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The Sinian–Cambrian boundary of China and its related problems

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 May 2009

Xing Yusheng ,
Ding Qixiu ,
Luo Huilin ,
He Tinggui  and
Wang Yangeng
Xing Yusheng
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, China
Ding Qixiu
Affiliation:
Institute of Geology, Geological Bureau of Hubei Province, Wuhan, China
Luo Huilin
Affiliation:
Institute of Geological Sciences of Yunnan Province, Kunming, China
He Tinggui
Affiliation:
Chengdu College of Geology, Chengdu, China
Wang Yangeng
Affiliation:
No. 108 Geological Party, Geological Bureau of Guizhou Province, Huishui, Guizhou, China
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Abstract

The Sinian and Cambrian systems within the Yangtze stratigraphic province represent continuous deposits, and the strata above and below the Sinian–Cambrian boundary are rich in fossils. From all the relevant boundary sections, the Meishucun section in Jinning County, Yunnan Province serves as the stratotype section for the Sinian–Cambrian boundary and is the Chinese candidate for the global stratotype section and point for the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary. The present paper, with the various charts and tables, elaborates on several typical Sinian–Cambrian boundary sections and the distribution of fossils in them.

In accordance with the characteristics of biological evolution, three biotas can be recognized for the period from the Late Sinian to the Early Cambrian. The first biota appeared in the Late Sinian, characterized by the presence of the soft-bodied metazoans; the second biota occurred during the Meishucun Stage of the early Cambrian, and is characterized by the appearance and prevalence of small shelly fossils from many different phyla; and the third biota came into existence during the Qiongzhusi Stage of the Early Cambrian; it is characterized by the first appearance and prevalence of trilobites.

The Meishucun Stage of the Lower Cambrian can be divided into three fossil zones. The Sinian–Cambrian boundary is placed at the base of the first Anabarites–Circotheca–Protohertzina zone. According to isotopic dating by the Rb–Sr whole-rock isochron technique, the age of the Sinian–Cambrian boundary is inferred to be 610±10 Ma.

Type
Articles
Information
Geological Magazine , Volume 121 , Issue 3 , May 1984 , pp. 155 - 170
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 1984

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