantuo fossils to modern decaying ''Thiomargarita'' and expired sea urchin embryos shows little similarity between the fossils and decaying bacterial cells.<ref>{{cite journal|last=Reardon|first=Sara|title=Dead Fossils Tell the Best Tales|journal=ScienceNOW|date=6 December 2011|url=http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/12/dead-fossils-tell-the-best-tales.html?ref=hp|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130608154420/http://news.sciencemag.org/sciencenow/2011/12/dead-fossils-tell-the-best-tales.html?ref=hp|archive-date=8 June 2013}}</ref>

Only about one-twentieth of the site's fossils have been excavated. The fossil beds are threatened by increasing intensity of [[phosphate mining]] operations in the area. A workshop led in protest by local paleontologists resulted in a temporary halt to the mining in 2017.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Cyranoski|first1=David|title=Mining threatens Chinese fossil site that revealed planet's earliest animals|url=http://www.nature.com/news/mining-threatens-chinese-fossil-site-that-revealed-planet-s-earliest-animals-1.21869|access-date=20 April 2017|work=Nature}}</ref>

== Paleobiota ==

While here they are placed in the Doushantuo Formation, most of the algae are found in the Miaohe biota, which may instead belong to the lower part of the [[Dengying Formation]].<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Ye |first1=Qin |last2=An |first2=Zhihui |last3=Yu |first3=Yang |last4=Zhou |first4=Ze |last5=Hu |first5=Jun |last6=Tong |first6=Jinnan |last7=Xiao |first7=Shuhai |title=Phosphatized microfossils from the Miaohe Member of South China and their implications for the terminal Ediacaran biodiversity decline |journal=Precambrian Research |date=May 2023 |volume=388 |article-number=107001 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2023.107001}}</ref>

