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Concept
Jehol Biota
Summary
The Jehol Biota includes all the living organisms – the ecosystem – of northeastern China between 133 and 120 million years ago. This is the Lower Cretaceous ecosystem which left fossils in the Yixian Formation and Jiufotang Formation. These deposits are composed of layers of tephra and sediment. It is also believed to have left fossils in the Sinuiju series of North Korea. The ecosystem in the Lower Cretaceous was dominated by wetlands and numerous lakes (not rivers, deltas, or marine habitats). Rainfall was seasonal, alternating between semiarid and mesic conditions. The climate was temperate. The Jehol ecosystem was interrupted periodically by ash eruptions from volcanoes to the west. The word "Jehol" is a historical transcription of the former Rehe Province.
Some scientists have argued that the Jehol Biota evolved directly from the preceding Daohugou Biota without any strongly defined division. However, the absolute dating of the Daohugou beds has been the subject of divergent opinion: in 2006, Wang et al. found an overall similarity between the fossil animals found in the Daohugou Beds and the "Jehol Biota" from the Yixian Formation. Several other research teams, including Liu et al., have attempted to disprove this reasoning by using Zircon U-Pb dating on the volcanic rocks overlying and underlying salamander-bearing layers (salamanders are often used as index fossils). Liu et al. found that the Daohugou beds formed between 164 and 158 million years ago, in the Middle to Late Jurassic. Later, Ji et al. argued that the key indicator of the Jehol biota are the index fossil fishes Peipiaosteus and Lycoptera. Under this definition, the earliest evolutionary stage of the Jehol Biota is represented by the Huajiying Formation.
The Yixian and Jiufotang Formations are considered Lagerstätte, meaning that they have exceptionally good conditions for fossil preservation. The fossils are numerous, but also very well preserved – often including articulated skeletons, soft tissues, colour patterns, stomach contents, and twigs with leaves and flowers still attached.
Official source
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