Wulongqing Formation Research Articles

A new primitive polychaete with eyes from the lower Cambrian Guanshan biota of Yunnan Province, China

Annelids are abundant and speciose in the modern world but are comparatively few in the fossil record. Primitive annelids were expected to have developed eyes and nuchal organs, but until now definitive evidence is still lacking. Based on a new specimen from the Wulongqing Formation, we describe Gaoloufangchaeta bifurcus gen. et sp. nov. from the Guanshan biota (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) of Yunnan province, China. The overall profile of the body and the presence of tentacles and stout parapodia with simple chaetae establish it as a primitive polychaete. By bearing bicellular eyes and possible nuchal organs, the new form has developed relatively strong sensory abilities. Our material further confirms that polychaetes were already diverse by Cambrian Series 2, indicating a much earlier origin for the group.

Two new metazoans from the Cambrian Guanshan biota of China

Sessile epibenthos were diverse and played important part in the process of energy flow in the Cambrian marine ecosystem. Based on new specimens from the Gaoloufang Section of the Wulongqing Formation, we describe two new representatives of the group that show character traits with cnidarians and bryozoans. If confirmed, the new material can help us understand the origin and early evolution of these two phyla. The discovery of more sessile epibenthos suggests that the benthic ecosystem of the Guanshan biota (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) is more diverse than previously thought.

Exceptional soft tissue preservation reveals a cnidarian affinity for a Cambrian phosphatic tubicolous enigma.

Exoskeletal dwelling tubes are widespread among extant animals and early fossil assemblages. Exceptional fossils from the Cambrian reveal independent origins of tube dwelling by several clades including cnidarians, lophophorates, annelids, scalidophorans, panarthropods and ambulacrarians. However, most fossil tubes lack preservation of soft parts, making it difficult to understand their affinities and evolutionary significance. Gangtoucunia aspera (Wulongqing Formation, Cambrian Stage 4) was an annulated, gradually expanding phosphatic tube, with occasional attachments of multiple, smaller juveniles and has previously been interpreted as the dwelling tube of a 'worm' (e.g. a scalidophoran), lophophorate or problematicum. Here, we report the first soft tissues from Gangtoucunia that reveal a smooth body with circumoral tentacles and a blind, spacious gut that is partitioned by septa. This is consistent with cnidarian polyps and phylogenetic analysis resolves Gangtoucunia as a total group medusozoan. The tube of Gangtoucunia is phenotypically similar to problematic annulated tubular fossils (e.g. Sphenothallus, Byronia, hyolithelminths), which have been compared to both cnidarians and annelids, and are among the oldest assemblages of skeletal fossils. The cnidarian characters of G. aspera suggest that these early tubular taxa are best interpreted as cnidarians rather than sessile bilaterians in the absence of contrary soft tissue evidence.

New Data on the Bivalved Arthropod Tuzoia From the Cambrian (Series 2, Stage 4) Guanshan Biota in Kunming, Yunnan, Southwest China

The Guanshan Biota (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) is a typical Burgess Shale-type biota and is one of the most significant Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätten from China. Tuzoia is a relatively common non-biomineralized bivalved arthropod from the Guanshan Biota and, stratigraphically, ranges from Cambrian Series 2 through the Miaolingian Series. Based on new specimens from the Longbaoshan Section of the Wulongqing Formation, this study distinguished and described in detail the Tuzoia in the Guanshan Biota. Supplemental details about the larval stage of Tuzoia tylodesa were obtained, and the ontogenetic pattern of T. tylodesa was revised. The confirmation of the presence of Tuzoia retifera and the first report of Tuzoia cf. canadensis in the Guanshan biota, as well as the confirmation of the presence of T. retifera and the first report of T. cf. canadensis out of Laurentia (in Gondwana), indicated that species communication between paleogeographic plates is possible.

