Anji Biota
| Anji Biota | |
|---|---|
| Stratigraphic range: | |
Reconstruction of the Anji biota, with several glass sponge species and Archopterus. | |
| Type | Lagerstätte |
| Unit of | Wenchang Formation |
| Underlies | Anji Formation |
| Overlies | Changwu Formation |
| Lithology | |
| Primary | Mudstone |
| Location | |
| Region | Zhejiang Province |
| Country | China |
The Anji biota is a lagerstätte from the latest Ordovician of China, contained within the Wenchang Formation. This lagerstätte preserves a mid-diversity fauna mostly consisting of glass sponges.[1]
Paleobiota
Color key
|
Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; |
| Paleobiota | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Genus | Species | Higher taxon | Notes | Images | |
| Archopterus | A. anjiensis | Adelophthalmidae | Earliest adelophthalmid, alongside the earliest Chinese eurypterid[2] | ||
| Anjigraptus | A. wangi | Neodiplograptidae? | Independently evolved a morphology similar to dicranograptids[3] | ||
| Avitograptus | A. avitus, A. akidomorphus, A. acanthocystus | Akidograptidae (Graptolithina) | Transitional between earlier and later akidograptids[4] | ||
| Anjiplectella | A. davidipharus | Euplectellidae | Extends the range of Venus’ flower basket sponges back by almost 150 million years[5] | ||
| Archaeaphorme | A. conica | Rossellidae | Resembles the modern Aphorme, but differs in body shape and spicule characteristics[6] | ||
| Cannapirania | C. vermiformis | Piraniidae (Protomonaxonida) | Formerly placed within Pirania itself[7] | ||
| Conciliospongia | C. anjiensis | Silicea | Transitional between hexactinellids and demosponges[8] | ||
| Crateromorpha? | C?. (Neopsacas?) macrospicula | Rossellidae | Likely a member of an extant genus[6] | ||
| Eorosselloides | E. antiquus | Rossellidae | Very closely resembles the modern Rossella, but too poorly preserved to determine whether it actually belongs to the genus[6] | ||
| Matteolaspongia | M. hemiglobosa | Rossellidae? | Either convergently rossellid-like, or in the stem-group of the family[9] | ||
| Pseudanoxycalyx | P. verrucosus | Rossellidae | Convergently resembles the modern Anoxycalyx[6] | ||
| Shouzhispongia | S. coronata, S. prodigia | Rossellidae | One of the most common Anji sponges[10] | ||
References
- ^ Wu, Xuejin; Botting, Joseph P.; Zhang, Yuandong; Muir, Lucy A.; Ma, Junye Y. (5 September 2022). "Taphonomy of exceptional sponge preservation in the Hirnantian Anji Biota, China". Journal of the Geological Society. 179 (5). doi:10.1144/jgs2021-112.
- ^ Wang, Han; Braddy, Simon J.; Botting, Joseph; Zhang, Yuandong (May 2023). "The first documentation of an Ordovician eurypterid (Chelicerata) from China". Journal of Paleontology. 97 (3): 606–611. doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.21.
- ^ Muir, Lucy A.; Zhang, Yuandong; Botting, Joseph P.; Ma, Xuan (2 October 2021). "Convergent evolution in planktic graptolites: independent origin of the dicranograptid morphology in the Hirnantian (latest Ordovician)". Alcheringa: An Australasian Journal of Palaeontology. 45 (4): 395–400. doi:10.1080/03115518.2021.2003430.
- ^ Muir, Lucy A.; Zhang, Yuandong; Botting, Joseph P.; Ma, Xuan (September 2020). "Avitograptus species (Graptolithina) from the Hirnantian (uppermost Ordovician) Anji Biota of South China and the evolution of Akidograptus and Parakidograptus". Journal of Paleontology. 94 (5): 955–965. doi:10.1017/jpa.2020.12.
- ^ Botting, Joseph P.; Janussen, Dorte; Muir, Lucy A.; Dohrmann, Martin; Ma, Junye; Zhang, Yuandong (March 2022). "Extraordinarily early Venus' flower basket sponges (Hexactinellida, Euplectellidae) from the uppermost Ordovician Anji Biota, China". Palaeontology. 65 (2). doi:10.1111/pala.12592.
- ^ a b c d Botting, Joseph P.; Janussen, Dorte; Dohrmann, Martin; Muir, Lucy A.; Zhang, Yuandong; Ma, Junye (January 2025). "Advanced crown‐group Rossellidae (Porifera: Hexactinellida) resembling extant taxa from the Hirnantian (Late Ordovician) Anji Biota". Papers in Palaeontology. 11 (1). doi:10.1002/spp2.70000.
- ^ Botting, Joseph; Stewart, Sarah; Muir, Lucy; Zhang, Yuandong (2019). "Taxonomy and evolution of the protomonaxonid sponge family Piraniidae". Palaeontologia Electronica. doi:10.26879/998.
- ^ Botting, Joseph P.; Zhang, Yuandong; Muir, Lucy A. (13 July 2017). "Discovery of missing link between demosponges and hexactinellids confirms palaeontological model of sponge evolution". Scientific Reports. 7 (1). doi:10.1038/s41598-017-05604-6. PMC 5509731.
- ^ Botting, J.P.; Zhang, Y.; Muir, L.A. (20 August 2018). "A candidate stem-group rossellid (Porifera, Hexactinellida) from the latest Ordovician Anji Biota, China". Bulletin of Geosciences: 275–285. doi:10.3140/bull.geosci.1706.
- ^ Botting, Joseph P.; Janussen, Dorte; Zhang, Yuandong; Muir, Lucy A. (September 2020). "Exceptional preservation of two new early rossellid sponges: the dominant species in the Hirnantian (Late Ordovician) Anji Biota of China". Journal of the Geological Society. 177 (5): 1025–1038. doi:10.1144/jgs2020-002.