Fossils
The faunal assemblage is highly diverse, comprising some 110 genera among 11 phyla; of these, some 40 genera are also found in the Burgess Shale, and some 30 are also found in the Maotianshan Shale. Trilobites and eocrinoids with hard parts that are easily preserved are the most common fossils, but many animals with only soft tissues are also preserved. For example, an arthropod similar to the Ediacaran biota Parvancorina of the Neoproterozoic age Ediacara Hills of South Australia has been found at the Kaili site.
The middle part of the Kaili Formation, the Oryctocephalus indicus Zone, contains a Burgess Shale-type Lagerstätte with many well-preserved fossils known collectively as the Kaili Biota. This biota is located between the two most important and famous Cambrian Lagerstätten: the middle Lower Cambrian Maotianshan Shale (containing the Chengjiang Biota) and the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale.
Some other notable fossils discovered at Kaili are putative invertebrate eggs and embryos, trace fossils of the genus Gordia, naraoia, chancellorids, Microdictyon, Wiwaxia, and Marrella.
The Kaili Formation is subdivided into three trilobite zones:
- Bathynotus holopygous–Ovatoryctocara granulata Zone
- Oryctocephalus indicus Zone
- Olenoides jialaoensis Zone
Read more about this topic: Kaili Formation
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