The Ediacaran frondose fossil<i>Arborea</i>from the Shibantan limestone of South China

AbstractBituminous limestone of the Ediacaran Shibantan Member of the Dengying Formation (551–539 Ma) in the Yangtze Gorges area contains a rare carbonate-hosted Ediacara-type macrofossil assemblage. This assemblage is dominated by the tubular fossilWutubusChen et al., 2014 and discoidal fossils, e.g.,HiemaloraFedonkin, 1982 andAspidellaBillings, 1872, but frondose organisms such asCharniaFord, 1958,RangeaGürich, 1929, andArboreaGlaessner and Wade, 1966 are also present. Herein, we report four species ofArboreafrom the Shibantan assemblage, including the type speciesArborea arborea(Glaessner in Glaessner and Daily, 1959) Glaessner and Wade, 1966,Arborea denticulatanew species, and two unnamed species,Arboreasp. A andArboreasp. B.Arborea arboreais the most abundant frond in the Shibantan assemblage.Arborea denticulatan. sp. resemblesArborea arboreain general morphology but differs in its fewer primary branches and lower length/width ratio of primary branches.Arboreasp. A andArboreasp. B are fronds with aHiemalora-type basal attachment. Sealing by microbial mats and authigenic cementation may have played an important role in the preservation ofArboreain the Shibantan assemblage. The Shibantan material ofArboreaextends the stratigraphic, ecological, and taphonomic ranges of this genus.UUID:http://zoobank.org/554f21da-5f09-4891-9deb-cbc00c41e5f1