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Stern RJ, Gerya TV. The importance of continents, oceans and plate tectonics for the evolution of complex life: implications for finding extraterrestrial civilizations. Sci Rep 2024; 14:8552. [PMID: 38609425 PMCID: PMC11015018 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-54700-x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/03/2023] [Accepted: 02/14/2024] [Indexed: 04/14/2024] Open
Abstract
Within the uncertainties of involved astronomical and biological parameters, the Drake Equation typically predicts that there should be many exoplanets in our galaxy hosting active, communicative civilizations (ACCs). These optimistic calculations are however not supported by evidence, which is often referred to as the Fermi Paradox. Here, we elaborate on this long-standing enigma by showing the importance of planetary tectonic style for biological evolution. We summarize growing evidence that a prolonged transition from Mesoproterozoic active single lid tectonics (1.6 to 1.0 Ga) to modern plate tectonics occurred in the Neoproterozoic Era (1.0 to 0.541 Ga), which dramatically accelerated emergence and evolution of complex species. We further suggest that both continents and oceans are required for ACCs because early evolution of simple life must happen in water but late evolution of advanced life capable of creating technology must happen on land. We resolve the Fermi Paradox (1) by adding two additional terms to the Drake Equation: foc (the fraction of habitable exoplanets with significant continents and oceans) and fpt (the fraction of habitable exoplanets with significant continents and oceans that have had plate tectonics operating for at least 0.5 Ga); and (2) by demonstrating that the product of foc and fpt is very small (< 0.00003-0.002). We propose that the lack of evidence for ACCs reflects the scarcity of long-lived plate tectonics and/or continents and oceans on exoplanets with primitive life.
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Affiliation(s)
- Robert J Stern
- Department of Sustainable Earth Systems Science, University of Texas at Dallas, Richardson, TX, 75083-0688, USA
| | - Taras V Gerya
- Department of Earth Sciences, ETH-Zurich, Sonneggstrasse 5, 8092, Zurich, Switzerland.
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2
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Mussini G, Dunn FS. Decline and fall of the Ediacarans: late-Neoproterozoic extinctions and the rise of the modern biosphere. Biol Rev Camb Philos Soc 2024; 99:110-130. [PMID: 37667585 DOI: 10.1111/brv.13014] [Citation(s) in RCA: 3] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2023] [Revised: 08/22/2023] [Accepted: 08/25/2023] [Indexed: 09/06/2023]
Abstract
The end-Neoproterozoic transition marked a gradual but permanent shift between distinct configurations of Earth's biosphere. This interval witnessed the demise of the enigmatic Ediacaran Biota, ushering in the structured trophic webs and disparate animal body plans of Phanerozoic ecosystems. However, little consensus exists on the reality, drivers, and macroevolutionary implications of end-Neoproterozoic extinctions. Here we evaluate potential drivers of late-Neoproterozoic turnover by addressing recent findings on Ediacaran geochronology, the persistence of classical Ediacaran macrobionts into the Cambrian, and the existence of Ediacaran crown-group eumetazoans. Despite renewed interest in the possibility of Phanerozoic-style 'mass extinctions' in the latest Neoproterozoic, our synthesis of the available evidence does not support extinction models based on episodic geochemical triggers, nor does it validate simple ecological interpretations centred on direct competitive displacement. Instead, we argue that the protracted and indirect effects of early bilaterian innovations, including escalations in sediment engineering, predation, and the largely understudied impacts of reef-building, may best account for the temporal structure and possible selectivity of late-Neoproterozoic extinctions. We integrate these processes into a generalised model of early eumetazoan-dominated ecologies, charting the disruption of spatial and temporal isotropy on the Ediacaran benthos as a consequence of diversifying macrofaunal interactions. Given the nature of resource distribution in Ediacaran ecologies, the continuities among Ediacaran and Cambrian faunas, and the convergent origins of ecologically disruptive innovations among bilaterians we suggest that the rise of Phanerozoic-type biotas may have been unstoppable.
