The Dengying Formation is an upper Ediacaran (551-541 Ma[2]) fossiliferous geologic formation found in South China. It was deposited on a shallow marine carbonate platform.[3]
The Hamajing Member is characterized by light grey, medium- to thick-bedded dolomite, intercalated with thin layers of chert.[3]
The Shibantan Member is interpreted to represent a subtidal environment and is composed of dark grey, thin-bedded bituminous limestone. It is the most fossiliferous of the Dengying Formation members and has yielded several trace fossils, such as Lamonte,[4] as well as possible lobopodian trackways.[5]
The Baimatuo Member consists of light grey, thick-bedded dolomite.[3]
Traditionally, the Tianzhushan Member was considered to be the uppermost unit of the Dengying Formation. However, its small shelly fossils and Micrhystridium-like acritarchs are a shared characteristic with the CambrianYanjiahe Formation.[3] The Kuanchuanpu Formation also is occasionally placed as a member of the Dengying Formation,[6] however it is likely separate for the same reasons.
Paleobiota
The Dengying formation is unique from other Ediacaran formations in that its top is almost right up against the Ediacaran - Cambrian boundary, with more recent organisms being described that have striking similarities with Cambrian fauna, like Alienum. There are also a lot of ichnogenera in the form of burrows, something that is common in younger Ediacaran rocks the closer to the Cambrian boundary they are.
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↑Meyer, Mike; Xiao, Shuhai; Gill, Benjamin C.; Schiffbauer, James D.; Chen, Zhe; Zhou, Chuanming; Yuan, Xunlai (2014). "Interactions between Ediacaran animals and microbial mats: Insights from Lamonte trevallis, a new trace fossil from the Dengying Formation of South China". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology396: 62–74. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.12.026. Bibcode: 2014PPP...396...62M.
↑Wang, Xiaopeng; Liu, Alexander G.; Chen, Zhe; Wu, Chengxi; Liu, Yarong; Wan, Bin; Pang, Ke; Zhou, Chuanming et al. (27 June 2024). "A late-Ediacaran crown-group sponge animal". Nature630 (8018): 905–911. doi:10.1038/s41586-024-07520-y.
↑Liu, Junping; Chen, Ailin; Li, Binglin; Tang, Feng; Zhao, Jiangtai; Chen, Ke (6 October 2024). "Problematic Ediacaran sail-shaped fossils from eastern Yunnan, China". Historical Biology: 1–7. doi:10.1080/08912963.2024.2403588.
↑ 13.013.113.213.3Dai, Qiaokun; Hua, Hong; Luo, Jinzhou; Min, Xiao; Liu, Ziwei; Zhang, Song; Gong, Meng; Bai, Lin (April 2024). "A new silicified microfossil assemblage from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation in South Shaanxi, China". Precambrian Research403. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2024.107308. Bibcode: 2024PreR..40307308D.
↑Shen, Bing; Xiao, Shuhai; Zhou, Chuanming; Dong, Lin; Chang, Jieqiong; Chen, Zhe (November 2017). "A new modular palaeopascichnid fossil Curviacus ediacaranus new genus and species from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area of South China". Geological Magazine154 (6): 1257–1268. doi:10.1017/S001675681700036X. Bibcode: 2017GeoM..154.1257S.
↑Cai, Yaoping; Schiffbauer, James D.; Hua, Hong; Xiao, Shuhai (November 2011). "Morphology and paleoecology of the late Ediacaran tubular fossil Conotubus hemiannulatus from the Gaojiashan Lagerstätte of southern Shaanxi Province, South China". Precambrian Research191 (1–2): 46–57. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2011.09.002. Bibcode: 2011PreR..191...46C.
↑ 16.016.1Zhao, Mingsheng; Zhang, Yupeng; Tang, Feng; Li, Yulan; Li, Ming; Zhong, Ling; Ren, Liudong (March 2025). "Enigmatic discoidal macrofossils with central ring from the Ediacaran Jiangchuan biota, Southwest China". Papers in Palaeontology11 (2). doi:10.1002/spp2.70005. Bibcode: 2025PPal...11E0005Z.
↑Cai, Yaoping; Hua, Hong; Zhang, Xingliang (January 2013). "Tube construction and life mode of the late Ediacaran tubular fossil Gaojiashania cyclus from the Gaojiashan Lagerstätte". Precambrian Research224: 255–267. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2012.09.022. Bibcode: 2013PreR..224..255C.
↑Cai, Yaoping; Xiao, Shuhai; Hua, Hong; Yuan, Xunlai (May 2015). "New material of the biomineralizing tubular fossil Sinotubulites from the late Ediacaran Dengying Formation, South China". Precambrian Research261: 12–24. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2015.02.002. Bibcode: 2015PreR..261...12C.
↑Shen, Bing; Xiao, Shuhai; Zhou, Chuanming; Yuan, Xunlai (July 2009). "Yangtziramulus zhangi new genus and species, a carbonate-hosted macrofossil from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China". Journal of Paleontology83 (4): 575–587. doi:10.1666/08-042R1.1. Bibcode: 2009JPal...83..575S.
↑ 22.022.1Chai, Shu; Hua, Hong; Ren, Jinjie; Dai, Qiaokun; Cui, Zaihang (January 2021). "Vase-shaped microfossils from the late Ediacaran Dengying Formation of Ningqiang, South China: taxonomy, preservation and biological affinity". Precambrian Research352. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2020.105968. Bibcode: 2021PreR..35205968C.
↑Meyer, Mike; Xiao, Shuhai; Gill, Benjamin C.; Schiffbauer, James D.; Chen, Zhe; Zhou, Chuanming; Yuan, Xunlai (February 2014). "Interactions between Ediacaran animals and microbial mats: Insights from Lamonte trevallis, a new trace fossil from the Dengying Formation of South China". Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology396: 62–74. doi:10.1016/j.palaeo.2013.12.026. Bibcode: 2014PPP...396...62M.
↑Zhang, Yuan; Zhang, Xingliang (September 2022). "A possible erect coralline alga from the Ediacaran Dengying Formation in the Zhenba area of South China". Journal of Paleontology96 (5): 1209–1222. doi:10.1017/jpa.2022.33. Bibcode: 2022JPal...96.1209Z.