Precambrian Research 173 (2009) v-vi Contents lists available at ScienceDirect Precambrian Research journal homepage: www.elsevier.com/locate/precamres Contents Special Issue World Summit on Ancient Microscopic Fossils Guest Editors: J. William Schopf and David J. Bottjer Preface J.W. Schopf and D,]. Bottjer History of the science The hunt for Precambrian fossils: An abbreviated genealogy of the science J.W. Schopf Advanced techniques Modern analogues and the early history of microbial life B.P. Burns, R. Anitori, P. Butterworth, R. Henneberger, F. Goh, M.A. Allen, R. Ibafiez-Peral, P.L. Bergquist, M.R. Walter and B.A. Neilan | Micro-FTIR spectroscopic signatures of Bacterial lipids in Proterozoic microfossils M. Igisu, Y. Ueno, M. Shimojima, S. Nakashima, $.M. Awramik, H. Ohta and S. Maruyama Ultrastructure of cell walls in ancient microfossils as a proxy to their biological affinities M. Moczydtowska and S. Willman Confocal laser scanning microscopy and Raman imagery of ancient microscopic fossils J.W. Schopf and A.B. Kudryavtsev Archean microscopic fossils Taxonomy and biogenicity of Archaean spheroidal microfossils (ca. 3.0 Ga) from the Mount Goldsworthy-Mount Grant area in the northeastern Pilbara Craton, Western Australia K. Sugitani, K. Grey, T. Nagaoka, K. Mimura and M.R. Walter Palynology of Archean microfossils (c. 3.0 Ga) from the Mount Grant area, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia: Further evidence of biogenicity K. Grey and K. Sugitani NanoSIMS: Insights to biogenicity and syngeneity of Archaean carbonaceous structures D.Z. Oehler, F. Robert, M.R. Walter, K. Sugitani, A. Allwood, A. Meibom, S. Mostefaoui, M. Selo, A. Thomen and E.K. Gibson... . Mass occurrence of benthic coccoid cyanobacteria and their role in the production of Neoarchean carbonates of South Africa J. Kazmierczak, W. Altermann, B. Kremer, S. Kempe and P.G. Eriksson pre-Ediacaran Proterozoic fossils Evidence for eukaryotic diversification in the ~1800 million-year-old Changzhougou Formation, North China D.M. Lamb, S.M. Awramik, D.J. Chapman and S. Zhu Taxonomy and affinity of Early Mesoproterozoic megascopic helically coiled and related fossils from the Rohtas Formation, the Vindhyan Supergroup, India M. Sharma and Y. Shukla vi Contents On the affinity of Chuaria-Tawuia complex: A multidisciplinary study M. Sharma, S. Mishra, S. Dutta, S. Banerjee and Y. Shukla Tappania-bearing association of the Siberian platform: Biodiversity, stratigraphic position and geochronological constraints K. Nagovitsin Mesoproterozoic Lakhanda Lagerstatte, Siberia: Paleoecology and taphonomy of the microbiota V.N. Podkovyrov New insights into the nature of the Late Riphean Eosolenides T.N. German and V.N. Podkovyrov Ediacaran period Neoproterozoic microfossils from the margin of the East European Platform and the search for a biostratigraphic model of lower Ediacaran rocks N.G. Vorob’eva, V.N. Sergeev and A.H. Knoll Quantitative evaluation of the biostratigraphic distribution of acanthomorphic acritarchs in the Ediacaran Doushantuo Formation in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China K.A. McFadden, S. Xiao, C. Zhou and M. Kowalewski Phase contrast synchrotron X-ray microtomography of Ediacaran (Doushantuo) metazoan microfossils: Phylogenetic diversity and evolutionary implications J.-Y. Chen, D.J. Bottjer, EH. Davidson, G. Li, F. Gao, R.A. Cameron, M.G. Hadfield, D.-C. Xian, P. Tafforeau, Q.-J. Jia, H. Sugiyama and R. Tang Summary overviews Modes of pre-Ediacaran multicellularity N.J. Butterfield The distribution of microfossil assemblages in Proterozoic rocks V.N. Sergeev