Exceptionally preserved fossil deposits provide detailed information on fossil assemblages and critical data that illustrate the complexities of Cambrian marine ecosystems. The Balang Lagerstätte (Cambrian Stage 4), one of the important biotas from the slope facies of Guizhou Province, yields diverse and abundant well–preserved fossils distributed across a variety of fossil localities. Here we present the first report of a new soft–bodied fossil assemblage from the Balang Formation in Pingding Village, Majiang County, outside the area from which soft–bodied fossils were previously known to occur. This new fossil site contains a variety of exquisite fossils including sponges, chancelloriids, cnidarians, hyoliths, brachiopods, arthropods, priapulids and vetulicolians. Compared with other Balang localities, the Pingding fossil assemblage is a brachiopod-dominated palaeocommunity with diverse arthropods. Results of a detailed comparative study indicate that the Balang localities are highly heterogeneous in fossil composition. In addition, the discovery of this new locality bridges the environmental gap between the offshore and slope palaeoenvironments, and offers a unique opportunity to investigate the factors responsible for differences in palaeocommunity composition. In general, these findings illustrate great community complexity in the Balang Lagerstätte which reflects ecospace utilization along an environmental gradient in the aftermath of the Cambrian Explosion.

中文翻译：

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华南地区 Balang Lagerstätte 平定地区（寒武纪 4 期）的首次报告：对群落复杂性和地理差异的影响


保存完好的化石矿床提供了有关化石组合的详细信息和关键数据，这些数据说明了寒武纪海洋生态系统的复杂性。Balang Lagerstätte（寒武纪 4 阶段）是贵州省坡相的重要生物群落之一，出产了多种多样且保存完好的化石，分布在各个化石产地。在这里，我们首次报告了马江县平顶村巴朗组新的软体化石组合，该组位于以前已知的软体化石产地之外。这个新的化石遗址包含各种精美的化石，包括海绵、大臣、刺胞动物、舌石、腕足动物、节肢动物、Priapulids 和 vetulicolians。与其他巴朗地区相比，平定化石组合是一个以腕足类为主的古群落，具有多种节肢动物。详细比较研究的结果表明，Balang 地区的化石组成高度异质。此外，这个新地点的发现弥合了近海和斜坡古环境之间的环境差距，并为研究导致古群落组成差异的因素提供了独特的机会。总的来说，这些发现说明了 Balang Lagerstätte 社区的巨大复杂性，这反映了寒武纪大爆发后沿环境梯度的生态空间利用。