Abstract

Over 190 specimens of an attachment ichnofossil Kailidiscus (n. ichnogen.) have been found in the Kaili Bitoa, a Burgess Shale-type biota, from the middle Kaili Formation (early Middle Cambrian) in Taijiang County, Guizhou Province, southern China. Kailidiscus is an epichnia with a circular to oval attachment platform, on which there is a carbonaceous film probably formed by the body of the living organism. Structures such as a marginal furrow, an inner and outer marginal ride, many convex fold-ridges, and a large caved peripheral furrow on the attachment platform may be the result of basal tissues of a sessile organism that wrinkled to increase the attachment’s surface area. The Kailidiscus organism may have been a sessile cnidarian attached to the muddy seafloor. Kailidiscus organisms lived in relatively quiet water, and were buried by a sudden influx of sediment.

Full Text
Published version (Free)

Talk to us

Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have

Schedule a call