Medusoid Fossils from the Sinian Xingmincun Formation of Southern Liaoning Province

Abstract Abundant medusoid soft‐bodied metazoan fossils have been found in the Sinian Xingmincun Formation (with an isotopic age of 650 Ma) at Qipanmo, Qidingshan and Yangtun of the Dalian‐Jinzhou area, southern Liaoning Province; in addition, a number of macroscopic algal fossils have been discovered for the first time in the Getun Formation overlying the Xingmincun Formation. Medusoid fossils include 3 genera and 6 Species (all of which are new). Judging from their biological characters, these medusoid fossils are considered to have an intimate affinity with the Ediacara fauna in the terminal Precambrian of Australia, as their characters are close to each other. The authors suggest that these medusoids and the Edicara fauna might be the products of the same period. The discovery of the medusoid fauna in the Xingmincun Formation marts an important event in the evolution of the terminal Precambrian organisms in China, and it is of major practical significance in the study of the Sinian System of China and the correlation of the Sinian strata of northern and southern China.