2025-10-30 中国科学院（CAS）
Treptichnus in the Shibantan assemblage in the Wuhe area. (Image by NIGPAS)
＜関連情報＞
- https://english.cas.cn/newsroom/research_news/earth/202510/t20251027_1094827.shtml
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/sciadv.adx9449
3次元堆積物探査の登場により、エディアカラ紀からカンブリア紀への生態系の移行が明らかに Advent of three-dimensional sediment exploration reveals Ediacaran-Cambrian ecosystem transition
Zhe Chen and Yarong Liu
Science Advances Published:29 Oct 2025
DOI:https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.adx9449
Abstract
Trace fossils offer critical insights into animal diversification and ecosystem evolution during the Neoproterozoic-Phanerozoic transition. Treptichnus represents the earliest known three-dimensional burrow system, which co-occurred with Ediacara-type fossils in the Shibantan assemblage (~550 to 543 million years ago). Integration with Lamonte and tadpole-like traces reveals important behavioral innovations from simple horizontal locomotion to complex sediment penetration, thereby bridging ecological and behavioral transitions across the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary. The advent of three-dimensional sediment exploration fundamentally altered benthic ecodynamics and disrupted microbial mat stability. This shift reflects a fundamental restructuring of infaunal habitats, which temporally coincided with the decline of matground-related Ediacaran macro-organisms. These innovations laid the foundation for Phanerozoic animal-sediment interactions, catalyzing a pivotal ecological transition predating yet enabling the Cambrian Explosion.