=== Algae ===

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="6" align="center" |Algae
|-
!Genus
!Species
!Higher taxon
!Notes
!Images
|-
|''[[Anhuiphyton]]''
|''A. lineatum''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Essentially identical to specimens from the [[Lantian Formation]]<ref name=algae/>
|
|-
|''[[Anomalophyton]]''
|''A. zhangzhongyingi''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Similar to ''Doushantuophyton'', but branches less frequently<ref name=reassess/>
|-
|''[[Baculiphyca]]''
|''B. taeniata'', ''B. brevistipitata''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Species differ in stipe length<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Beltanelliformis]]''
|''B. brunsae''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Originally interpreted as a polypoid cnidarian<ref name=reassess/>
|[[File:Anthozoa - Nemiana simplex.JPG|thumb|''Beltanelliformis'' fossil from Ukraine]]
|-
|''[[Crassitubus]]''
|''C. costata''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Originally interpreted as a tubular animal,<ref name=tube/> before being reinterpreted as a cyanobacterium<ref name=not-meta/>
|
|-
|''[[Cobios]]''
|''C. rubro''
|[[Rhodophyta]]
|Preserves evidence of multiple life stages<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Du |first1=Wei |last2=Lian Wang |first2=Xun |last3=Komiya |first3=Tsuyoshi |last4=Zhao |first4=Ran |last5=Wang |first5=Yue |title=Dendroid multicellular thallophytes preserved in a Neoproterozoic black phosphorite in southern China |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |date=2 January 2017 |volume=41 |issue=1 |pages=1–11 |doi=10.1080/03115518.2016.1159408}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Doushantuophyton]]''
|''D. lineare'', ''D. rigidulum'', ''D. quyuani'', ''D. cometa'', ''D. laticladus''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Relatively small and thin<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Enteromorphites]]''
|''E. siniansis'', ''E. magnus''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|One of the larger "branching algae" from Doushantuo<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Gemmaphyton]]''
|''G. taoyingensis''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Bears a very long stipe and round holdfast<ref name="algae">{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Ye |last2=Wang |first2=Yue |last3=Du |first3=Wei |last4=Wang |first4=Xunlian |title=New Data of Macrofossils in the Ediacaran Wenghui Biota from Guizhou, South China |journal=Acta Geologica Sinica |date=October 2016 |volume=90 |issue=5 |pages=1611–1628 |url=https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Wei-Du-48/publication/310470096_New_Data_of_Macrofossils_in_the_Ediacaran_Wenghui_Biota_from_Guizhou_South_China/links/59c4b0b2aca272c71bb41abe/New-Data-of-Macrofossils-in-the-Ediacaran-Wenghui-Biota-from-Guizhou-South-China.pdf?_tp=eyJjb250ZXh0Ijp7ImZpcnN0UGFnZSI6InByb2ZpbGUiLCJwYWdlIjoicHVibGljYXRpb24iLCJwcmV2aW91c1BhZ2UiOiJwcm9maWxlIn19}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Globusphyton]]''
|''G. lineare''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Fairly unusual morphology suggests it likely crept along the seafloor<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Ye |last2=Wang |first2=Yue |title=Globusphyton Wang et al ., an Ediacaran Macroalga, Crept on the Seafloor in the Yangtze Block, South China |journal=Paleontological Research |date=January 2018 |volume=22 |issue=1 |pages=64–74 |doi=10.2517/2017PR005}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Glomulus]]''
|''G. filamentum''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Resembles modern cyanobacteria like ''[[Microcoleus]]''<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Gremiphyca]]''
|''G. corymbiata''
|[[Rhodophyta]]
|Likely a stem-rhodophyte,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Xiao |first1=Shuhai |last2=Knoll |first2=Andrew H. |last3=Yuan |first3=Xunlai |last4=Pueschel |first4=Curt M. |title=Phosphatized multicellular algae in the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation, China, and the early evolution of florideophyte red algae |journal=American Journal of Botany |date=February 2004 |volume=91 |issue=2 |pages=214–227 |doi=10.3732/ajb.91.2.214}}</ref> resembles coralline algae<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Grypania]]''
|''G. spiralis''
|[[Eukaryota]]?
|One of the most common large Proterozoic fossils<ref name=miaohe/>
|[[File:Grypania spiralis.JPG|thumb|''Grypania'' fossils from the Negaunee Iron Formation in the USA]]
|-
|''[[Jiuqunaoella]]''
|''J. simplicis''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Resembles ''Grypania'', but differs in presence of constrictions<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Jixiania]]''
|''J. lineata''
|[[Eukaryota]]?
|Also known from the Mesoproterozoic, probably a filamentous alga<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Konglingiphyton]]''
|''K. erecta'', ''K. laterale''
|[[Rhodophyta]]?
|Likely a rhodophyte, a formerly separate genus ("Ramalga") was actually a specimen of this genus overlaid by one of ''Doushantuophyton''<ref name=reassess/>
|
|-
|''[[Latiortenuiphyton]]''
|''L. robusta''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Has large vein-like structures in its thallus<ref name=algae/>
|
|-
|''[[Liulingjitaenia]]''
|''L. alloplecta''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Unusually consists of a set of braided filaments<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Longifuniculum]]''
|''L. dissolutum''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Similar to ''Liulingjitaenia'', but its filaments fray out at each end almost like a braided rope<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Maxiphyton]]''