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Affiliation(s)
- Giovanni Mussini
- Department of Earth Sciences, Downing Street, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, CB2 3EQ, UK
| | - Frances S Dunn
- Oxford University Museum of Natural History, Parks Road, University of Oxford, Oxford, OX1 3PW, UK
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3
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Possible poriferan body fossils in early Neoproterozoic microbial reefs. Nature 2021; 596:87-91. [PMID: 34321662 PMCID: PMC8338550 DOI: 10.1038/s41586-021-03773-z] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 9.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/30/2021] [Accepted: 06/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/08/2022]
Abstract
Molecular phylogeny indicates that metazoans (animals) emerged early in the Neoproterozoic era1, but physical evidence is lacking. The search for animal fossils from the Proterozoic eon is hampered by uncertainty about what physical characteristics to expect. Sponges are the most basic known animal type2,3; it is possible that body fossils of hitherto-undiscovered Proterozoic metazoans might resemble aspect(s) of Phanerozoic fossil sponges. Vermiform microstructure4,5, a complex petrographic feature in Phanerozoic reefal and microbial carbonates, is now known to be the body fossil of nonspicular keratosan demosponges6-10. This Article presents petrographically identical vermiform microstructure from approximately 890-million-year-old reefs. The millimetric-to-centimetric vermiform-microstructured organism lived only on, in and immediately beside reefs built by calcifying cyanobacteria (photosynthesizers), and occupied microniches in which these calcimicrobes could not live. If vermiform microstructure is in fact the fossilized tissue of keratose sponges, the material described here would represent the oldest body-fossil evidence of animals known to date, and would provide the first physical evidence that animals emerged before the Neoproterozoic oxygenation event and survived through the glacial episodes of the Cryogenian period.
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4
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Zumberge JA, Rocher D, Love GD. Free and kerogen-bound biomarkers from late Tonian sedimentary rocks record abundant eukaryotes in mid-Neoproterozoic marine communities. GEOBIOLOGY 2020; 18:326-347. [PMID: 31865640 PMCID: PMC7233469 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12378] [Citation(s) in RCA: 20] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/05/2019] [Revised: 10/31/2019] [Accepted: 11/30/2019] [Indexed: 05/23/2023]
Abstract
Lipid biomarker assemblages preserved within the bitumen and kerogen phases of sedimentary rocks from the ca. 780-729 Ma Chuar and Visingsö Groups facilitate paleoenvironmental reconstructions and reveal fundamental aspects of emerging mid-Neoproterozoic marine communities. The Chuar and Visingsö Groups were deposited offshore of two distinct paleocontinents (Laurentia and Baltica, respectively) during the Tonian Period, and the rock samples used had not undergone excessive metamorphism. The major polycyclic alkane biomarkers detected in the rock bitumens and kerogen hydropyrolysates consist of tricyclic terpanes, hopanes, methylhopanes, and steranes. Major features of the biomarker assemblages include detectable and significant contribution from eukaryotes, encompassing the first robust occurrences of kerogen-bound regular steranes from Tonian rocks, including 21-norcholestane, 27-norcholestane, cholestane, ergostane, and cryostane, along with a novel unidentified C30 sterane series from our least thermally mature Chuar Group samples. Appreciable values for the sterane/hopane (S/H) ratio are found for both the free and kerogen-bound biomarker pools for both the Chuar Group rocks (S/H between 0.09 and 1.26) and the Visingsö Group samples (S/H between 0.03 and 0.37). The more organic-rich rock samples generally yield higher S/H ratios than for organic-lean substrates, which suggests a marine nutrient control on eukaryotic abundance relative to bacteria. A C27 sterane (cholestane) predominance among total C26 -C30 steranes is a common feature found for all samples investigated, with lower amounts of C28 steranes (ergostane and crysotane) also present. No traces of known ancient C30 sterane compounds; including 24-isopropylcholestanes, 24-n-propylcholestanes, or 26-methylstigmastanes, are detectable in any of these pre-Sturtian rocks. These biomarker characteristics support the view that the Tonian Period was a key interval in the history of life on our planet since it marked the transition from a bacterially dominated marine biosphere to an ocean system which became progressively enriched with eukaryotes. The eukaryotic source organisms likely encompassed photosynthetic primary producers, marking a rise in red algae, and consumers in a revamped trophic structure predating the Sturtian glaciation.
