Asexual reproduction of tubular fossils in the terminal Neoproterozoic Dengying Formation, South China

Abstract

Tubular fossils are an abundant and diverse component of late Ediacaran benthic communities. However, with rare exceptions, their development and modes of asexualreproduction remain poorly resolved. With the deeper research and more specimens recovered, the types of asexual reproduction of tubular fossils are clarified. Three-dimensionally phosphatized tubes from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation in Lijiagou (southern Shaanxi Province, China) provide a window into the reproduction of late Ediacaran tubular fossils. In this paper, we document two different styles of asexual reproduction associated with two morphotypes of the biomineralized tubular fossil and propose upper Ediacaran index fossil Cloudina (type A with bud from the aperture of parent tube and type B with new bud from the lateral of parent tube, type C with two similar diameter individual tubes) and the new genus Multiconotubus (type E and type F with individual tubes but living in the parent tube). What is the most important is that based on the internal structure of dichotomous Multiconotubus, and observing means of x-ray micro-tomography, we can see clearly the internal structure and we propose a new growth strategy for this organism. In this paper, we emphasize the asexual budding reproduction and the multiple common wall reproduction.