Abstract
ABSTRACT The Cambrian (Stage 4) Balang Fauna is a significant Burgess Shale-type biota from South China. The sponge animals are one of the major components of the fauna and are dominated by protomonaxonids. Sponge fossils, having the diagnostic skeletal architecture and bowl-shaped body form of Hamptonia Walcott 1920, are described here as H. jianhensis sp. nov. Its skeleton is characterized by the large spicules that are substantially larger than the dominant fine ones. Although H. jianhensis sp. nov. generally shows a radiating spicule array, some spicules are semi-regularly or irregularly arranged, especially the coarse ones. The previous and present studies suggest Hamptonia has a relatively long stratigraphic range (early Cambrian to Middle Ordovician) and an effectively cosmopolitan distribution during the Early Palaeozoic. The new taxon can provide additional biogeographical informations for Hamptonia sponges. http://www.zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org:act:2AA6FCEA-A9AD-4912-9B19-AF043D2BEEA0
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