Phosphatized embryo fossils from the Cambrian explosion

The earliest Cambrian (Meishucunian) phosphatized metazoanOlivooides from the Yangtze platform is represented by dierent developmental stages: from blastula through possible gastrula to tissue differentiation and finally to the hatched animals. The fossilization of embryos opens a new field in palaeontologypalaeoembryology. Embryological studies will be of importance for the understanding of ontogeny and phylogeny of metazoans from the Cambrian explosion.