|''M. stipitatum''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Has an unusually thick stipe<ref name="miaohe">{{cite journal |last1=Ye |first1=Qin |last2=Tong |first2=Jinnan |last3=An |first3=Zhihui |last4=Hu |first4=Jun |last5=Tian |first5=Li |last6=Guan |first6=Kaiping |last7=Xiao |first7=Shuhai |title=A systematic description of new macrofossil material from the upper Ediacaran Miaohe Member in South China |journal=Journal of Systematic Palaeontology |date=1 February 2019 |volume=17 |issue=3 |pages=183–238 |doi=10.1080/14772019.2017.1404499}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Megaspirellus]]''
|''M. houi''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Holotype reinterpreted as a coprolite due to sediment grains<ref name=miaohe/>
|
|-
|''[[Miaohephyton]]''
|''M. bifurcatum''
|[[Phaeophyta]]?
|Fossils likely represent shed fragments from larger thalli<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Xiao |first1=Shuhai |last2=Knoll |first2=Andrew H. |last3=Yuan |first3=Xunlai |title=Morphological reconstruction of Miaohephyton bifurcatum , a possible brown alga from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation, South China |journal=Journal of Paleontology |date=November 1998 |volume=72 |issue=6 |pages=1072–1086 |doi=10.1017/S0022336000027414}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Paramecia (alga)|Paramecia]]''
|''P. incognata''
|[[Corallinales]]?
|Formerly interpreted as a marine lichen<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Paratetraphycus]]''
|''P. gigantea''
|[[Bangiophyceae]]?
|Resembles early developmental stages of the alga ''[[Porphyra]]''<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Pseudodoushantuophyton]]''
|''P. wenghuiensis''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Bears cluster-like filaments on its branches<ref name=algae/>
|
|-
|''[[Quadratitubus]]''
|''Q. orbigoniatus''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Originally interpreted as a tubular animal,<ref name=tube/> before being reinterpreted as a cyanobacterium<ref name=not-meta/>
|
|-
|''[[Ramitubus]]''
|''R. increscens'', ''R. decrescens''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Originally interpreted as a tubular animal,<ref name="tube">{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Pengju |last2=Xiao |first2=Shuhai |last3=Yin |first3=Chongyu |last4=Zhou |first4=Chuanming |last5=Gao |first5=Linzhi |last6=Tang |first6=Feng |title=SYSTEMATIC DESCRIPTION AND PHYLOGENETIC AFFINITY OF TUBULAR MICROFOSSILS FROM THE EDIACARAN DOUSHANTUO FORMATION AT WENG'AN, SOUTH CHINA |journal=Palaeontology |date=March 2008 |volume=51 |issue=2 |pages=339–366 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2008.00762.x}}</ref> then found to be an alga similar to ''[[Epiphyton]]''<ref name=not-meta/>
|
|-
|''[[Sinocylindra]]''
|''S. linearis'', ''S. yunnanensis''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Resembles the cyanobacteria ''Siphonophycus''<ref name=miaohe/>
|[[File:Sinocylindra yunnanensis, Chengjiang biota 2.jpg|thumb|''S. yunnanensis'' fossil from the Chengjiang biota]]
|-
|''[[Sinocyclocyclicus]]''
|''S. guizhouensis''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Formerly thought to be a larval or tube-dwelling metazoan alongside other tubular microfossils<ref name="not-meta">{{cite journal |last1=Sun |first1=Wei-Chen |last2=Yin |first2=Zong-Jun |last3=Donoghue |first3=Philip |last4=Liu |first4=Peng-Ju |last5=Shang |first5=Xiao-Dong |last6=Zhu |first6=Mao-Yan |title=Tubular microfossils from the Ediacaran Weng'an Biota (Doushantuo Formation, South China) are not early animals |journal=Palaeoworld |date=December 2019 |volume=28 |issue=4 |pages=469–477 |doi=10.1016/j.palwor.2019.04.004|hdl=1983/2fa05771-9d96-4663-8438-29d52f2cc197 |hdl-access=free }}</ref><ref name="mineralise">{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yun |last2=Yin |first2=Leiming |last3=Xiao |first3=Shuhai |last4=Knoll |first4=Andrew H. |title=Permineralized Fossils from the Terminal Proterozoic Doushantuo Formation, South China |journal=Memoir (The Paleontological Society) |date=1998 |volume=50 |pages=1–52 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1315592.pdf |issn=0078-8597}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Siphonophycus]]''
|''S. solidum'', ''S. septatum'', ''S. kestron'', ''S. typicum'', ''S. robustum''<ref name=micro/>
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Relatively common cyanobacteria<ref name=reassess/>
|
|-
|''[[Thallophyca]]''
|''T. corrugata''
|[[Rhodophyta]]
|Resembles the [[Solenoporaceae]]<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Thallophycoides]]''
|''T. phloeatus''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|May be a rhodophyte?<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Tongrenphyton]]''
|''T. komma''
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Has several filaments along its thallus, showing a clear eukaryotic affinity<ref name=algae/>
|
|-
|''[[Vendotaenia]]''
|''V. sp''
|[[Vendotaenid]]
|Resembles specimens from the lower Cambrian<ref name=miaohe/>
|[[File:Vendotaenid indet.jpg|thumb|Indeterminate vendotaenid fossil]]
|-
|''[[Wengania]]''
|''W. globosa'', ''W. exquisita'', ''W. minuta''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Xiao |first1=Shuhai |title=New Multicellular Algal Fossils and Acritarchs in Doushantuo Chert Nodules (Neoproterozoic; Yangtze Gorges, South China) |journal=Journal of Paleontology |date=2004 |volume=78 |issue=2 |pages=393–401 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/4094885.pdf |issn=0022-3360}}</ref>
|[[Eukaryota]]
|Resembles various algae in its [[wikt:parenchymatous|parenchymatous]] structure, especially green algae<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|}

