Chambered structures from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation, Yunnan, China: comparison with the Cryogenian analogues and their microbial interpretation

doi:10.1017/S001675681700053X

	Chambered structures from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation, Yunnan, China: comparison with the Cryogenian analogues and their microbial interpretation
	Cui Luo (罗翠); Bing Pan; Joachim Reitner
	2017
发表期刊	Geological Magazine
ISSN	0016-7568
卷号	154 期号:6 页码:1269-1284
摘要	Enigmatic chambered structures have been reported forming reef frames in Cryogenian interglacial carbonates, prior to the commonly acknowledged microbial-metazoan reefs at the terminal Ediacaran, and interpreted as fossils of possible sponge-grade organisms. A better constraint on the affinity of these structures is partly hindered by few analogues in other time periods. This study describes similar structures from peritidal dolostones of the Ediacaran Denying Formation from Yunnan, China. Samples were investigated using optical microscopy and three-dimensional (3-D) reconstruction based on grinding tomography. The Dengying chambered structures are comparable with Cryogenian structures in basic construction, but are not frame building, and show variations in overall shape and inhabiting facies. Two-dimensional (2-D) cross-sections show that thin, homogeneous micritic laminae are the basic building blocks of the chamber walls. Thick walls represent parallel accretion of these laminae, and thin walls developed from the angular growth of a single lamina or merging of multiple laminae. In 3-D space, the laminae primarily correspond to continuous surfaces which sometimes contain sub-circular holes, while a few represent filamentous elements connected to the surfaces. The morphological features and growth pattern of the Dengying chambered structures indicate that they are likely to be calcified microbial constructions rather than skeletal remains of basic metazoans. However, aside from the Cryogenian and Dengying examples, comparable chambered constructions with laminae-based architecture are yet unknown from other fossil or extant microbialites. Further work investigating related structures is needed to determine the microbial consortia and controlling environmental factors that produced these chambered structures.
关键词	Dengying Formation chambered structures microbialites Ediacaran sponges carbonates
DOI	10.1017/S001675681700053X
收录类别	SCI
语种	英语
WOS研究方向	Geology
WOS类目	Geosciences, Multidisciplinary
WOS记录号	WOS:000413978800008
出版者	CAMBRIDGE UNIV PRESS
文献类型	期刊论文
条目标识符	http://ir.nigpas.ac.cn/handle/332004/14054
专题	中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所其他
通讯作者	Cui Luo (罗翠)
推荐引用方式 GB/T 7714	Cui Luo ,Bing Pan,Joachim Reitner. Chambered structures from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation, Yunnan, China: comparison with the Cryogenian analogues and their microbial interpretation[J]. Geological Magazine,2017,154(6):1269-1284.
APA	Cui Luo ,Bing Pan,&Joachim Reitner.(2017).Chambered structures from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation, Yunnan, China: comparison with the Cryogenian analogues and their microbial interpretation.Geological Magazine,154(6),1269-1284.
MLA	Cui Luo ,et al."Chambered structures from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation, Yunnan, China: comparison with the Cryogenian analogues and their microbial interpretation".Geological Magazine 154.6(2017):1269-1284.