Maotianshan Shales
（重定向自Chengjiang Fauna）
![Outcrop of the Maotianshan Shale, site of the discovery of the Chengjiang Biota](/Images/godic/202501/04/Maotianshan_shale_outcrop0009.JPG")
![Maotianshania cylindrica, a fossil nematomorph worm, Early Cambrian, Chengjiang Maotianshan Shales](/Images/godic/202501/04/Maotianshania-cylindrica0010.jpg")
![Haikouella lanceolata, Maotianshan Shales, Chengjiang County, Yunnan Province](/Images/godic/202501/04/Haikouella_lanceolata_China0010.jpg")
The Maotianshan Shales are a series of lower Cambrian deposits in the Chiungchussu formation, famous for their Konservat Lagerstätten, deposits known for the exceptional preservation of fossilized organisms or traces. The Maotianshan shales form one of some forty Cambrian fossil locations worldwide exhibiting exquisite preservation of rarely preserved, non-mineralized soft tissue, comparable to the fossils of the Burgess Shale. They take their name from Maotianshan Hill (Chinese:帽天山; pinyin:Màotiānshān) in Chengjiang County, Yunnan Province, China.