Early Cambrian (Stage 4) brachiopods from the Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of South China

AbstractDiverse and abundant fossil taxa have been described in the lower Cambrian Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of Hubei Province, South China, but the taxonomy and diversity of the co-occurring brachiopod fauna are still far from clear. Here we describe the brachiopod fauna recovered from the Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of South China, including representatives of the subphylum Linguliformea: linguloids (Lingulellotreta ergalievi,Eoobolus malongensis, and Neobolidae gen. indet. sp. indet.), and an acrotretoid (Linnarssonia sapushanensis); and representatives from the subphylum Rhynchonelliformea: the calcareous-shelled Kutorginates (Kutorgina sinensis,Kutorginasp., andNisusia liantuoensis). This brachiopod assemblage and the first occurrence ofLinnarssonia sapushanensisshell beds permit correlation of the Shipai Formation in the Three Gorges area of Hubei Province with the Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation in the Wuding area of eastern Yunnan. This correlation is further strengthened by the first appearance datum (FAD) of the rhynchonelliform brachiopodNisusiain the upper silty mudstone of both the Shipai and Wulongqing formations. The new well-preserved material, derived from siliciclastic rocks, also gives critical new insights into the fine shell structure ofL.sapushanensis. Microstructural studies on micromorphic acrotretoids (likeLinnarssonia) have previously been restricted to fossils that were acid-etched from limestones. This is the first study to carry out detailed comparative ultrastructural studies on acrotretoid shells preserved in siliciclastic rocks. This work reveals a hollow tube and solid column microstructure in the acrotretoid shells from the Shipai Formation, which is likely to be equivalent of traditional column and central canal observed in shells dissolved from limestones.

Brachiopod-dominated communities and depositional environment of the Guanshan Konservat-Lagerstätte, eastern Yunnan, China

The Guanshan Biota is an unusual early Cambrian Konservat-Lagerstätte from China and is distinguished from all other exceptionally preserved Cambrian biotas by the dominance of brachiopods and a relatively shallow depositional environment. However, the faunal composition, overturn and sedimentology associated with the Guanshan Biota are poorly understood. This study, based on collections through the best-exposed succession of the basal Wulongqing Formation at the Shijiangjun section, Wuding County, eastern Yunnan, China recovered six major animal groups with soft tissue preservation; brachiopods vastly outnumbered all other groups. Brachiopods quickly replace arthropods as the dominant fauna following a transgression at the base of the Wulongqing Formation. A transition from a botsfordiid-, eoobolid- and acrotretid- to an acrotheloid-dominated brachiopod assemblage occurs up-section. Four episodically repeated lithofacies reveal a relatively low-energy, offshore to lower shoreface sedimentary environment at the Shijiangjun section, which is very different from the Wulongqing Formation in the Malong and Kunming areas. Multiple event flows and rapid obrution are responsible for faunal overturn and fluctuation through the section. A detailed lithofacies and palaeontological investigation of this section provides a better understanding of the processes and drivers of faunal overturn during the later phase of the Cambrian Explosion. Supplementary material: Composition and comparison of the Malong Fauna and the Guanshan Biota is are available at: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.c.5080799

First report of acrotretoid brachiopod shell beds in the lower Cambrian (Stage 4) Guanshan Biota of eastern Yunnan, South China

AbstractBrachiopod shell accumulations are abundant and diverse in the lower Cambrian strata of Yunnan Province, South China, but most commonly they are composed of linguloid and acrotheloid brachiopods. Here, we describe the first record of shell beds with high-density accumulations of microscopic acrotretoid brachiopods (usually <2 mm in width) in the muddy deposits of the Wulongqing Formation (Guanshan Biota, Cambrian Stage 4) in the Wuding area of Yunnan Province. The acrotretoid shell beds from the Wulongqing Formation vary from thin mm-thick pavements to more well-developed beds, several centimeters thick. The occurrence of remarkably rich acrotretoid shell beds indicates that microscopic lingulates began to exert an important role in hardening and paving the soft-substrate seafloor during the early Cambrian evolution of Phanerozoic “mixgrounds.” The new Guanshan material is referred to a new species, Linnarssonia sapushanensis n. sp., which differs from other species of Linnarssonia mainly in having a well-developed internal pedicle tube, as well as a relatively longer dorsal median septum. The occurrence of Linnarssonia sapushanensis n. sp. in the Wulongqing Formation in eastern Yunnan extend the oldest record of the genus on the Yangtze Platform of South China back to at least Cambrian Stage 4.UUID: http://zoobank.org/3e0c3878-6ce2-4eed-87bf-e39647c310c4

