A Treasure Trove Unearthed with Rock Hammers

Located in mountainous area in the Southwest of Hubei Province,Changyang County is wellknown for its extreme abundance of Cambrian Shale.During the summer holiday in 2007,Professor Zhang Xingliang and Fu Dongjing,his 25-year-old doctoral student from Northwest University,joined in the field investigation team to visit Changyang.

“The Shipai biota was our first target.Its history is shorter than the Chengjiang biota.We carried food and rock hammers every day,traveling over ten kilometers around the mountain for dozens of days,yet found nothing valuable but some shells and sponge fossils.Unexpectedly,one day,when we finished a whole day’s work,we found some unique clay shales along the river.Professor Zhang then proposed to examine the shales,we agreed and started working on it with our hammers.”

研究人員在清江岸邊挖掘化石。（傅東靜 攝）Researchers excavating fossils along the Qingjiang River (Photo by Fu Dongjing)

Half an hour later,Professor Zhang discovered a thumb-like Leanchoilia fossil,which was a representative shrimp-shaped arthropod in the Cambrian Burgess Shale.

The team was excited.They immediately conducted further exploration despite the growing darkness.More and more rare fossils were unearthed,among which included Naraoia,the same creature spotted by Professor Hou Xianguang initally in his discovery of the Chengjiang biota in 1984.

Researchers soon realized that they might have unearthed an incredible treasure trove of Cambrian creatures at this site.The biota was named after its location—the Qingjiang biota.

In a laboratory stationed near Danshui River in Changyang,I saw magnified photos of marine life dating back 518 million years.

They looked like jellyfish,shrimp,

worm,watermelon,flowers,and so on.Even some of their tentacles and grains could be observed clearly and vividly.

(Photos provided by Scientific Research Team of Northwest University of China)