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Affiliation(s)
- J. Alex Zumberge
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
| | | | - Gordon D. Love
- Department of Earth and Planetary Sciences, University of California, Riverside, CA, USA
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5
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Zimorski V, Mentel M, Tielens AGM, Martin WF. Energy metabolism in anaerobic eukaryotes and Earth's late oxygenation. Free Radic Biol Med 2019; 140:279-294. [PMID: 30935869 PMCID: PMC6856725 DOI: 10.1016/j.freeradbiomed.2019.03.030] [Citation(s) in RCA: 24] [Impact Index Per Article: 4.8] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/15/2018] [Revised: 03/21/2019] [Accepted: 03/26/2019] [Indexed: 01/09/2023]
Abstract
Eukaryotes arose about 1.6 billion years ago, at a time when oxygen levels were still very low on Earth, both in the atmosphere and in the ocean. According to newer geochemical data, oxygen rose to approximately its present atmospheric levels very late in evolution, perhaps as late as the origin of land plants (only about 450 million years ago). It is therefore natural that many lineages of eukaryotes harbor, and use, enzymes for oxygen-independent energy metabolism. This paper provides a concise overview of anaerobic energy metabolism in eukaryotes with a focus on anaerobic energy metabolism in mitochondria. We also address the widespread assumption that oxygen improves the overall energetic state of a cell. While it is true that ATP yield from glucose or amino acids is increased in the presence of oxygen, it is also true that the synthesis of biomass costs thirteen times more energy per cell in the presence of oxygen than in anoxic conditions. This is because in the reaction of cellular biomass with O2, the equilibrium lies very far on the side of CO2. The absence of oxygen offers energetic benefits of the same magnitude as the presence of oxygen. Anaerobic and low oxygen environments are ancient. During evolution, some eukaryotes have specialized to life in permanently oxic environments (life on land), other eukaryotes have remained specialized to low oxygen habitats. We suggest that the Km of mitochondrial cytochrome c oxidase of 0.1-10 μM for O2, which corresponds to about 0.04%-4% (avg. 0.4%) of present atmospheric O2 levels, reflects environmental O2 concentrations that existed at the time that the eukaryotes arose.
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Affiliation(s)
- Verena Zimorski
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
| | - Marek Mentel
- Department of Biochemistry, Faculty of Natural Sciences, Comenius University in Bratislava, 851 04, Bratislava, Slovakia.
| | - Aloysius G M Tielens
- Department of Medical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases, Erasmus Medical Center Rotterdam, The Netherlands; Department of Biochemistry and Cell Biology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, The Netherlands.
| | - William F Martin
- Institute of Molecular Evolution, Heinrich-Heine-University, 40225, Düsseldorf, Germany.
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6
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Nettersheim BJ, Brocks JJ, Schwelm A, Hope JM, Not F, Lomas M, Schmidt C, Schiebel R, Nowack ECM, De Deckker P, Pawlowski J, Bowser SS, Bobrovskiy I, Zonneveld K, Kucera M, Stuhr M, Hallmann C. Putative sponge biomarkers in unicellular Rhizaria question an early rise of animals. Nat Ecol Evol 2019; 3:577-581. [DOI: 10.1038/s41559-019-0806-5] [Citation(s) in RCA: 42] [Impact Index Per Article: 8.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/11/2018] [Accepted: 01/10/2019] [Indexed: 11/09/2022]
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7
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Butterfield NJ. Oxygen, animals and aquatic bioturbation: An updated account. GEOBIOLOGY 2018; 16:3-16. [PMID: 29130581 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12267] [Citation(s) in RCA: 33] [Impact Index Per Article: 5.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/05/2017] [Accepted: 09/29/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- N J Butterfield
- Department of Earth Sciences, University of Cambridge, Cambridge, UK
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8
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Yang D, Guo X, Xie T, Luo X. Reactive oxygen species may play an essential role in driving biological evolution: The Cambrian Explosion as an example. J Environ Sci (China) 2018; 63:218-226. [PMID: 29406104 DOI: 10.1016/j.jes.2017.05.035] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 05/22/2017] [Accepted: 05/26/2017] [Indexed: 06/07/2023]
Abstract
The Cambrian Explosion is one of the most significant events in the history of life; essentially all easily fossilizable animal body plans first evolved during this event. Although many theories have been proposed to explain this event, its cause remains unresolved. Here, we propose that the elevated level of oxygen, in combination with the increased mobility and food intake of metazoans, led to increased cellular levels of reactive oxygen species (ROS), which drove evolution by enhancing mutation rates and providing new regulatory mechanisms. Our hypothesis may provide a unified explanation for the Cambrian Explosion as it incorporates both environmental and developmental factors and is also consistent with ecological explanations for animal radiation. Future studies should focus on testing this hypothesis, and may lead to important insights into evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Dong Yang
- Gene Engineering and Biotechnology Beijing Key Laboratory College of Life Sciences, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xuejun Guo
- State Key Laboratory of Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China.