The oldest ‘Lingulellotreta’ (Lingulata, Brachiopoda) from China and its phylogenetic significance: integrating new material from the Cambrian Stage 3–4 Lagerstätten in eastern Yunnan, South China

The origin of Cambrian brachiopods and their phylogenetic relationship with other lophotrochozoans is far from clear. Lingulellotretidae, the oldest family of lingulate brachiopods, is typified by possessing a pouch-like coelomic extension beyond the hinge line, subtended in a triangular pseudointerarea. The early Cambrian (Stage 4) linguloid brachiopod – originally described as ‘Lingulepis’ malongensis Rong, and later referred to Lingulellotreta within the Family Lingulellotretidae – is here redescribed and assigned to Eoobolus within the Family Eoobolidae, based on new exceptionally preserved topotype material from the type locality, part of the Guanshan Lagerstätte (Wulongqing Formation), Kunming–Malong area, eastern Yunnan, South China. For the first time, we provide a record of the soft anatomy, including a pedicle for the cosmopolitan genus Eoobolus. Due to loss of the type specimen, a neotype of E. malongensis is selected. Differing from the Guanshan E. malongensis, the Chengjiang species is slightly bigger in shell size, and possesses an elongated ventral pseudointerarea. In addition, new flattened specimens of ‘Lingulellotreta malongensis’ from the Chengjiang (Stage 3) biota, preserved in lateral and dorsoventral views, demonstrate an interior lophophore organization and a well-developed pedicle foramen, typical of the genus Lingulellotreta. When compared to the type species – Lingulellotreta ergalievi Koneva – from the Shabakty Group (Cambrian Stage 4), Malyi Karatau Range, Kazakhstan, the Chengjiang species possessed a more elongated ventral pseudointerarea, accommodating an extended body cavity, deepening posteriorly, with a recurved digestive tract. Accordingly, the Chengjiang specimens are thus referred to a new species, Lingulellotreta yuanshanensis sp. nov. The elongated, tubular extended body cavity of Lingulellotreta, which is not present in the slightly younger Guanshan Eoobolus, has recently gained further phylogenetic significance, as support continues to emerge for the view that a ‘tubular’ body plan may be primitive within the lophotrochozoans, notably brachiopods.http://zoobank.org/urn:lsid:zoobank.org.pub:B3212125-F671-4B88-82C5-40C37B5C1631:

Ichnology, palaeoenvironment, and ecosystem dynamics of the Early Cambrian (Stage 4, Series 2) Guanshan Biota, South China

The Guanshan Biota of the Wulongqing Formation (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) is a typical Burgess Shale‐type Lagerstätte, containing not only a diverse assemblage of exceptionally preserved body fossils but also abundant, sophisticated trace fossils. Detailed ichnological study of the lower part of the Wulongqing Formation from the Longbaoshan and Xinglongcun sections in the Kunming area, Yunnan, South China, reveals the presence of 17 ichnospecies, including Aggregatella isp., Cruziana isp., Didymaulichnus lyelli, Diplichnites isp., Guanshanichnus glockerichnoides, Monomorphichnus isp., Palaeophycus isp., Planolites beverleyensis, Planolites montanus, Planolites isp., Psammichnites isp., Phycodes isp., Skolithos verticalis, Thalassinoides isp., Treptichnus pedum, and two types of non‐specific coprolites. These trace fossils represent burrowing or locomotion behaviours of arthropods and vermes, and belong to the Cruziana and Skolithos ichnofacies. As the outcrop at the Xinglongcun section is not well exposed, a systematic sedimentary study was conducted at the Longbaoshan section. The Guanshan ichnofauna in the lower Wulongqing Formation at the Longbaoshan section occur in fine‐grained siliciclastic rocks with wavy bedding, lenticular bedding, and wrinkle structures, reflecting a tidal flat environment. The abundance of diverse trace fossils in the tidal flat facies indicate that many taxa, mostly arthropods, were able to colonize the very shallow marine environments, supporting the landward expansion of the Early Cambrian ecosystems.

