Dongpo Formation

Dongpo Formation
Stratigraphic range: Ediacaran ~550–538.8  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N
Type	Formation
Underlies	Xinji Formation
Overlies	Luoquan Formation
Thickness	86.5 m (284 ft)
Lithology
Primary	Shale
Other	Siltstone, Sandstone
Location
Region	Henan
Country	China

The Dongpo Formation is an Ediacaran aged geologic formation in the Henan Province of Central China. It is also fossiliferous in nature, containing fossils which date it to the Nama assemblage.

Geology

The Dongpo Formation can be found within the North China Craton, currently amongst the oldest known cratons in the world, alongside its southern edge. The formation itself is primarily composed of yellowish-green shale, siltstone, and fine-grained sandstone. ^[1]

It is unconformably overlain by the sandstone Cambrian aged Xinji Formation, meanwhile it is conformably underlain by the older glacial Luoquan Formation. ^[1]

Paleobiota

The formation is dominated by macroalgae forms, like Glomulus , alongside tubular forms such as Wutubus and Shaanxilithes . There are also some Ediacaran-type fossils, and some rare trace fossils, all of which has helped to constrain the age of the formation to the terminal Ediacaran, between 550  Ma and 538.8  Ma . ^[1]

Color key Taxon Reclassified taxon Taxon falsely reported as present Dubious taxon or junior synonym Ichnotaxon Ootaxon Morphotaxon		Notes Uncertain or tentative taxa are in small text; crossed out taxa are discredited.

incertae sedis

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Aspidella [1]	Aspidella sp.	Discoidal fossil.
Horodyskia [1]	Horodyskia sp.	Organism with the appearance of a string of beads.
Palaeopascichnus [1]	P. delicatus P. linearis	Agglutinating palaeopascichnid organism.
Orbisiana [1]	Orbisiana sp.	Agglutinating palaeopascichnid organism.
Vendotaenia [1]	Vendotaenia sp.	Ribbon-like organism.
Shaanxilithes [2] [1]	Shaanxilithes sp.	Tubular organism, regarded as either a junior synonym of Nenoxites , or a Cloudina -like fossil.
Wutubus [1]	Wutubus sp.	Tubular organism.

Flora

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Glomulus [1]	Glomulus sp.	Filamentous cyanobacteria.

Microorganisms

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Acanthomorphic acritarchs [3]	???	Acritarchs.

Ichnogenera

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Archaeonassa [1]	Archaeonassa sp.	Burrows.

Undescribed

Genus	Species	Notes	Images
Unnamed frondose fossils [1]	???	Slender frondose fossils, which bear some similarities with petalonamids, although poor preservation makes proper taxonomic assignment difficult.

See also

• Ediacaran biota

References

1. Wang, Xin; Zhang, Xingliang; Dai, Tao; Liu, Wei; Zhang, Yuan; Li, Luoyang (March 2026). "New occurrence of a postglacial Ediacaran macrofossil assemblage from North China and its evolutionary implication". Precambrian Research. 434: 107992. doi:10.1016/j.precamres.2025.107992.
2. Wang, Xin; Zhang, Xingliang; Liu, Wei (October 2021). "Biostratigraphic constraints on the age of Neoproterozoic glaciation in North China". Journal of Asian Earth Sciences. 219: 104894. doi:10.1016/j.jseaes.2021.104894.
3. Chumakov, N. M. (August 2009). "The Baykonurian glaciohorizon of the Late Vendian". Stratigraphy and Geological Correlation. 17 (4): 373–381. doi:10.1134/S0869593809040029.