| | - Tian Xie
- State Key Laboratory of Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
| | - Xiaoyan Luo
- State Key Laboratory of Environment Simulation, School of Environment, Beijing Normal University, Beijing 100875, China
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9
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Hoshino Y, Poshibaeva A, Meredith W, Snape C, Poshibaev V, Versteegh GJM, Kuznetsov N, Leider A, van Maldegem L, Neumann M, Naeher S, Moczydłowska M, Brocks JJ, Jarrett AJM, Tang Q, Xiao S, McKirdy D, Das SK, Alvaro JJ, Sansjofre P, Hallmann C. Cryogenian evolution of stigmasteroid biosynthesis. SCIENCE ADVANCES 2017; 3:e1700887. [PMID: 28948220 PMCID: PMC5606710 DOI: 10.1126/sciadv.1700887] [Citation(s) in RCA: 19] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/22/2017] [Accepted: 08/30/2017] [Indexed: 05/22/2023]
Abstract
Sedimentary hydrocarbon remnants of eukaryotic C26-C30 sterols can be used to reconstruct early algal evolution. Enhanced C29 sterol abundances provide algal cell membranes a density advantage in large temperature fluctuations. Here, we combined a literature review with new analyses to generate a comprehensive inventory of unambiguously syngenetic steranes in Neoproterozoic rocks. Our results show that the capacity for C29 24-ethyl-sterol biosynthesis emerged in the Cryogenian, that is, between 720 and 635 million years ago during the Neoproterozoic Snowball Earth glaciations, which were an evolutionary stimulant, not a bottleneck. This biochemical innovation heralded the rise of green algae to global dominance of marine ecosystems and highlights the environmental drivers for the evolution of sterol biosynthesis. The Cryogenian emergence of C29 sterol biosynthesis places a benchmark for verifying older sterane signatures and sets a new framework for our understanding of early algal evolution.
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Affiliation(s)
- Yosuke Hoshino
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Aleksandra Poshibaeva
- Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Leninsky Prospekt 65, Moscow, Russia
| | - William Meredith
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Energy Technologies Building, Triumph Road, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK
| | - Colin Snape
- Faculty of Engineering, University of Nottingham, Energy Technologies Building, Triumph Road, Nottingham NG7 2TU, UK
| | - Vladimir Poshibaev
- Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Leninsky Prospekt 65, Moscow, Russia
| | - Gerard J. M. Versteegh
- MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse 8, 28359 Bremen, Germany
- Alfred Wegener Institut, Helmholtz-Zentrum für Polar- und Meeresforschung, Am Handelshafen 12, 27570 Bremerhaven, Germany
| | - Nikolay Kuznetsov
- Gubkin Russian State University of Oil and Gas, Leninsky Prospekt 65, Moscow, Russia
- Geological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Pygevsky 7, Moscow, Russia
| | - Arne Leider
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Lennart van Maldegem
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse 8, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | - Mareike Neumann
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
| | - Sebastian Naeher
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse 8, 28359 Bremen, Germany
| | | | - Jochen J. Brocks
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Building 142, Mills Road, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Amber J. M. Jarrett
- Research School of Earth Sciences, Australian National University, Building 142, Mills Road, Canberra, Australian Capital Territory 2601, Australia
| | - Qing Tang
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - Shuhai Xiao
- Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech, Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA
| | - David McKirdy
- Department of Earth Science, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, South Australia 5005, Australia
| | - Supriyo Kumar Das
- Department of Geology, Presidency University, College Street 86/1, Kolkata 700073, India
| | - José Javier Alvaro
- Instituto de Geociencias (Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Científicas–Universidad Complutense de Madrid), Novais 12, 28040 Madrid, Spain
| | - Pierre Sansjofre
- Laboratoire Géosciences Océan, UMR CNRS-6538, Université de Bretagne Occidentale, 29280 Plouzane, France
| | - Christian Hallmann
- Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry, Hans-Knoell-Strasse 10, 07745 Jena, Germany
- MARUM–Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen, Leobener Strasse 8, 28359 Bremen, Germany
- Corresponding author.