=== Microorganisms ===

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="6" align="center" |Microorganisms
|-
!Genus
!Species
!Higher taxon
!Notes
!Images
|-
|''[[Aggregatosphaera]]''
|''A. miaoheensis''
|[[Eukaryota]]?
|Spheroidal cell clusters with similarities to algal cysts<ref name="reassess">{{cite journal |last1=Xiao |first1=Shuhai |last2=Yuan |first2=Xunlai |last3=Steiner |first3=Michael |last4=Knoll |first4=Andrew H. |title=Macroscopic Carbonaceous Compressions in a Terminal Proterozoic Shale: A Systematic Reassessment of the Miaohe Biota, South China |journal=Journal of Paleontology |date=2002 |volume=76 |issue=2 |pages=347–376 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/pdf/1307146.pdf |issn=0022-3360}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Annularidens]]''
|''A. inconditus''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears numerous hollow processes on its outer surface,<ref name="micro">{{cite journal |last1=Ye |first1=Qin |last2=Li |first2=Jiaqi |last3=Tong |first3=Jinnan |last4=An |first4=Zhihui |last5=Hu |first5=Jun |last6=Xiao |first6=Shuhai |title=A microfossil assemblage from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in the Shennongjia area (Hubei Province, South China): Filling critical paleoenvironmental and biostratigraphic gaps |journal=Precambrian Research |date=August 2022 |volume=377 |article-number=106691 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2022.106691}}</ref> giving it a gearwheel-like appearance in cross-section<ref name=spiky/>
|
|-
|''[[Apodastoides]]''
|''A. basileus''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears processes with plugs at their base<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Appendisphaera]]''
|''A. anguina'', ''A. clava'', ''A. grandis'', ''A. fragilis'', ''A. longispina'', ''A. setosa'', ''A. tabifica'', ''A. tenuis'', ''A. helicaea'',<ref name=spiky/> ''A. brevispina'', ''A. hemisphaerica''<ref name=stego/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears numerous long, flexible processes<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Archaeophycus]]''
|''A. yunnanensis''
|[[Eukaryota]]?
|Either a cyanobacteria or the early developmental stage of an alga<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Asterocapsoides]]''
|''A. sinicus''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Original holotype was damaged by the surrounding rock breaking<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Bacatisphaera]]''
|''B. baokangensis''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears large pimple-like processes<ref name="giant">{{cite journal |last1=Chuanming |first1=Zhou |last2=Brasier |first2=M. D. |last3=Yaosong |first3=Xue |title=Three‐Dimensional Phosphatic Preservation Of Giant Acritarchs From The Terminal Proterozoic Doushantuo Formation In Guizhou And Hubei Provinces, South China |journal=Palaeontology |date=November 2001 |volume=44 |issue=6 |pages=1157–1178 |doi=10.1111/1475-4983.00219}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Baltisphaeridium]]''
|''B. rigidum''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears short, triangular processes<ref name="acritarch">{{cite journal |last1=Xunlai |first1=Yuan |last2=Hofmann |first2=H.J. |title=New microfossils from the neoproterozoic (Sinian) Doushantuo Formation, Wengan, Guizhou Province, southwestern China |journal=Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology |date=January 1998 |volume=22 |issue=3 |pages=189–222 |doi=10.1080/03115519808619200}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Bispinosphaera]]''<ref name=stego/>
|''B. vacua''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears two separate types of process; one is conical and hollow, the other is solid and hair-like<ref name=spiky/>
|
|-
|''[[Botominella]]''
|''B. lineata''
|[[Eukaryota]]?
|Known from small trichome-like structures<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Castaneasphaera]]''
|''C. speciosa''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Resembles Phanerozoic "mazuelloids"<ref name=giant/>
|
|-
|''[[Cavaspira]]''
|''C. acuminata'', ''C. basiconica''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears short, conical processes<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Cerionopora]]''
|''C. ordinata''
|[[Acritarch]]
|May be a resting cyst of a multicellular alga<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Comasphaeridium]]''
|''C. magnum''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears long hair-like processes<ref name=acritarch/>
|
|-
|''[[Crassimembrana]]''
|''C. crispans'', ''C. multitunica''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears a thick vesicle wall<ref name="spiky">{{cite journal |last1=Ouyang |first1=Qing |last2=Zhou |first2=Chuanming |last3=Xiao |first3=Shuhai |last4=Guan |first4=Chengguo |last5=Chen |first5=Zhe |last6=Yuan |first6=Xunlai |last7=Sun |first7=Yunpeng |title=Distribution of Ediacaran acanthomorphic acritarchs in the lower Doushantuo Formation of the Yangtze Gorges area, South China: Evolutionary and stratigraphic implications |journal=Precambrian Research |date=February 2021 |volume=353 |article-number=106005 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2020.106005}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Cyanonema]]''
