第一次显生宙大灭绝后的寒武纪软体生物群，这一成果由中国科学院南京地质古生物研究所朱茂炎团队经过不懈努力而取得。2026年1月28日出版的《自然》杂志发表了这项成果。

本文报道了花垣生物群——一个发现于华南板块湘西地区外陆架深水环境的早寒武世（第4期，约5.12亿年前）BST特异埋藏化石群。该生物群具有显著的物种丰富度，包含16个门级支系的153个动物物种，以节肢动物、多孔动物和刺胞动物为主导，其中59%为新物种。生物群绝大多数由软体生物组成，包括保存完好的细胞组织。复杂的生态系统中包含了多种放射性动物和远洋被囊动物，填补了寒武纪4期以来高多样性BST生物的空白。

重要的是，基于全球寒武纪BST生物群数据集的多变量排序分析将花垣生物群置于寒武纪第3期与第4期之间海洋动物生态系统的主过渡带。网络分析揭示了花垣生物群与布尔吉斯页岩生物群密切的动物区系关联，指示了跨洋扩散事件。花垣生物群形成于辛斯克灭绝事件后不久，不仅阐明了显生宙第一次大灭绝事件在浅水与深水环境中影响的差异，更为理解早寒武世全球生态系统的转型提供了关键依据。

据了解，寒武纪伯吉斯页岩型（BST）化石生物群几乎完整地记录了最古老的显生宙海洋生态系统。然而，具有高多样性BST生物的矿床的稀有性限制了他们对寒武纪大爆发的进化和生态动力学的理解。

附：英文原文

Title: A Cambrian soft-bodied biota after the first Phanerozoic mass extinction

Author: Zeng, Han, Liu, Qi, Zhao, Fangchen, Luo, Cui, Wang, Dezhi, Zhu, Yuyan, Liu, Yao, Chen, Kai, Sun, Zhixin, Hong, Yanjie, Miao, Lanyun, Hu, Chunlin, Sun, Haijing, Pan, Bing, Zhao, Jialin, Yin, Zongjun, Li, Guoxiang, Yang, Xinglian, Yang, Aihua, Hu, Shixue, Zhu, Maoyan

Issue&Volume: 2026-01-28

Abstract: Cambrian Burgess Shale-type (BST) fossil biotas document nearly complete snapshots of the oldest Phanerozoic marine ecosystems1,2,3,4. However, the rarity of deposits bearing high-diversity BST biotas5 has restricted our understanding of the evolutionary and ecological dynamics of the Cambrian explosion. Here we report the Huayuan biota—a lower Cambrian (Stage4, approximately 512million years ago) BST Lagersttte from an outer shelf, deep-water setting of the Yangtze Block in Hunan, South China. The Huayuan biota yields remarkable taxonomic richness, comprising 153 animal species of 16 phylum-level clades dominated by arthropods, poriferans and cnidarians, among which 59% of species are new. The biota is comprised overwhelmingly of soft-bodied forms that include preserved cellular tissues. The complex ecosystem contained diverse radiodonts and pelagic tunicates, filling a gap of high-diversity BST biotas from the Cambrian Stage4. Critically, multivariate ordination based on a global dataset of Cambrian BST biotas places the Huayuan biota within a main transition of marine animal ecosystems between Cambrian Age3 and Age4. Network analysis reveals close faunal connections between the Huayuan and Burgess Shale biotas, indicating transoceanic dispersal. Dated shortly after the Sinsk event6,7,8, the Huayuan biota illuminates differences in the impacts of this extinction in shallow- versus deep-water settings during the first Phanerozoic mass extinction and offers critical insights into the transformation of global ecosystems in the early Cambrian.

DOI: 10.1038/s41586-025-10030-0

Source: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-025-10030-0