First report on Guanshan Biota (Cambrian Stage 4) at the stratotype area of Wulongqing Formation in Malong County, Eastern Yunnan, China

Exceptionally preserved fossils, such as those from Cambrian Burgess Shale-type fossil-Lagerstätten are critical because of their unique contributions to knowledge of the phylogenetic radiation and palaeoecological expansion of metazoans during the Cambrian explosion. Critically, these deposits provide information that is usually unobtainable from shelly and skeletonized fossils alone. The Guanshan Biota (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) in the Yunnan Province of South China, has produced abundant and diverse, exquisitely preserved fossils that often retain soft tissues and organs. To date, most fossils from the Guanshan Biota have been collected from localities such as Gaoloufang and Gangtoucun, which have become inaccessible due to new urban expansions and constructions of residential buildings. Here we present the first report of soft bodied fossils from a new section at Kanfuqing, close to the Wulongqing village in Malong County, approximately 3 km east of the Wulongqing Formation stratotype section. Fossils retain soft morphology, and include brachiopods with delicate marginal setae, priapulids with well-preserved sclerites and vetulicolians with entire sections of body. In addition, this fauna includes rare occurrences of trilobites preserved with soft tissues replicated as pyrite pseudomorphs after weathering. This discovery represents an important palaeogeographical extension of soft-bodied fossils of the Guanshan fauna to the east of the Xiaojiang Fault (related to Tsinning tectonic movements ca. 700 Ma). The fauna from the new Kanfuqing section is similar to that reported from the Wulongqing Formation west of the Xiaojiang Fault, and thus has significant implications for early Cambrian palaeogeography, faunal successions and palaeoenvironments of eastern Yunnan.

A new radiodontan oral cone with a unique combination of anatomical features from the early Cambrian Guanshan Lagerstätte, eastern Yunnan, South China

AbstractThe radiodontans, including anomalocaridids and their allies, are enigmatic stem-group euarthropods and are the most ancient apex giant predators known from the fossil record. Most studies on their feeding behaviors have emphasized their diverse and abundant raptorial frontal appendages, while the oral cone surrounding the mouth opening in these animals has attracted less attention. At present, three oral cone morphotypes are known, fromAnomalocarisWhiteaves, 1892,PeytoiaWalcott, 1911, andHurdiaWalcott, 1912, respectively. In this paper, we report on a novel form of radiodontan oral cone from the Guanshan Lagerstätte (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4) in the Wulongqing Formation, eastern Yunnan, South China. This oral cone is unique in combining features seen inPeytoia/HurdiaandAnomalocaris. It possesses aPeytoia/Hurdia-type ‘tetraradial’ configuration comprising a 32-plate outer ring that consists of four perpendicularly arranged large plates and 28 small plates, in addition to furrowed folds and scale-like nodes on plate surfaces otherwise seen only inAnomalocaris. As an intermediate morphotype, the Guanshan oral cone improves our understanding of the occurrence and morphological disparity of radiodontan oral cones, illuminates future investigations on potentially variable radiodontan feeding mechanisms, and reveals possible evolutionary transformations of these peculiar feeding structures. The resolution of current radiodontan phylogeny would be potentially improved by new knowledge on other body parts apart from frontal appendages in future studies.

New observations on Vetulicola longbaoshanensis from the Lower Cambrian Guanshan Biota (Series 2, Stage 4), South China

Cambrian vetulicolians are enigmatic metazoans which play an important role in understanding the early animal evolution. Vetulicola longbaoshanensi s Yang et al., 2010 is a unique species reported from the Guanshan Biota, Cambrian Series 2, Stage 4 at eastern Yunnan, South China, which expands our understanding of vetulicolians. Here, new exceptionally preserved materials of V. longbaoshanensis from the Lower Cambrian Wulongqing Formation (which yields the so-called Guanshan Biota) in both Wuding and Kunming areas are described, in which the gill structures of V. longbaoshanensis are well preserved. The gill structures of our fossils are more complicated than those in the type species: the gill sac is gourd-shaped and can be divided into a smaller anterior part and a larger posterior part, prominent gill silt and dense gill filaments present in the joint of the two parts. Comparative analyses indicate that vetulicolians from the Guanshan Biota are similar to the Vetulicola rectangulata Luo et Hu, 1999 from the Chengjiang Biota in gross morphology. However, compared with the V. rectangulata , the Guanshan forms possess a larger body size, a higher length/ height ratio of anterior body, and a higher ratio of gill sac width to anterior body height, probably typifying the derive characters anticipated of vetulicolians. These new materials, therefore, shed new light on our understanding of vetulicolians morphology and the early evolution of the gill structures.

