Precambrian Sponges with Cellular Structures
Abstract
Sponge remains have been identified in the Early Vendian Doushantuo phosphate deposit in central Guizhou (South China), which has an age of approximately 580 million years ago. Their skeletons consist of siliceous, monaxonal spicules. All are referred to as the Porifera, class Demospongiae. Preserved soft tissues include the epidermis, porocytes, amoebocytes, sclerocytes, and spongocoel. Among thousands of metazoan embryos is a parenchymella-type of sponge larvae having a shoe-shaped morphology and dense peripheral flagella. The presence of possible amphiblastula larva suggests that the calcareous sponges may have an extended history in the Late Precambrian. The fauna indicates that animals lived 40 to 50 million years before the Cambrian Explosion.
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Skeletal remains of sponges found in thin-sections from the Doushantuo Formation on the South China Platform are interpreted as demosponges, because they consist exclusively of siliceous monaxonal spicules.
“Skeletal remains of sponges found in thin-sections from the Doushantuo Formation on the South China Platform are interpreted as demosponges, because they consist exclusively of siliceous monaxonal spicules”
From Chronology of early Cambrian biomineralization (2012) · cites this paper as Li, Chen & Hua, 1998
Soft tissues of metazoan embryos, larvae, adults, and algae appear to have been mineralized in the Doushantuo phosphorites.
“In addition to replacing carbonate sediments, soft tissues of metazoan embryos, larvae, adults, and algae also appear to have been mineralized (26–29).”
From Precambrian animal diversity: Putative phosphatized embryos from the Doushantuo Formation of China (2000) · cites this paper as [26]
The Doushantuo Formation age must fall within the range 570 ± 20 Ma.
“The age of the Doushantuo Fm could be as old as 580 Ma (26), and pending direct measurement, its age must fall within the range 570 ± 20 Ma (27) [Saylor et al. (34) argue that it is toward the younger end of this range].”
From Precambrian animal diversity: Putative phosphatized embryos from the Doushantuo Formation of China (2000) · cites this paper as [26]
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- Authors
- Li, C.-W., Chen, J.-Y., & Hua, T.-E.
- Affiliations
- National Tsing Hua University (TW)
- C.-W. Li and T.-E. Hua, Department of Life Science, National Tsing Hua University, Hsinchu, Taiwan, China.
- Corresponding author
- Li, Chia-Wei
- ORCID
- Li, Chia-Wei
- Venue
- Science
- Published
- 1998-02-06
- Volume
- 279
- Issue
- 5352
- Pages
- 879-882
- ISSN
- 0036-8075 (ISSN-L)
- 1095-9203
- OpenAlex
- W1988966899
- Cited by
- 489
- References
- 5
- Citations by year
- 2026: 6 · 2025: 10 · 2024: 10 · 2023: 9 · 2022: 7 · 2021: 4 · 2020: 5 · 2019: 17 · 2018: 12 · 2017: 21 · 2016: 19 · 2015: 18 · 2014: 23 · 2013: 21 · 2012: 22
- FWCI
- 27.44
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- closed
- Locations
- Science (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Paleontology and Evolutionary Biology
- Physical Sciences › Earth and Planetary Sciences › Paleontology › Marine Invertebrate Physiology and Ecology
- Keywords
- Demospongiae, Ediacaran, soft tissue preservation, sponge larvae, metazoan origin
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