This is a list of fossils found at Maotianshan Shales, whose most famous assemblage of organisms are referred to as the Chengjiang biota.
The Maotianshan Shales are a series of Early Cambrian sedimentary deposits in the Chiungchussu Formation, famous for their Konservat Lagerstätten, deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized organisms or traces. The Maotianshan Shales form one of some forty Cambrian fossil locations worldwide exhibiting exquisite preservation of rarely preserved, non-mineralized soft tissue, comparable to the fossils of the Burgess Shale of British Columbia, Canada.
Ecdysozoa Genus Species Material Notes ImagesAcosmiaA. maotiania9 nearly complete specimensA small ecdysozoan worm that was originally thought to have been a priapulid worm.LaojieellaL. thecataOne complete and one incomplete specimenAn ecdysozoan worm considered close to the priapulids, it has a spiny proboscis, an elliptical theca on the posterior part of the trunk, and a caudal appendage.
Scalidophora Palaeoscolecidomorpha Genus Species Material Notes ImagesCricocosmiaC. jinningensisA genus of palaeoscolecid worm. Fossils have been found with smaller worms seemingly attached to them. MafangscolexM. sinensis M. yunnanensisMaotianshaniaM. cylindricaAn extinct palaeoscolecid worm closely related to Cricocosmia.TabelliscolexT. chengjiangensis T. hexagonus T. maanshanensisA genus of palaeoscolecid wormTylotitesT. petiolaris
Priapulida Genus Species Material Notes ImagesCorynetisC. brevis C. fortisAn archaeopriapulid worm known from the biota.ErcaivermisE. spariosA single specimen.A stem-group priapulid.EximipriapulusE. globocaudatusA carnivorous priapulid-like worm that has been found living in the discarded shells of hyoliths. ParaselkirkiaP. sinicaAn archaeopriapulid worm that resembles another worm, Selkirkia, from the Burgess shale ParatubiluchusP. bicaudatusTwo specimensPalaeopriapulitesP. parvusSelkirkiaS. elongataA burrowing archaeopriapulid worm also known from the burgess shale, alongside the Fezouata Shale.SicyophorusS. rarusA genus of archaeopriapulid worm. XiaoheiqingellaX. peculiarisFourteen specimens, five previously included in "Yunnanpriapulus"A priapulid worm thought to belong to the crown group. XiaolantianellaX. longibicaudatusA priapulid worm belonging to the family Priapulidae.
Panarthropoda
Lobopodia Genus Species Material Notes ImagesAntennacanthopodiaA. gracilisKnown from two specimens, making the species very rare in the Chengjiang.An unarmoured lobopodian, apparently closely related to Onychophora. The long, paired, cirriform structures at the end of the body could have been sensory, or perhaps represent viscera not externally present in life.CardiodictyonC. catenulumA highly elongate armoured lobopodian, with saddle-shaped sclerites and a lightly sclerotized head. DianiaD. cactiformisA heavily armoured lobopodian.LenisambulatrixL. humboldtiA single specimen.A simple, unarmoured lobopodian.OnychodictyonO. ferox O. gracilisSeveral complete specimens.An enigmatic genus of lobopodian, potentially related to either the Luolishaniidae or to Tardigrada. Not always monophyletic.PaucipodiaP. inermisKnown from well-preserved body fossils.A large unarmoured lobopodian, commonly found in association with mass death-beds of legless worms and Eldonia. Thought to have been a scavenger.
Eoconchariidae Genus Species Material Notes ImagesMicrodictyonM. sinicumRoughly 100 specimensMicrodictyon is known from sclerite microfossils around the globe, while fossils from the Chengjiang are the only in the world to preserve the soft anatomy.
Hallucishaniids Genus Species Material Notes ImagesLuolishaniaL. longicrurisAround forty specimensType genus of Luolishaniidae. The species Miraluolishania haikouensis is considered a juvenile synonym of Luolishania.FacivermisF. yunnanicusThirty specimens, one formerly assigned to "Xishania"Derived Luolishaniid lobopodian with five setiferous sieving appendages, and lacking any walking limbs. Sometimes discovered living in constructed tubes, buried into the sediment.HallucigeniaH. fortisTwo specimensA hallucigeniid lobopodian with a bulbous sclerotized head and two pairs of small feeding appendages, borne on a short neck.
Siberiidae Genus Species Material Notes ImagesMegadictyonM. haikouensisPosterior-most section of the trunk is unknown.A poorly known siberiid.JianshanopodiaJ. decorataKnown from multiple large individuals, all from a singular exposure of the Chengjiang.A giant siberiid lobopodian related to Megadictyon.
Gilled Lobopodians Genus Species Material Notes ImagesOmnidensO. amplus O. qiongqiiNumerous well preserved oral cones and portions of the frontal appendage.A giant gilled lobopodian, closely related to Pambdelurion. Also present in the Xiaoshiba Biota.
Radiodonta Radiodonta are a group of highly successful panarthropods. The Chengjiang Fauna includes a large number of Radiodont species, primarily from the clade Amplectobeluidae. While hurdiids are poorly known from the formation and surrounding region, several specimens attributable to the family have been discovered, but remain unnamed. Some radiodonts from the Chengjiang defy easy classification, or are otherwise debated in their exact affinity. Genus Species Material Notes ImagesHoucarisH. saron H. consimilisIsolated appendages.Previously described as "Anomalocaris" saron.Innovatiocaris I. maotianshanensis I. multispiniformis I. sp. Complete fossil and isolated appendages Previously assigned to the Anomalocaris genus, and one of the most completely known radiodonts. LaminacarisL. chimeraGiant isolated appendages, up to nearly 30 centimetres long.A giant radiodont combining features from different clades.
