Discovery of sponge body fossils from the late Meishucunian (Cambrian) at Jinsha, Guizhou, south China

Here we report discovery of a sponge body fossil Triticispongia sp. from the base of lower Cambrian Niutitang Formation at Jinsha, Guizhou. Stratigraphically, the fossil horizon is located below Ni-Mo ore layer with the Niutitang Biota above, and is equivalent to the late Meishucunian. The species is global in shape with skeletons composed of stauractins and monaxons. Triticispongia sp. reported here may be the earliest sponge body fossils of Cambrian, which provides new information for understanding early evolution and radiation of sponge animals.