Paleobiology of the Doushantuo Formation: Multiple Taphonomic Windows into the Late Neoproterozoic Biosphere

Tulane University, New Orleans LA

Investigators

Abstract

Paleobiology of the Doushantuo Formation: Multiple Taphonomic Windows into the Late Neoproterozoic Biosphere Abstract This study will focus on the Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation (550 - 600 Ma) in South China. The Doushantuo Formation was deposited across the Yangtze Platform in South China during a critical geological time interval, - probably after the Neoproterozoic climatic crises but before the Ediacaran radiation of macroscopic animals. The Doushantuo Formation is also known to contain three extraordinarily clear taphonomic windows preserved in phosphorites, cherts, and carbonaceous shales. These complementary taphonomic windows allow us to understand the taphonomic bias associated with each taphonomic pathway and, in combination, they provide a more complete picture of the Neoproterozoic biosphere. The goals of this study is to improve our knowledge about the early evolution of multicellular organisms by further documenting phosphatized, silicified, and carbonaceous biotas in the Doushantuo Formation, to understand the constraints imposed by these different taphonomic pathways by comparing and contrast these taphonomic windows, and to expand the investigation of Doushantuo paleobiology into deep-water facies. The PI and his colleagues will conduct extensive fieldwork on the Doushantuo Formation in the next three years in order to understand its distribution, sedimentary environment, and paleobiology.