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Preserve Precambrian fossil heritage from mining

Nature Ecology & Evolution volume 1, pages 1048–1049 (2017)Cite this article

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The Weng’an fossil biota became internationally known in the late 1980s and early 1990s2. Among the potentially most important and controversial fossils is the spheroidal Megasphaera ornata, with one or several cells enclosed in a thick ornamented envelope3 (Fig. 1b). Over the past three decades, more than 50 taxa have been described, providing an exceptional opportunity to study the early history of multiple multicellular eukaryote clades, including algae, fungi and proto-invertebrates1,2,4. Despite these advances, much remains to be learnt about the differences between the Precambrian and Cambrian faunas. Continuing interest in the Weng’an fossil biota has been driven by the discovery of controversial animal remains and the biostratigraphic significance of acanthomorphs1.

Along with the discovery of the vast bed of Ediacaran Lagerstätte fossils, huge phosphate resources have been identified in Weng’an. In common with most counties in western China, Weng’an is economically underdeveloped. The average annual per capita disposable income of rural households is only CN¥8,324 (US$1,209). Approximately 39,800 rural people were below the national poverty standard in 20155.

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Figure 1

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by the National Key Technology R&D Program of China (grant no. 2016YFC0500106) and Fundamental Research Funds for the Central Universities (grant no. XDJK2015B021 and SWU114108).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Chongqing Key Laboratory of Karst Environment, School of Geographical Sciences, Southwest University, Chongqing, 400715, China

    Hong Yang, Mingguo Ma & Wei Ge

  2. Department of Geography and Environmental Science, University of Reading, Reading, RG6 6AB, UK

    Hong Yang

  3. UCL Department of Geography, University College London, London, WC1E 6BT, UK

    Roger J. Flower & Julian R. Thompson

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Correspondence to Hong Yang or Mingguo Ma.

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Yang, H., Ma, M., Flower, R.J. et al. Preserve Precambrian fossil heritage from mining. Nat Ecol Evol 1, 1048–1049 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41559-017-0266-8

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