Dengying Formation

The Dengying Formation is an upper Ediacaran fossiliferous geologic formation found in South China. It was deposited on a shallow marine carbonate platform. It also contains a rare example of Burgess Shale-type Preservation within the Ediacaran, in the form of the Tongshan Lagerstätte.

Members

Listed by ascending age:

The Hamajing Member is characterized by light grey, medium- to thick-bedded dolomite, intercalated with thin layers of chert.
The Shibantan Member is interpreted to represent a subtidal environment and is composed of dark grey, thin-bedded bituminous limestone. It is the most fossiliferous of the Dengying Formation members and has yielded several trace fossils, such as Lamonte, as well as possible lobopodian trackways.
The Baimatuo Member consists of light grey, thick-bedded dolomite.

Traditionally, the Tianzhushan Member was considered to be the uppermost unit of the Dengying Formation. However, its small shelly fossils and Micrhystridium-like acritarchs are a shared characteristic with the Cambrian Yanjiahe Formation. The Kuanchuanpu Formation also is occasionally placed as a member of the Dengying Formation, however it is likely separate for the same reasons.

Paleobiota

The Dengying formation is unique from other Ediacaran formations in that its top is almost right up against the Ediacaran - Cambrian boundary, with more recent organisms being described that have striking similarities with Cambrian fauna, like Alienum. There are also a lot of ichnogenera in the form of burrows, something that is common in younger Ediacaran rocks the closer to the Cambrian boundary they are.
A recent paper has also found a rare example of Burgess Shale-type Preservation outside of the known range of all members, in what is known as the Tongshan Lagerstätte. This preserves a wide range of fossil forms, including the first rangeomorph fronds with Burgess Shale-type preservation.

Proarticulata

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Dickinsonia	Dickinsonia sp.	Oval to elongated motile organism. Only one incomplete specimen is known.

Petalonamae

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Charniodiscus	Charniodiscus sp.	Frondose organism.
Paracharnia	P. denyingensis	Frondose organism.
Pteridinium	Pteridinium sp.	Frondose organism.
Rangea	Rangea sp.	Frondose organism.

Trilobozoa

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Lobodiscus	L. tribrachialis	Tri-radial organism.

Porifera

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Helicolocellus	H. cantori	Conical sponge, possible relations to hexactinelliid sponges.

''incertae sedis''

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Alienum	A. velamenus	Vetulicolian-like organism.
Cloudina	Cloudina sp.	Tubular organism.
Curviacus	C. ediacaranus	Palaeopascichnid organism.
Conotubus	C. hemiannulatus	Tubular organism.
Cycliomedusa	C. jiangchuanensis	Discoid organism.
Eoandromeda	E. octobrachiata	Discoid organism.
Gaojiashania	G. cyclus	Tubular organism.
Hiemalora	Hiemalora sp.	Discoid organism, possibly holdfasts of petalonamids.
Palaeorhopalon	P. spiniferum	Tubular organism.
Palaeopascichnus	P. linearis	Palaeopascichnid organism.
Protoconites	P. minor	Curved conical organism, possible relations to Cnidaria.
Shufangtubulus	S. inornatus	Tubular organism.
Sinotubulites	Sinotubulites sp. S. baimatuoensis S. hexagonus S. pentacarinalis S. triangularis	Tubular organism.
Wutubus	W. annularis	Tubular organism.
Yangtziramulus	Y. zhangi	Enigmatic organism, affinities with other forms is unknown, although possibly related to the Petalonamae, like Charnia.
Yilingia	Y. spiciformis	Bilterian animal of unknown affinities, with possible relations to Panarthopoda or Annelida.

Flora

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Longfengshania	Longfengshania sp.	Thallus-like macroalgae.
Protocodium	P. sinense	Codiacean alga.
Baculiphyca	B. taeniata	Thallus-like macroalgae.
Zhongbaodaophyton	Z. robustus	Branching macroalgae.
Doushantuophyton	D. lineare	Branching macroalgae.
Chuaria	Chuaria sp.	Enigmatic fossil, possibly synonymous with Tawuia.
Beltanelliformis	B. brunsae	Cyanobacterial colony.
Longifuniculum	L. dissolutum	Whip-like macroalgae.

Microorganisms

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Protolagena	P. limbata P. gaojiashanensis P. papillatus	Vase-like microorganisms.
Sicylagena	S. formosa S. latistoma	Vase-like microorganisms.

Ichnogenera

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Lamonte	L. trevallis	Burrows.
Helminthoidichnites	Helminthoidichnites isp.	Burrows.
Shaanxilithes	Shaanxilithes isp.	Junior synonym of Nenoxites.
Nenoxites	Nenoxites isp.	Movement traces.
Torrowangea	Torrowangea isp.	Burrows.

Undescribed

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
ESEN 0013	???	Tubular organism, possible affinities to Metazoa.
Undescribed rangeomorph "ESEN 0016"	???	Frondose organism, 3 distinct lobe-like regions, consisting of a thick stalk and two petaloids, which are made up of tightly packed branches.
Fan-shaped rangeomorphs	???	Two frondose organisms with a similar appearance to Bradgatia, with one of the specimens, ESEN 0018, preserving with a possible holdfast.
Undescribed rangeomorph "ESEN 0019"	???	Frondose organism, with a similar appearance to Charniodiscus, consisting of a thick stalk and two petaloids, which are made up of tightly packed branches, also preserves a notable holdfast.
Undescribed rangeomorph "ESEN 0020"	???	Elongated frondose organism, with a similar appearance to Paracharnia, consisting of a thin stalk and two petaloids, which are made up of tightly packed branches, alongside a possible holdfast at its base.
Zhenba columns	???	Possible affinities with coralline algae.
Baseball bat-shaped form	???	Baseball bat-shaped form, possibly macroalgae.
Irregular circular form	???	Oblong-shaped form, possibly macroalgae.
Net-like form	???	Netted form, possibly macroalgae.
ribbon-like form	???	Ribbon like form, possibly macroalgae.
Bilateria indet.	Unapplicable	Known to have several pairs of appendages, but its exact affinity is unknown