The Lantian biota: A new window onto the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms

Abstract

The Lantian biota at the Lantian Town of Xiuning County, Anhui Province, is preserved in black shales of the Ediacaran Lantian Formation. It yields some of the oldest known complex macroorganisms, including fan-shaped seaweeds and possible animal fossils with tentacles and intestinal-like structures reminiscent of modern coelenterates and bilaterians. The Lantian Lagerstätte sheds new light on the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms in relatively quiet and deep environments soon after the Neoproterozoic Marinoan glaciation. The morphological complexity and diversity of early multicellular organisms may be closely related to sexual reproduction and alternation of generations. The fluctuation of oceanic redox conditions during this period may have played a role in the ecology and preservation of the Lantian biota. © 2012 The Author(s).