New Localities and Palaeoscolecid Worms from the Cambrian (Stage 4, Series 2) Guanshan Biota in Kunming, Yunnan, South China

AbstractThe Guanshan Biota from the Cambrian Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation is a typical Burgess‐shale type Lagerstätte that had witnessed the Cambrian explosion. Here we report two new localities of the Guanshan Biota, which is located at Baimei village, south of Kunming and Xinglong village, Wuding County, Yunnan Province respectively. Both localities produce soft‐body fossils and several new taxa, e.g. a new species of palaeoscolecidans (Palaeoscolex xinglongensis sp. nov.) reported herein. The comparative study of the new species with similar form not only indicates that there is a diversification of palaeoscolecid species in Guanshan Biota, but also strengthens the ties between the older Chengjiang Biota and the younger Kaili Biota (and also the coeval Burgess Shale community). Three paleoecological features, including high diversity, little disparity and richness of palaeoscolecid worms, are summarized as a case study to represent the differences between Guanshan and Chengjiang Biota.

New anomalocardid frontal appendages from the Guanshan biota, eastern Yunnan

Anomalocaridids were large predators of the Cambrian seas at the top of the trophic pyramid. Complete anomalocaridid specimens have been rarely discovered and the rigid isolated frontal appendages and mouthparts are more commonly preserved. Here we study new material of the frontal appendages from the Wulongqing Formation, Cambrian Stage 4, Series 2 near Kunming, eastern Yunnan. Two new forms of anomalocaridid frontal appendages are described, namely Anomalocaris kunmingensis sp. nov. and Paranomalocaris multisegmentalis gen. nov., sp. nov. The frontal appendage of A. kunmingensis sp. nov. probably comprises 15 podomeres of which the first one has a weakened skeletoned, the second one is armed with small spines, and the third one is armed with remarkably robust proximal ventral spines with 6 anisomerous auxiliary spines; paired auxiliary spines are associated with podomeres 4–14; podomeres 12–14 are armed with paired dorsal spines, and the last podomere bears 2 distal spines, one spine distinctly larger than the other. The frontal appendage of P. multisegmentalis tapered backwards, consisting of 22 visible podomeres; the most ventral spine is armed with 5 pairs of auxiliary spines, and podomeres 12–21 bear dorsal spines, the last podomere with 2 small distal spines. The new material provides additional evidence for our understanding of the diversity of anomalocaridids in the Cambrian. The morphology of these new finds may indicate the importance of different feeding strategies of anomalocaridids in the Cambrian ecosystem.

A diverse ichnofauna from the Cambrian Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation near Kunming (Yunnan Province, South China)

A diverse ichnofauna from the Cambrian Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation near Kunming (Yunnan Province, South China)

A new species of Hallucigenia from the Cambrian Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation of Yunnan (South China) and the structure of sclerites in lobopodians

A new species of Hallucigenia from the Cambrian Stage 4 Wulongqing Formation of Yunnan (South China) and the structure of sclerites in lobopodians

First record of repaired durophagous shell damages in Early Cambrian lingulate brachiopods with preserved pedicles

Durophagy, the macro-predatory consumption of hard-shelled organisms, has been proposed as an important driving and selective force (“arms race”) responsible for the explosive advent of Cambrian skeleton-bearing animals. Nevertheless, the direct evidence of durophagous predation is mostly restricted to borings or drillholes in skeletons at around the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. In contrast, pre-ingestive breakage or crushing of shell, another important type of durophagous predation evidence, is very rarely fossilized. Here we present the first evidence of durophagous shell-breaking in an exceptionally preserved pedunculate lingulate brachiopod from the Lower Cambrian Wulongqing Formation (Series 2, early Stage 4), Yunnan, southern China. The repaired shells of Diandongia pista all have elongate (up to 36 mm) pedicles that demonstrate that they survived the failed predation and remained in situ. The bite embayment shows three sets of distinctive drape-like convex arcs of shell repairs, suggesting that the specific drape-like ornamentation usually seen in lingulate shells could be taken as reparative responses to shell damage and malformation. Discovery of sublethal shell damage demonstrates that durophagous predators may have caused an increasing predation pressure on brachiopods since the Canglangpuian Stage (Series 2, Stage 4). In contrast there are no records of durophagous shell-breaking recognized from thousands of Chengjiang (Series 2, Stage 3) specimens of D. pista with fully developed organization of tissues and organ system. It is therefore assumed that that predation was of little importance to the earliest evolution of Cambrian lingulates.