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10
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Mills DB, Canfield DE. A trophic framework for animal origins. GEOBIOLOGY 2017; 15:197-210. [PMID: 27686422 DOI: 10.1111/gbi.12216] [Citation(s) in RCA: 10] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.4] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/27/2016] [Accepted: 08/25/2016] [Indexed: 06/06/2023]
Abstract
Metazoans emerged in a microbial world and play a unique role in the biosphere as the only complex multicellular eukaryotes capable of phagocytosis. While the bodyplan and feeding mode of the last common metazoan ancestor remain unresolved, the earliest multicellular stem-metazoans likely subsisted on picoplankton (planktonic microbes 0.2-2 μm in diameter) and dissolved organic matter (DOM), similarly to modern sponges. Once multicellular stem-metazoans emerged, they conceivably modulated both the local availability of picoplankton, which they preferentially removed from the water column for feeding, and detrital particles 2-100 μm in diameter, which they expelled and deposited into the benthos as waste products. By influencing the availability of these heterotrophic food sources, the earliest multicellular stem-metazoans would have acted as ecosystem engineers, helping create the ecological conditions under which other metazoans, namely detritivores and non-sponge suspension feeders incapable of subsisting on picoplankton and DOM, could emerge and diversify. This early style of metazoan feeding, specifically the phagocytosis of small eukaryotic prey, could have also encouraged the evolution of larger, even multicellular, eukaryotic forms less prone to metazoan consumption. Therefore, the first multicellular stem-metazoans, through their feeding, arguably helped bridge the strictly microbial food webs of the Proterozoic Eon (2.5-0.541 billion years ago) to the more macroscopic, metazoan-sustaining food webs of the Phanerozoic Eon (0.541-0 billion years ago).
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Affiliation(s)
- D B Mills
- Department of Biology, Nordic Center for Earth Evolution, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
| | - D E Canfield
- Department of Biology, Nordic Center for Earth Evolution, University of Southern Denmark, Odense, Denmark
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11
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Zhu S, Zhu M, Knoll AH, Yin Z, Zhao F, Sun S, Qu Y, Shi M, Liu H. Decimetre-scale multicellular eukaryotes from the 1.56-billion-year-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation in North China. Nat Commun 2016; 7:11500. [PMID: 27186667 PMCID: PMC4873660 DOI: 10.1038/ncomms11500] [Citation(s) in RCA: 29] [Impact Index Per Article: 3.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/21/2015] [Accepted: 04/04/2016] [Indexed: 11/23/2022] Open
Abstract
Fossils of macroscopic eukaryotes are rarely older than the Ediacaran Period (635–541 million years (Myr)), and their interpretation remains controversial. Here, we report the discovery of macroscopic fossils from the 1,560-Myr-old Gaoyuzhuang Formation, Yanshan area, North China, that exhibit both large size and regular morphology. Preserved as carbonaceous compressions, the Gaoyuzhuang fossils have statistically regular linear to lanceolate shapes up to 30 cm long and nearly 8 cm wide, suggesting that the Gaoyuzhuang fossils record benthic multicellular eukaryotes of unprecedentedly large size. Syngenetic fragments showing closely packed ∼10 μm cells arranged in a thick sheet further reinforce the interpretation. Comparisons with living thalloid organisms suggest that these organisms were photosynthetic, although their phylogenetic placement within the Eukarya remains uncertain. The new fossils provide the strongest evidence yet that multicellular eukaryotes with decimetric dimensions and a regular developmental program populated the marine biosphere at least a billion years before the Cambrian Explosion. Macroscopic organisms are rare in the fossil record until the Ediacaran Period, beginning 635 million years ago. Here, Zhu et al. report the discovery of 1.56-billion-year-old carbonaceous compression fossils that provide evidence of the evolution of macroscopic, multicellular eukaryotes long before the Ediacaran Period.
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Affiliation(s)
- Shixing Zhu
- Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, China Geological Survey, Tianjin 300170, China.,State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Maoyan Zhu
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Andrew H Knoll
- Department of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology, Harvard University, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, USA
| | - Zongjun Yin
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Fangchen Zhao
- State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China
| | - Shufen Sun
- Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, China Geological Survey, Tianjin 300170, China
| | - Yuangao Qu
- Centre for Geobiology, University of Bergen, Bergen 5007, Norway
| | - Min Shi
- State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China
| | - Huan Liu
- Tianjin Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources, China Geological Survey, Tianjin 300170, China
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