Bradoriid Kunmingella douvillei Arthropod Death Plate from Chengjiang
"fossils of the Cambrian Explosion"

Kunmingella douvillei

Phylum Arthropoda

Geological Time: Early Cambrian (~525 million years ago)

Size (25.4mm=1 inch): 3-5 mm long on a 32 mm by 28 mm matrix

Fossil Site: Chengjiang Maotianshan Shales, Quiongzhusi Section, Yu’anshan Member, Heilinpu Formation, Anning, Yunnan Province, China


Kunmingella douvillei arthropod fossilsDescription: This plaque contains a half dozen examples of a tiny bivalved arthropod known as Kunnmingella. The conjoined valves are often preserved in “butterfly” fashion as are these. Some 240 members of this uniqueKunmingella Bradoriid have been described. They are yet another example of the diverse life forms that make up what is known as the Chengjiang Biota. The diversity of soft-tissue fossils is astonishing: algae, medusiforms, sponges, priapulids, annelid-like worms, echinoderms, arthropods (including trilobites), hemichordates, chordates, and the first agnathan fish make up just a small fraction of the total. Numerous problematic forms are known as well, some of which may have represented failed attempts at diversity that did not persist to the present day.

Also see: Chengjiang Biota List Chengjiang Fossils

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