|''C. attenuatum''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Similar to forms from the Bitter Springs formation<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Cymatiosphaeroides]]''
|''C. forabilatus'', ''C. yinii''<ref name=acritarch/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Similar to ''Membranosphaera'', bears cylindrical processes with pointed tips<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Dicrospinasphaera]]''
|''D. zhangii''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears thin, branching processes<ref name=acritarch/>
|
|-
|''[[Distosphaera]]''
|''D. jinguadunensis'', ''D. speciosa''<ref name=mineralise/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears two layers of cylindrical processes<ref name=spiky/>
|
|-
|''[[Doushantuonema]]''
|''D. peatii''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Earliest reported cyanobacteria from the formation<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhongying |first1=Zhang |title=A new Oscillatoriaceae-like filamentous microfossil from the Sinian (late Precambrian) of western Hubei Province, China |journal=Geological Magazine |date=March 1981 |volume=118 |issue=2 |pages=201–206 |doi=10.1017/S0016756800034397}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Duospinosphaera]]''
|''D. shennongjiaensis'', ''D. biformis''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears two layers of processes; an inner cylindrical one likened to hanging icicles and a larger conical one on the outer wall<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Echinosphaeridium (fossil)|Echinosphaeridium]]''
|''E. maximum''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Formerly placed in ''Ericiasphaera'' due to a misinterpretation of the spines as solid<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Eotylotopalla]]''
|''E. apophysa'', ''E. dactylos'', ''E. delicata''<ref name=mineralise/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Formerly placed within ''[[Timanisphaera]]''<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Ericiasphaera]]''
|''E. fibrila'', ''E. magna'', ''E. rigida''?, ''E. densispina'',<ref name=stego/> ''E. sparsa''<ref name=mineralise/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears dense cylindrical processes,<ref name=micro/> badly preserved acritarchs likely belonging to this genus were misinterpreted as ciliates<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Dunthorn |first1=Micah |last2=Lipps |first2=Jere H. |last3=Stoeck |first3=Thorsten |title=Reassessment of the Putative Ciliate Fossils Eotintinnopsis, Wujiangella, and Yonyangella from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation in China |journal=Acta Protozoologica |date=2010 |volume=49 |issue=2 |pages=139–144 |url=https://ejournals.eu/en/journal/acta-protozoologica/article/reassessment-of-the-putative-ciliate-fossils-eotintinnopsis-wujiangella-and-yonyangella-from-the-neoproterozoic-doushantuo-formation-in-china |language=en}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Goniosphaeridium]]''
|''G. acuminatum'', ''G. conoideum'', ''G. cratum''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Similar to ''[[Baltisphaeridium]]''<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Granitunica]]''
|''G. mcfaddenae''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Differs from other sphaeromorph acritarchs in its granular wall<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Hocosphaeridium]]''
|''H. dilatatum'', ''H. scaberfacium''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears numerous hooked processes<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Knollisphaeridium]]''
|''K. maximum'', ''K. coniformum'', ''K. denticulatum'', ''K. longilatum'', ''K. obtusum'', ''K. parvum''<ref name=stego/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears conical processes with a long filament-like tip<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Leiosphaeridia]]''
|''L. tenuissima'', ''L. crassa'', ''L. minutissima''<ref name=micro/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Incredibly abundant<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Megasphaera (fossil)|Megasphaera]]''
|''M. inornata''
|[[Protista]]
|Thought represent an animal egg, then revealed to likely be an encysting protist<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Zhang |first1=Yuan |last2=Zhang |first2=Xingliang |title=Non-metazoan affinity of embryo-like Megasphaera fossils from the Ediacaran Zhenba microfossil assemblage |journal=Precambrian Research |date=June 2022 |volume=374 |article-number=106645 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2022.106645|doi-access=free }}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Meghystricosphaeridium]]''
|''M. chadianensis'', ''M?. densum'', ''M. gracilentum'', ''M. perfectum'', ''M. magnificum'', ''M. wenganensis''<ref name=acritarch/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Somewhat unclear which species belong to this genus<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Mengeosphaera]]''
