Internal Microanatomy and Zoological Affinity of the Early Cambrian Olivooides

The early Cambrian pentamerous microfossil Olivooides/Punctatus in South China, which is characterized by a diagnostic stellate tubular apex, has been well-known for its almost complete development sequence that can be confidently traced from embryos and hatched juveniles, to conical adults. However, its zoological affinity remains highly controversial. Here we describe the internal microanatomic structures of the soft-body inside the peridermal theca of Olivooides multisulcatus Qian, 1977, including interradial pairs of tentacles, adradial and perradial frenula, perradial oral marginal lappets and twins of perradial gastric saccule-like humps as well as a circular velarium with striated coronal muscles. Particularly, one specimen shows bifurcated velarial canals along the bell aperture. Both the components of the soft-body and the external theca (or cyst) are arranged in perfect pentaradial symmetry. These characteristics are more compatible with those of living cubomedusans and co-occurring Cambrian athecate embryonic cubozoans. Concerning the presence of peridermal theca, Olivooides most likely represents an extinct thecate stem-group cubomedusae but devoid of both perradial eyes and specialized pedalia. The well-grown soft body inside the peridermal tube displays a set of mixed features of both polyp and medusa.     

温度、盐度对栉孔扇贝(Chlamys,farreri)胚胎和幼虫的影响

采用温度和盐度单一和组合因子设计实验方法,系统地研究了温度、盐度对栉孔扇贝胚胎和幼虫的影响。结果表明,栉孔扇贝胚胎发育适宜温度为16．0—22．0℃,盐度为27．5—32．5;最佳温度为18．0～22．0℃,盐度为30．0—32．5;幼虫培育适宜温度为16．0—26．0℃,盐度为27．0—39．0;最佳温度为19．0—22．0℃,盐度为27．0—32．0。相对而言,栉孔扇贝胚胎和幼虫对低温高盐适应能力较强,温度显著影响胚胎孵化和幼虫发育,盐度显著影响幼虫生长;二者组合影响对胚胎孵化不显著：随着幼虫的发育。组合影响对幼虫存活十分显著;对幼虫生长不显著。     

寒武系底部宽川铺生物群中的卵裂胚胎过程:来自化石薄片的证据

陕南寒武纪早期宽川铺生物群中保存的大量磷酸盐化动物胚胎化石为古生物研究开辟了一个新领域。目前已报道了囊胚期之后不同发育阶段的胚胎化石标本,并且初步建立了从光滑球形胚胎化石Olivooides到带有瘤刺的锥体化石Punctatus的发育序列,而对卵裂期的胚胎化石却鲜有报道。基于通过醋酸浸泡获得的多枚卵裂期、囊胚期及原肠胚期的三维化石标本,加上应用岩石切片技术获得的卵裂期胚胎化石的切片标本,共同见证了从单个卵细胞(Olivooides)经卵裂到囊胚、原肠胚的完整胚胎发育序列。新化石材料的发现,不仅填补了宽川铺生物群中卵裂期胚胎化石的空白,完善了从单个卵细胞(Olivooides)经卵裂到囊胚、原肠胚,再到孵化的锥形幼体(Punctatus)的完整胚胎发育序列,而且通过与贵州瓮安生物群中卵裂期细胞胚胎化石及一些现生的低等动物卵裂期胚胎的对比,对揭示Olivooides胚胎的卵裂过程和特点,探讨其亲缘关系,以及后生动物的早期演化提供了新的化石证据。     

Early Cambrian epibolic gastrulation: A perspective from the Kuanchuanpu Member, Dengying Formation, Ningqiang, Shaanxi, South China

The Cambrian explosion is marked by the apparent sudden appearance of diverse metazoan skeletal fossils and an increase in the complexity of both body and trace fossils. Among them, fossil eggs and embryos from the Lower Cambrian Kuanchuanpu Member of the Dengying Formation at Ningqiang in southern China provide a unique window for investigating the ontogeny of metazoans. Gastrulation is the cell migration stage after cleavage, and can be viewed as the embryonic analog of the transition from protozoan to metazoan grades of complexity. As an example, the embryonic developmental sequences of Punctatus emeiensis is well-documented because of the stellate spines covering the body surface, that are shared with embryonic stages represented by Olivooides and their growth stages represented by P. emeiensis. Although Olivooides was considered to be a taxonomic mixture, consideration of its variation was neglected. A specific type of embryo with zigzag blastopore lips that differs from typical candidate embryos for P. emeiensis is identified; its gastrulation process is reconstructed and is comparable to the epibolic gastrulation of extant metazoans. Both the embryos and adults of this ‘type’ display radial symmetry, that suggests an affinity distinct from that of echinoderms. Moreover, the body plan of penta-radial symmetry seen widely in Early Cambrian ‘Small Shelly Fossils’ (SSF's) was probably deep rooted in the Ediacaran.     

