An experimental decay methodology is developed for a cnidarian model organism to serve as a comparison to the many previous such studies on bilaterians. This allows an examination of inherent bias against the fossilisation of cnidarian tissue and their diagnostic characters, under what conditions these occur, and in what way. The decay sequence of Actinia equina was examined under a series of controlled conditions. These experiments show that cnidarian decay begins with an initial rupturing of the epidermis, followed by rapid loss of recognisable internal morphological characters. This suggests that bacteria work quicker on the epidermis than autolysis does on the internal anatomy. The data also show that diploblastic tissue is not universally decayed more slowly under anoxic or reducing conditions than under oxic conditions. Indeed, some cnidarian characters decay more rapidly under anoxic conditions than they do under oxic conditions. This suggests the decay pathways acting may be different to those affecting soft bilaterian tissue such as soft epidermis and internal organs. What is most important in the decay of soft polyp anatomy is the microbial community, which can be dominated by oxic or anoxic bacteria. Different Lagerstätte, even of the same type, will inevitably have subtle difference in their bacterial communities, which among other factors, could be a control on soft polyp preservation leading to either an absence of compelling soft anthozoans (Burgess Shale) or an astonishing abundance (Qingjiang biota).

中文翻译：

---

缺氧会增加cnidarian组织的腐烂率：利用马Act肌（Actinia equina）了解早期的化石记录。

开发了一种针对CNIDIAN模式生物的实验性衰变方法，以与以前对双边主义者的许多此类研究进行比较。这允许检查在何种条件下以何种方式发生的对刺胞组织化石及其诊断特征的内在偏见。猕猴桃的衰变序列在一系列受控条件下进行了检查。这些实验表明，刺胞蜕变始于表皮的初始破裂，随后迅速丧失可识别的内部形态特征。这表明细菌在表皮上的作用比自溶作用在内部解剖结构上的作用快。数据还显示，在缺氧或还原条件下，二倍增生组织的腐烂普遍比在缺氧条件下慢得多。的确，某些刺胞特征在缺氧条件下的腐烂比在有氧条件下的腐烂更快。这表明起作用的衰变途径可能与影响诸如软表皮和内部器官之类的软双侧组织的途径不同。在软息肉解剖结构的衰退中最重要的是微生物群落，可以由有氧或无氧细菌控制。不同的Lagerstätte，即使是相同类型的细菌，也将不可避免地在细菌群落上有细微的差异，这除其他因素外，可能是控制了软息肉的保存，导致缺乏引人注目的软虫（Burgess页岩）或令人惊讶的丰度（清江生物群系）。