|''M. angusta''?, ''M. chadianensis'', ''M. constricta'', ''M. gracilis'', ''M. mamma'', ''M. minima'', ''M. stegosauriformis'', ''M. bellula'', ''M. cuspidata'', ''M. grandispina'', ''M. latibasis'', ''M. spicata'', ''M. spinula'', ''M. triangula'', ''M. uniformis'', ''M. membranifera''<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Shang |first1=Xiaodong |last2=Liu |first2=Pengju |last3=Moczydłowska |first3=Małgorzata |title=Acritarchs from the Doushantuo Formation at Liujing section in Songlin area of Guizhou Province, South China: Implications for early–middle Ediacaran biostratigraphy |journal=Precambrian Research |date=November 2019 |volume=334 |article-number=105453 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2019.105453}}</ref>
|[[Acritarch]]
|The species ''M. stegosauriformis'' is named after the dinosaur ''[[Stegosaurus]]'', due to the acritarch's processes resembling the dinosaur's plates in shape<ref name="stego">{{cite journal |last1=Liu |first1=Pengju |last2=Xiao |first2=Shuhai |last3=Yin |first3=Chongyu |last4=Chen |first4=Shouming |last5=Zhou |first5=Chuanming |last6=Li |first6=Meng |title=Ediacaran Acanthomorphic Acritarchs and Other Microfossils from Chert Nodules of the Upper Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges Area, South China |journal=Journal of Paleontology |date=January 2014 |volume=88 |issue=S72 |pages=1–139 |doi=10.1666/13-009}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Obruchevella]]''
|''O. minor''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Relatively rare<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Oscillatoriopsis]]''
|''O. amadeus'', ''O. longa'', ''O. obtusa'', ''O. majuscula''<ref name=micro/>
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|Common cyanobacterial genus<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Osculosphaera]]''
|''O. arcelliformis'', ''O. hyalina'', ''O. membranifera''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Resembles [[arcellinid]]s<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Papillomembrana]]''
|''P. compta''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Formerly placed within [[Dasycladales]]<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Pustulisphaera]]''
|''P. membranacea''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears three wall layers, with the middle one bearing pimple-like processes<ref name=mineralise/>
|-
|''[[Salome (genus)|Salome]]''
|''S. hubeiensis''
|[[Cyanobacteria]]
|A fossil identified as a "microburrow" was placed in this genus before being reidentified as an oblique section of a tubular fossil<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Sarcinophycus]]''
|''S. radiatus'', ''S. papilloformis''
|[[Eukaryota]]?
|Only known from Doushantuo, consists of bundles of sarcinoid cell packets<ref name=micro/>
|
|-
|''[[Schizofusa]]''
|''S. zangwenlongii''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Similar to ''Leiosphaeridia''<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Sinosphaera]]''
|''S. asteriformis'', ''S. rupina''<ref name=mineralise/>
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears small conical spines and a few larger ones<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Symphysosphaera]]''
|''S. basimembrana''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Similar to ''[[Eosphaera]]'', but larger<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Tanarium]]''
|''T. acus'', ''T. conoideum'', ''T. elegans'', ''T. longitubulare'', ''T. minimum'', ''T. obesum'', ''T. pilosiusculum'', ''T. pycnacanthum'', ''T. varium''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Spine shapes vary from small and triangular to long and needle-like<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Tianzhushania]]''
|''T. spinosa''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears a many-layered wall with spines penetrating through it<ref name=mineralise/>
|
|-
|''[[Urasphaera]]''
|''U. fungiformis'', ''U. nupta''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears mushroom-shaped spines, hence the specific name ''fungiformis''<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Variomargosphaeridium]]''
|''V. floridum''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears processes which branch at their tips<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Vulcanosphaera]]''
|''V. phacelosa''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears bundled hair-like processes<ref name=acritarch/>
|
|-
|''[[Weissiella]]''
|''W. grandistella''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Doushantuo fossils resemble Russian specimens, but are smaller<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Xenosphaera]]''
|''X. liantuoensis''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Bears extremely thin processes, which have a tendency to not preserve<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|''[[Yushengia]]''
|''Y. ramispina''
|[[Acritarch]]
|Resembles ''Weissiella'', but has longer spines<ref name=stego/>
|
|-
|}