Comet assays to assess DNA damage and repair in grass shrimp embryos exposed to phototoxicants

Exposure of grass shrimp (Palaemonetes pugio) embryos to four compounds (anthracene, pyrene, alpha-terthienyl, methylene blue) along with solar exposure resulted in extensive DNA strand damage using the comet assay. DNA tail moments of embryos exposed to these chemicals in the dark ranged from 1.8 to 4.3, while exposure to chemicals and solar resulted in tail moments of 14.3-15.3. Reduction of DNA tail moments when solar exposed embryos were transferred to the dark, suggested DNA repair systems were active. The comet assay can be used to follow both DNA damage and repair following exposure to phototoxic chemicals.     

Protoconodont fossils for refining the Cambrian bottom and the contribution to shale gas formation along the southwest margin of Yangtze Block

It has been an intense debate on the exact boundary between Ediacaran and Cambrian in the southwest Yangtze Block. The calibration of this critical boundary has a remarkable influence on the further investigation of the break-up of the Rodinia Supercontinent, the early life evolution, and the mechanism of the phosphorite deposit. Ediacaran and Cambrian strata and fossils are widely distributed in Anning, Yunnan Province in China. In recent years, the Xiaowaitoushan Member from the Lower Yuhucun Formation has been studied. Through this interval with continuous collections, the first appearance datums (FADs) of the protoconodont (Fomitchella cf. inchoate Yang et He, Protohertzina cf. anabarica Missarzhevsky) and globular embryos fossil (Olivooides sp.) earlier than these in the Lower Cambrian strata of the Meishucun Formation were discovered. This discovery indicates that the Xiaowaitoushan Member has included more FADs than the previously discovered single FAD of Anabarites primitivus Qian et Jiang, and the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary in southwest China should be replaced below the Point “A” of the Meishucun Formation in Yunnan Province. The Point “B” of the Meishucun Formation is younger than the suggested age 541 Ma of the Ediacaran–Cambrian boundary and can no longer reference the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) correlation in southwest China. It can be suggested based on the previous stratigraphy and palaeontology studies from northern Sichuan and southern Shaanxi and the FAD of the globular embryos fossils that the Ediacaran−Cambrian boundary in the southwest Yangtze Block should be placed at the base of the Xiaowaitoushan Member; other phosphorite strata refer to Xiaowaitoushan Member. The discovery of the FADs of the shelly fossils in the Xiaowaitoushan Member provides new evidence for the global correlation of the Ediacaran –Cambrian boundary in the southwest Yangtze Block. The conodont discoloration index (CAI) of the specimens in Anning is between 2 and 3, which indicates that the organic matter in Xiaowaitoushan Member is matured and has high potential to form a shale gas reservoir.     

Abnormalities in eelpout Zoarces viviparus upon chemical exposure

Elevated frequencies of abnormal embryos in female eelpout Zoarces viviparus have been demonstrated in Danish, Swedish and German monitoring programmes at certain geographic locations with high levels of anthropogenic input. Pollutants present in areas with high malformation frequencies were selected and tested in a controlled laboratory experiment for their potential to induce abnormalities among eelpout embryos upon injection into pregnant eelpout. Tributyltin, 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin, pyrene, nonylphenol, 2,2′,4,4′-tetrabromophenylether and heptadecafluorooctanesulfonic acid were tested, either individually or combined. Generally, the chemicals were transferred to eggs and/or embryos. Some of the exposures increased the proportion of broods with more than 10% abnormal or 5% malformed embryos, although the average percentages of abnormal development were not affected. Spinal, cranial and eye deformities were evident, similarly to what is seen in nature. Some of the exposures resulted in increased percentages of females with as well a low reproductive capacity as embryos with a low condition index.