Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Nov 5;7(45):eabi9643.
doi: 10.1126/sciadv.abi9643. Epub 2021 Nov 3.

The tempo of Ediacaran evolution

Chuan Yang  1 , Alan D Rooney  2 , Daniel J Condon  1 , Xian-Hua Li  3   4 , Dmitriy V Grazhdankin  5   6 , Fred T Bowyer  7 , Chunlin Hu  4   8 , Francis A Macdonald  9 , Maoyan Zhu  4   8
Affiliations

The tempo of Ediacaran evolution

Chuan Yang et al. Sci Adv. .

Abstract

The rise of complex macroscopic life occurred during the Ediacaran Period, an interval that witnessed large-scale disturbances to biogeochemical systems. The current Ediacaran chronostratigraphic framework is of insufficient resolution to provide robust global correlation schemes or test hypotheses for the role of biogeochemical cycling in the evolution of complex life. Here, we present new radio-isotopic dates from Ediacaran strata that directly constrain key fossil assemblages and large-magnitude carbon cycle perturbations. These new dates and integrated global correlations demonstrate that late Ediacaran strata of South China are time transgressive and that the 575- to 550-Ma interval is marked by two large negative carbon isotope excursions: the Shuram and a younger one that ended ca. 550 Ma ago. These data calibrate the tempo of Ediacaran evolution characterized by intervals of tens of millions of years of increasing ecosystem complexity, interrupted by biological turnovers that coincide with large perturbations to the carbon cycle.

PubMed Disclaimer

Figures

Fig. 1.
Fig. 1.. Neoproterozoic-Cambrian stratigraphy, South China.
Stratigraphic data sources: Eastern Yunnan (21, 54), Jijiawan (3), Xiangdangping (11, 12, 17), Zhangcunping (23, 55), Wenghui (56), and Xiajiaomeng (this study). Ages in black are from (8, 28, 57). DY, Dengying Fm; LCP, Liuchapo Fm; JC, Jiucheng Member; HMJ, Hamajing Member; SBT, Shibantan Member; NT, Nantuo Fm; A.-W.-T., Appendisphaera grandis–Weissiella grandistella–Tianzhushania spinose; T.-S., Tanarium tuberosum–Schizofusa zangwenlongii; Tc-Cb, Tanarium conoideum–Cavaspina basiconica; Tp-Cg, Tanarium pycnacanthum–Ceratosphaeridium glaberosum.
Fig. 2.
Fig. 2.. Composite sections of Neoproterozoic-Cambrian transitional stratigraphy.
Stratigraphic data sources: southern Namibia (10, 58), South China–Slope (this study), South China–Platform (table S6), northwestern Canada (4, 43), Oman (4, 10), western Brazil (32, 59), and White Sea area (this study). Zircon U-Pb and sediment Re-Os dates are in red and purple, respectively. For other symbols, see legend on Fig. 1.
Fig. 3.
Fig. 3.. Summary compilation of age constraints on late Ediacaran CIEs and comparison with fossil records.
References to numbering of radio-isotopic ages are provided in table S5. The absence of the 550-Ma CIE in NW Canada and Oman may result from siliciclastic-dominated strata and/or depositional hiatuses. W, Wenghui biota; M, Miaohe biota.
Fig. 4.
Fig. 4.. Integrated radio-isotopic dates, fossil ranges, and carbon isotopic profile of the Ediacaran Period.
(A) Sequences of Ediacaran fossils and δ13Ccarb profile pinned by radio-isotopic dates (table S5). Each radio-isotopic date is connected to its chemostratigraphic and/or paleontological context by red dot(s). The age uncertainty of ranges connected to radio-isotopic dates is constrained by the uncertainty of dates and the age difference between the dated horizon and the horizon of interest. Extra uncertainty associated with stratigraphic correlation needs to be considered for those ranges with no radio-isotopic dates connected. (B) Compiled δ13Ccarb profile for the Ediacaran Period and its comparison with fossil ranges. Avalon, White Sea, and Nama assemblages are presented as groupings solely on the basis of their current geographical settings. The evolutionary events (green dots) are based on fossil/biomarker records (see text for discussion). Compiled carbonate C isotopic data of 635- to 550-Ma interval are given in table S6. See the Supplementary Materials for discussion of the age ranges of the Lantian and Weng’an biota.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. S. H. Xiao, G. M. Narbonne, The Ediacaran Period (Elsevier B.V., 2020).
    1. Hoffman P. F., Abbot D. S., Ashkenazy Y., Benn D. I., Brocks J. J., Cohen P. A., Cox G. M., Creveling J. R., Donnadieu Y., Erwin D. H., Fairchild I. J., Ferreira D., Goodman J. C., Halverson G. P., Jansen M. F., Le Hir G., Love G. D., Macdonald F. A., Maloof A. C., Partin C. A., Ramstein G., Rose B. E. J., Rose C. V., Sadler P. M., Tziperman E., Voigt A., Warren S. G., Snowball Earth climate dynamics and Cryogenian geology-geobiology. Sci. Adv. 3, e1600983 (2017). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Lu M., Zhu M., Zhang J., Shields-Zhou G., Li G., Zhao F., Zhao X., Zhao M., The DOUNCE event at the top of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation, South China: Broad stratigraphic occurrence and non-diagenetic origin. Precambrian Res. 225, 86–109 (2013).
    1. Rooney A. D., Cantine M. D., Bergmann K. D., Gómez-Pérez I., Al Baloushi B., Boag T. H., Busch J. F., Sperling E. A., Strauss J. V., Calibrating the coevolution of Ediacaran life and environment. Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A. 117, 16824–16830 (2020). - PMC - PubMed
    1. Pu J. P., Bowring S. A., Ramezani J., Myrow P., Raub T. D., Landing E., Mills A., Hodgin E., Macdonald F. A., Dodging snowballs: Geochronology of the Gaskiers glaciation and the first appearance of the Ediacaran biota. Geology 44, 955–958 (2016).