BEIJING -- Scientists have discovered well-preserved fossils of Cambrian arthropod Sidneyia in East China's Shandong province, which is believed to be the first time that the genus has been found outside of Laurentia.

As a typical species of the Burgess Shale-type biota, Sidneyia fossils have been identified only in Canada since it was reported in 1911. The new discovery suggested a much greater distribution of the genus.

It was also suggested that North China be another trove of exceptionally preserved fossils, which will help researchers know more about Cambrian explosion and early life evolution, according to the research team from Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences.

The discovery was published in the journal Geological Magazine.