Discovery of phosphatized gastrula fossils from the Doushantuo Formation, Weng’an, Guizhou Province, China

Globular fossils from Doushantuo phosphorites at the Weng’an area are for the first time identified as a gastrulation stage of phosphatized embryos. They are got from the fossiliferous remains after acetic acid maceration. The fossils are found together with formerly reported animal resting eggs and embryos of the earlier cleavage stage. The oblate-shaped fossils with the same size as those reported embryos and invaginate at the middle part into the embryos, show the characteristics of the late blastula to the early gastrula stage of the embryo development. This discovery convinces the existence of animal embryos at Doushantuo age and offers new facts for the studying of the affinity of related fossils, which are still controversial at present.