The site is intermediate in age between the Lower Cambrian Chengjiang fauna of Yunnan and the Lower to Middle Cambrian, Kaili Lagerstätten of Guizhou in southwestern China.
This specimen was collected in October 2019 and is one of the many new and exciting arthropods to come from the site. Balang has a low diversity of trilobites and many soft-bodied fossils similar in preservation to Canada's Burgess Shale.
Some of the most interesting finds include the first discovery of anomalocaridid appendages — Appendage-F-Type. These were found along with the early arthropod Leanchoiliids — with his atypical frontal appendages and questionable phylogenetic placement — and the soft-shelled trilobite-like arthropod, Naraoiidae.
While the site is not as well-studied as the Chengjiang and Kaili Lagerstätten, it looks very promising. The exceptionally well-preserved fauna includes algae, sponges, chancelloriids, cnidarians, worms, molluscs, brachiopods, trilobites and a few non-mineralized arthropods. It is an exciting time for Cambrian palaeontology. The Balang provides an intriguing new window into our ancient seas and the profound diversification of life that flourished there.