=== Miscellaneous taxa ===

{| class="wikitable sortable mw-collapsible"
! colspan="6" align="center" |Miscellaneous taxa
|-
!Genus
!Species
!Higher taxon
!Notes
!Images
|-
|''[[Cucullus (fossil)|Cucullus]]''
|''C. fraudulentus''
|''[[incertae sedis]]''
|Originally interpreted as a sponge, then reinterpreted as a microbialite<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Antcliffe |first1=Jonathan B. |last2=Callow |first2=Richard H. T. |last3=Brasier |first3=Martin D. |title=Giving the early fossil record of sponges a squeeze |journal=Biological Reviews |date=November 2014 |volume=89 |issue=4 |pages=972–1004 |doi=10.1111/brv.12090}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Paragraptobranca]]''
|''P. curvus''
|''[[incertae sedis]]''
|Shares features with both graptolites and macroalgae<ref name=algae/>
|
|-
|''[[Calyptrina striata|Calyptrina]]''
|''C. striata''
|[[Annelida]]?
|Almost certainly a metazoan<ref name=reassess/>
|[[File:Calyptrina striata sketch.jpg|thumb|''Calyptrina'' reconstruction]]
|-
|''[[Eoandromeda]]''
|''E. octobrachiata''
|[[Ctenophora]]?
|Originally interpreted as the adult stage of various embryos,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Feng |first1=Tang |last2=Chongyu |first2=Yin |last3=Bengtson |first3=Stefan |last4=Pengju |first4=Liu |last5=Ziqiang |first5=Wang |last6=Linzhi |first6=Gao |title=Octoradiate Spiral Organisms in the Ediacaran of South China |journal=Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition |date=February 2008 |volume=82 |issue=1 |pages=27–34 |doi=10.1111/j.1755-6724.2008.tb00321.x}}</ref> then as a pelagic discoid ctenophore,<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Tang |first1=Feng |last2=Bengtson |first2=Stefan |last3=Wang |first3=Yue |last4=Wang |first4=Xun‐lian |last5=Yin |first5=Chong‐yu |title=Eoandromeda and the origin of Ctenophora |journal=Evolution & Development |date=September 2011 |volume=13 |issue=5 |pages=408–414 |doi=10.1111/j.1525-142X.2011.00499.x}}</ref> then an umbrella-shaped demersal form<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Wang |first1=Ye |last2=Wang |first2=Yue |last3=Tang |first3=Feng |last4=Zhao |first4=Mingsheng |last5=Liu |first5=Pei |title=Lifestyle of the Octoradiate Eoandromeda in the Ediacaran |journal=Paleontological Research |date=1 January 2020 |volume=24 |issue=1 |page=1 |doi=10.2517/2019PR001}}</ref>
|[[File:Eoandromeda.jpeg|thumb|left|Artist restoration of the "discoid ctenophore" hypothesis]]
|-
|''[[Eocyathispongia]]''
|''E. qiania''
|[[Porifera]]
|Earliest likely sponge fossil<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yin |first1=Zongjun |last2=Zhu |first2=Maoyan |last3=Davidson |first3=Eric H. |last4=Bottjer |first4=David J. |last5=Zhao |first5=Fangchen |last6=Tafforeau |first6=Paul |title=Sponge grade body fossil with cellular resolution dating 60 Myr before the Cambrian |journal=Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences |date=24 March 2015 |volume=112 |issue=12 |doi=10.1073/pnas.1414577112}}</ref>
|[[File:Eocyathispongia_qiani.jpg|thumb|Reconstruction of ''Eocyathispongia'']]
|-
|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|''[[Linbotulitaenia]]''
|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|
''L. globosa''
|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|[[Metazoa]]
|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|Likely a trace fossil of a wriggling mucus-covered animal, possibly from ''Wenghuiia''<ref name=algae/>
|style="background:#FEF6E4;"|
|-
|''[[Protoconites]]''
|''P. minor''
|[[Cnidaria]]?
|Likely a cnidarian-grade organism<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Guo |first1=Junfeng |last2=Chen |first2=Yanlong |last3=Song |first3=Zuchen |last4=Zhang |first4=Zhifei |last5=Qiang |first5=Yaqin |last6=Betts |first6=Marissa |last7=Zheng |first7=Yajuan |last8=Yao |first8=Xiaoyong |title=Geometric morphometric analysis of Protoconites minor from the Cambrian (Terreneuvian) Yanjiahe Formation in Three Gorges, South China |journal=Palaeontologia Electronica |date=2020 |doi=10.26879/943|doi-access=free }}</ref> similar to ''[[Cambrorhytium]]''<ref name=reassess/>
|
|-
|''[[Sinospongia]]''
|''S. chenjunyuani'', ''S. typica''
|[[Porifera]]?
|May also be a vermiform alga like the [[Huainan biota]]<ref name=reassess/>
|
|-
|[[Trilobozoa]] indet.
|Unapplicable
|[[Metazoa]]
|Known from an undescribed triradial fossil<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yue |first1=W |last2=Xunlian |first2=W |last3=Yuming |first3=H |title=Megascopic Symmetrical Metazoans from the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in the Northeastern Guizhou, South China |journal=Journal of China University of Geosciences |date=June 2008 |volume=19 |issue=3 |pages=200–206 |doi=10.1016/S1002-0705(08)60039-4}}</ref>
|
|-
|''[[Vernanimalcula]]''
|''V. guizhouensis''
|[[Bilateria]]?
|Originally interpreted as a bilaterian,<ref name=spring/> then found to be more likely an indeterminate acritarch,<ref name=Bengtson2004/> then again found to be a likely bilaterian<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Petryshyn |first1=Victoria A. |last2=Bottjer |first2=David J. |last3=Chen |first3=Jun-Yuan |last4=Gao |first4=Feng |title=Petrographic analysis of new specimens of the putative microfossil Vernanimalcula guizhouena (Doushantuo Formation, South China) |journal=Precambrian Research |date=February 2013 |volume=225 |pages=58–66 |doi=10.1016/j.precamres.2011.08.003}}</ref><ref name=ChenDefendVernanimalcula/>
|
|-
|''[[Wenghuiia]]''
|''W. jiangkouensis''
|[[Annelida]]?
|Putatively the earliest known annelid (and also the earliest known bilaterian), even though it already seems very derived<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Yue |first1=Wang |last2=Xunlian |first2=Wang |title=Annelid from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation in Northeastern Guizhou, China |journal=Acta Geologica Sinica - English Edition |date=April 2008 |volume=82 |issue=2 |pages=257–265 |doi=10.1111/j.1755-6724.2008.tb00576.x}}</ref>
|
|-
|}

