《地球科学》(ISSN 1000-2383;CN42-1874/P) (原刊名《地球科学——中国地质大学学报》ISSN 1000-2383;CN42-1233/P)，创刊于1957年，是由教育部主管、中国地质大学主办的综合性地学学术理论期刊，月刊，2015年改名为《地球科学》,她以反映中国地质大学教学与科研最新的、高水平的基础地质、应用地质、资源与环境地质及地学工程技术研究成果为主要任务。

Tubular fossils are a unique metazoan group emerging in the late Ediacaran Period and demonstrating early skeletogenesis and an increase in the diversity of early biocommunities. Among the known records, Sinotubulites is widely distributed and distinct in morphology and ultrastructure, holding important evolutionary and stratigraphic significance comparable to the well-known Cloudina. However, its biological affinity remains unclear until now. Among various reasons, taphonomic bias is one of the major factors responsible for this, as it not only altered the primary morphology but also modified the ultrastructure and composition of the fossil. Thus, a further study on its taphonomic process would help to decode the biological affinity of Sinotubulites. For this purpose, we conducted a taphonomic study on Sinotubulites from the top of the Shibantan Member of the Dengying Formation at the Zhongling section in the Yangtze Gorges area (Hubei Province, China). We applied electron backscatter diffraction (EBSD) and cathodoluminescence (CL) to reveal its mineralogical features. EBSD and CL analyses demonstrate that both the fossils and matrix are composed of unoriented calcite, and the matrix shows slight dolomitization with sporadic dolomite grains. The calcite crystals within the Sinotubulites tubes are significantly larger than those in the matrix, indicating that the tubular structure provided sufficient space for crystal growth. The absence of lamellar structures in the tubular walls further suggests that the original biogenic material may have been dissolved during diagenetic calcification. The absence of dolomitization in the fossils indicates that this process may have been inhibited by either their large calcite crystals or the enclosed space confined by the outer shell. The identical non-luminescent features of the matrix and fossils suggest that their calcification likely occurred during the same stage. This study demonstrates that taphonomic biases must be accounted for when analyzing the original structure and composition. Additionally, this research documents the occurrence of Sinotubulites in the Shibantan Member, representing its lowest stratigraphic horizon in the Yangtze Block.

《地球科学》(ISSN 1000-2383;CN42-1874/P) (原刊名《地球科学——中国地质大学学报》ISSN 1000-2383;CN42-1233/P)，创刊于1957年，是由教育部主管、中国地质大学主办的综合性地学学术理论期刊，月刊，2015年改名为《地球科学》,她以反映中国地质大学教学与科研最新的、高水平的基础地质、应用地质、资源与环境地质及地学工程技术研究成果为主要任务。

《地球科学》(ISSN 1000-2383;CN42-1874/P) (原刊名《地球科学——中国地质大学学报》ISSN 1000-2383;CN42-1233/P)，创刊于1957年，是由教育部主管、中国地质大学主办的综合性地学学术理论期刊，月刊，2015年改名为《地球科学》,她以反映中国地质大学教学与科研最新的、高水平的基础地质、应用地质、资源与环境地质及地学工程技术研究成果为主要任务。