Vital fossils located by scientists

Chinese research fellows have found long-sought-after fossils in exceptional condition around the Three Gorges region.

The discovery fills a domestic blank, said Chen Zhe, a research fellow from the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Paleontology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences, chinanews.com reported on Friday.

The fossils represent an important landmark in the evolution of life on Earth: The fauna predates the explosion of life at the beginning of the Cambrian Period 541 million years ago.

Ediacara biota provides key data about the origin, diversification and disappearance of soft-bodied macroscopic organisms on the eve of the Cambrian diversification of marine animals, according to the team's report in the online open access journal Scientific Reports.

The research fellows claim to have found a new taxon in limestone of 551-541 million years ago in the Southwest China area, the report said.

Most Ediacara fossils are preserved in sandstone and siltstone, but the fossils found in China are better preserved in limestone, Chen said, offering finer details of the organism.

The team's 11 species found in more than 400 fossil pieces open a new window for research on feeding methods, ecological space and competition, chinanews.com said.