== Palaeogeography ==
The formation was laid down on a carbonate shelf, whose rim enclosed a lagoon between tidal flats on the shore, and the deeper ocean.  This lagoon was periodically anoxic or [[euxinic]] (containing [[hydrogen sulfide]]); variations in the chemistry in the lagoon can be detected in isotopic and elemental abundance cycles in the rock and possibly contributed to the fossil preservation.<ref name="Jiang2011">{{Cite journal | last1 = Jiang | first1 = G. | last2 = Shi | first2 = X. | last3 = Zhang | first3 = S. | last4 = Wang | first4 = Y. | last5 = Xiao | first5 = S. | title = Stratigraphy and paleogeography of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation (ca. 635-551 Ma) in South China | journal = Gondwana Research | volume = 19 | issue = 4 | pages = 831–849 | year = 2011 | doi = 10.1016/j.gr.2011.01.006 | bibcode = 2011GondR..19..831J }}</ref>

==Geochemistry==
The most recent Doushantuo rocks show a sharp decrease in the <sup>13</sup>C/<sup>12</sup>C carbon isotope ratio. Since this change appears to be worldwide but its timing does not match that of any other known major event such as a [[mass extinction]], it may represent "possible [[Feedback#Biology|feedback]] relationships between evolutionary innovation and seawater chemistry" in which [[metazoans]] (multi-celled organisms) removed carbon from the water, which increased the concentration of oxygen, and the increased oxygen level made possible the evolution of new metazoans.<ref name="CondonZhuBowring2005UPbAgesDoushantuo">{{ cite journal
 | title=U-Pb Ages from the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation, China
 | journal=Science
 | date=1 April 2005
 | issue=5718
 | pages=95–98
 | doi=10.1126/science.1107765
 |author1=Condon, D. |author2=Zhu, M. |author3=Bowring, S. |author4=Wang, W. |author5=Yang, A. |author6=Jin, Y. |name-list-style=amp | volume=308
 | pmid=15731406
|bibcode = 2005Sci...308...95C | s2cid=11673032
 | doi-access=free
 }}</ref>

==See also==
* [[Phosphatic fossilization]]

==Footnotes==
{{reflist}}

==References==
*{{cite journal | doi = 10.1126/science.1133129 | last1 = Hagadorn | first1 = J. W. | last2 = Xiao | year = 2006 | first2 = S | last3 = Donoghue | first3 = PC | last4 = Bengtson | first4 = S | last5 = Gostling | first5 = NJ | last6 = Pawlowska | first6 = M | last7 = Raff | first7 = EC | last8 = Raff | first8 = RA | last9 = Turner | first9 = FR | last10 = Chongyu | first10 = Y. | last11 = Zhou | first11 = C. | last12 = Yuan | first12 = X. | last13 = McFeely | first13 = M. B. | last14 = Stampanoni | first14 = M. | last15 = Nealson | first15 = K. H. | title = Cellular and Subcellular Structure of Neoproterozoic Animal Embryos | journal = Science | volume = 314 | issue = 5797| pages = 291–294 | pmid = 17038620 | bibcode=2006Sci...314..291H| s2cid = 25112751 | display-authors = 8 }}
*Knoll, A. H., 2003. ''Life on a Young Planet''. Princeton Univ. Press.
*{{cite journal | doi = 10.1038/35318 | last1 = Xiao | first1 = S. | last2 = Zhang | first2 = Y. | last3 = Knoll | first3 = A. H. | year = 1998 | title = Three-dimensional preservation of algae and animal embryos in a Neoproterozoic phosphorite | journal = Nature | volume = 391 | issue = 6667| pages = 553–558 |bibcode = 1998Natur.391..553X | s2cid = 4350507 }}

== External links ==
* [https://web.archive.org/web/20031202171346/http://www.palaeos.com/Proterozoic/Vendian/Doushantuo.htm Brief overview of Doushantuo formation.]

[[Category:Geologic formations of China]]
[[Category:Proterozoic Eonothem of Asia]]
[[Category:Ediacaran Asia]]
[[Category:Ediacaran geology]]
[[Category:Phosphorite formations]]
[[Category:Lagerstätten]]
[[Category:Fossiliferous stratigraphic units of Asia]]
[[Category:Paleontology in Guizhou]]
[[Category:Geography of Guizhou]]
[[Category:Proterozoic animals]]
[[Category:Neoproterozoic]]
[[Category:Ediacaran life]]