Amplectobeluidae Genus Species Material Notes ImagesAmplectobeluaA. trispinataDozens of isolated appendages, and at least one complete body of a juvenile.A large Amplectobeluid radiodont with long tail furcae. The frontal appendages formed a distinctive claw-like shape.LyrarapaxL. trilobus L. unguispinusKnown from appendages and complete body fossils, including neural anatomy.Small Amplectobeluid radiodont. Some specimens of this genus represent some of the smallest known radiodonts.RamskoeldiaR. platyacantha R. consimilis?Known from appendages, often associated with GLS plates, sclerites, and swimming flaps.Large Amplectobeluid radiodonts, with crushing gnathobases. The species R. consimilis may belong to Houcaris instead.
Anomalocarididae Genus Species Material Notes ImagesAnomalocarisA. cf. canadensisIsolated appendages.LenisicarisL. lupataIsolated appendages.A second species is included in the genus, Lenisicaris pennsylvanica, from the Kinzers Formation.ShucarisS. ankylosskelosIsolated appendages. Oral cone Partial bodyAn unusual radiodont seemingly transitional between anomalocaridids and amplectobeluids, with an oral cone similar to the former but gnathobase-like structures similar to the latter.
Hurdiidae
Hurdiids have historically been considered absent, or at least rare, from the Chengjiang Biota, an observation that researchers have found confusing given their regularity at other sites. In recent years, a number of fragmentary hurdiid fossils have been described, including 3 partial appendages belonging to a new species of Stanleycaris, an isolated sclerite assigned to Cambroraster, Zhenghecaris (the affinities of which, even its identity as a radiodont, remains questionable), and isolated lateral sclerites (also questionable).
Genus Species Material Notes ImagesCambrorasterC. sp.Head sclerites.A large nektobenthic hurdiid, first known from the Burgess Shale. Fossils of Cambroraster are also known from Mantou Formation of North China, making this a very widespread genus. This genus was the first definitive hurdiid known from China. ZhenghecarisZ. shankouensisScleritesLarge-sized arthropod carapace, originally described as bivalved arthropod close to Thylacocephala, later reinterpreted as hurdiid radiodont close to Cambroraster, its classification is still discussed. Some fossils, apparently the lateral scelrites of a radiodont, connected anteriorly by a "beak" and featuring two-pronged, wing-like processes posteriorly (similar to the lateral processes of Zhenghecaris's central head sclerite), have also been attributed to Zhenghecaris.
Arthropoda Genus Species Material Notes ImagesChuandianella C. ovata Several body fossils and carapacesAn enigmatc bivalved arthropod originally considered close to Waptia. It was then discovered that it lacked mandibles and therefore does not belong to Hymenocarina, the Waptiidae family, and even the larger mandibulata clade. CombinivalvulaC. chengjiangensisAn enigmatic bivalved arthropod. CucumericrusC. decorataMultiple fragmentary specimens.An enigmatic arthropod that has been tentatively classified as a possible radiodont, although a position closely related to Erratus as the most primitive deuteropod is more likely.CyathocephalusC. bispinosusDiplopygeD. forcipatus D. minutusDongshanocarisD. foliiformisA small arthropod that is currently "too poorly preserved to verify their identity as a valid taxa". ErratusE. sperareSeveral carapaces Eyes and other body parts A bivalved arthropod currently placed as the most basal deuteropod, that shows the origins of lungs and legs in early arthropods. ErcaiaE. minisculaAn arthropod that has been speculated to be an early crustacean. ForfexicarisF. validaA small bivalved arthropod that somewhat resembles ostracods, but also has large, upward facing appendages with spines.GlossocarisG. occulatusIsoxysI. auritus I. curvirostratus I. paradoxusA basal nektonic arthropod that possessed a bivalved carapace, and large circular eyes, related to Surusicaris from the Burgess Shale. Also found in various other Cambrian aged sites. JianshaniaJ. furcatusA small, somewhat enigmatic arthropod known from the biota KunmingocarisK. bispinosusKylinxiaK. zhangiAlmost complete fossil Isolated frontal appendagesAn early arthropod that may show the "missing link" between early stem-arthropods, and more advanced true arthropods. It possessed frontal appendages similar to radiodonts.MafangiaM. subscalariaMafangocarisM. multinodusOccacarisO. oviformisA predatory arthropod that had spiked frontal appendages similar to those of the megacheirans, and was previously thought to have belonged to that groupingOura O. megale A single specimenAn early-diverging deuteropodOvalicephalusO. mirabilisParapaleomerusP. sinensisAn arachnomorph arthropod of the group strabopida. Unlike the other members of strabopida, Parapaleomerus lacks dorsal eyes and only possesses ten trunk tergites. The telson has been described as trapezoidal in shape. PseudoiuliaP. cambriensisA poorly known arthropod that, in 2013, was suggested to be a member of the family Kootenichelidae, alongside Kootenichela and Worthenella.PterotumP. triacanthusRhombicalvariaR. acanthiSunellaS. grandisSyrrhaptisS. intesTanglangiaT. caudataTauricornicarisT. latizonae T. oxygonaeA giant arthropod once misidentified as a hurdiid radiodont.WutingellaW. bindosaYiliangocarisY. ellipticusYoutiY. yuanshiYunnanocarisY. megista
Hymenocarina Genus Species Material Notes ImagesBranchiocarisB. yunnanensisSeveral isolated carapacesAlso known in the Burgess Shale by B. pretiosa, B. yunnanensis is only known from isolated carapaces, although it is thought that this may be because in this species the carapace covered the entire body. It also has two morphotypes.CanadaspisC. laevigataA hymenocarine arthropod, also known from the Burgess Shale by C. perfecta, although some authors believe that both species should be separated into different genera. They were mainly benthic animals. ClypecarisC. pteroidea