Soft-Part Preservation in a Linguliform Brachiopod from the Lower Cambrian Wulongqing Formation (Guanshan Fauna) of Yunnan, South China

Linguliform brachiopods were important components of early Cambrian benthic communities. However, exceptionally preserved soft parts in Cambrian linguliform brachiopods are extremely sparse, and the most important findings are from the early Cambrian Chengjiang Konservat Lagerstatte of Kunming, southern China. Here we describe the first record of preserved soft-part anatomy in a linguli form brachiopod from the early Cambrian Guanshan fauna (Wu longging Formation, Palaeolenus Zone); a unit which is considerably younger than the Chengjiang fauna. The well preserved soft anatomy include linguliform pedicles, marginal setae and, in a few cases, an intact lophophore imprint. The pedicle has pronounced surface annulations, with its proximal-most part enclosing the apex of the ventral pseudointerarea; the pedicle is up to 51 mm long, corresponding to more than 4 times the sagittal length of the shell, and 12% of the maximum valve width. In details of their preservation, these new fossils exhibit striking similarities with the linguliforms from the older Chengjiang fauna, and all specimens are preserved in a compressed state as flattened impressions. The new linguliform has an elongate oval to subtriangular shell and an elongate triangular ventral pseudointerarea; the pedicle emerged from an apical foramen through a poorly preserved internal pedicle tube. The new linguliform is most similar to the mostly organic-shelled siphonotretoid-like brachiopod Acanthotretella spinosa, recently described from the classic middle Cambrian Burgess Shale Konservat Lagerstatte, British Columbia, Canada. The new species Acanthotretella decaius sp. nov. is described; it differs from A. spinosa in having a slightly thicker pedicle, and a larger and more rigid, probably partly mineralised shell, indicating that the mostly organic shell of A. spinosa may represent a secondary reduction of shell mineralisation. However, the spine-like setae of the new species are unfortunately poorly preserved only at the margin of the shell, but the new species is referred tentatively to the Superfamily Siphonotretoidea. The occurrence of A. decaius in the Guanshan fauna is the first lower Cambrian (Series 2, early Stage 4) record of both Acanthotretella and siphonotretoids, and it represents the first description of a lophophore and digestive tract from the siphonotretoid lineage.

Eocrinoid echinoderms from the Lower Cambrian Guanshan Fauna in Wuding, Yunnan, China

This is a brief report of a new occurrence of eocrinoids from the Early Cambrian Wulongqing Formation in Yunnan, China. The eocrinoids from the Guanshan fauna are among the earliest known eocrinoids. Different from many other Early and Middle Cambrian eocrinoids, the Guanshan eocrinoids are char-acterized by the absence of sutural pores and epispires, the long and spiral brachioles, the extremely long stalk, and the ratio of the length of the stalk versus that of the calyx. The discovery of the eocri-noids from the Guanshan fauna not only provides new information to the investigation of the early evolution of this animal group, but also shed new light on the occurrence and migration of early eocrinoids.

New Vetulicoliids from the Lower Cambrian Guanshan Fauna, Kunming

Abstract The Guanshan Fauna, a soft‐bodied fauna intermediate between the Chengjiang Fauna and the Kaili Fauna and also the Burgess Shale Fauna stratigraphically, consists of trilobites, trilobitoides, Tuzoia, Vetulicola, Paleoscolex, brachiopods and sponges. The discovery and research of this fauna is of great significance in understading the “Cambrian Explosion” and the evolution of early life. The occurrence of vetulicoliids from the Guanshan Fauna not only adds new members to the taxonomic list, but also provides new information to the evolution of this animal group. This paper describe Vetulicola gantoucunensis Luo, Fu et Hu sp. nov. from the Lower Cambrian Wulongqing Formation in the Kunming area. Also presented are the amended description of Vetulicola and the comparisons with related genera within Vetulicoliids. The affinity, distribution, as well as evolution of vetulicoliids are discussed.