The Ediacaran (ca. 635–539 million years ago) Doushantuo Formation in South China yields abundant microfossils preserved in cherts and phosphorites, yet most of the published materials originate from paleogeographically more proximal shelf-lagoon and shelf margin environments. In this paper, we report microfossils preserved in chert nodules from the Doushantuo Formation in a variety of environments, from the shallow-water shelf margin, to the distal, deep-water slope and basinal environments. We also analyze the abundance and occurrence data of Doushantuo acanthomorphs based on the present and previously published studies. The results show that different environments have largely similar fossil composition at the level of major morphological groups. However, acanthomorphic acritarchs, as a biostratigraphically important fossil group in the correlation of lower–middle Ediacaran strata, vary significantly in diversity among different environments. Using quantitative and data-visualization methods (e.g., rarefaction analysis, non-parametric multidimensional scaling, and network analysis), we show that variations in acritarch diversity among environments are largely due to insufficient sampling in slope and basinal areas, as well as differences in preservational modes. Nonetheless, numerous acritarch species occur widely in different environments, highlighting their potential in regional stratigraphic correlation of the Doushantuo Formation.

Silicified microfossils are reported from nine stratigraphic sections of the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation deposited in shelf margin, slope, and basin environments in Hunan Province of South China. These microfossils include sphaeromorphic and acanthomorphic acritarchs (15 genera and 29 species, including three new acanthomorph species, Bullatosphaera? colliformis n. sp., Eotylotopalla inflata n. sp., and Verrucosphaera? undulata n. sp.), multicellular algae, tubular microfossils, and other problematic forms, representing major fossil groups similar to those from the Doushantuo Formation in more proximal facies (e.g., inner shelf and shelf lagoon). A database of the abundance and occurrences of Doushantuo acanthomorphs is assembled and analyzed using quantitative and data-visualization methods (e.g., rarefaction analysis, non-parametric multidimensional scaling, and network analysis). The results show that, at the genus and species levels, taxonomic richness of Doushantuo acanthomorphs exhibits considerable variation among facies, but this variation is largely due to sampling and taphonomic biases. The results also show that numerous acanthomorph taxa have broad facies distribution, affirming their biostratigraphic value. The analysis confirms that acanthomorphs in the Weng'an biota of shelf margin facies are composed of a mixture of Member II and Member III assemblages of shelf-lagoon facies in the Yangtze Gorges area. The study shows the biostratigraphic potential of acanthomorphs in the establishment of regional biozones using the first appearance datum of widely distributed taxa, highlighting the importance of continuing exploration of under-sampled Doushantuo sections in slope and basinal facies.