Ediacaran biota
E42695
The Ediacaran biota comprises some of the earliest known complex multicellular organisms, featuring soft-bodied, enigmatic life forms that lived in the oceans before the Cambrian explosion.
Aliases (3)
Statements (53)
| Predicate | Object |
|---|---|
| instanceOf |
fossil biota
→
paleontological concept → prehistoric ecosystem → |
| composedOf |
macroscopic organisms
→
multicellular organisms → soft-bodied organisms → |
| earliestAppearance |
about 635 million years ago
→
|
| extinction |
largely disappeared before or during early Cambrian
→
|
| foundIn |
Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada
→
Charnwood Forest, England → Ediacara Hills, South Australia → Namibia → White Sea region, Russia → various localities worldwide → |
| hasCharacteristic |
benthic lifestyle
→
bilaterally symmetrical forms → discoidal forms → enigmatic body plans → generally sessile lifestyle → includes possible lichens or microbial colonies (hypothesized) → lacks mineralized skeletons → low diversity of hard parts → possible early animals → possible stem-group metazoans → preserved mainly as impressions in sediment → rangeomorph frond-like forms → shallow marine habitat → |
| hasUncertainty |
phylogenetic affinities debated
→
relationship to modern animal phyla unclear → |
| includes |
Charnia
→
Charniodiscus → Cyclomedusa → Dickinsonia → Ediacaria → Fractofusus → Inaria → Kimberella → Pteridinium → Rangea → Spriggina → Tribrachidium → |
| latestAppearance |
about 538 million years ago
→
|
| locatedInTime |
Ediacaran Period
→
Neoproterozoic Era → |
| namedAfter |
Ediacara Hills
→
|
| partOf |
Ediacaran Period
→
|
| precedes |
Cambrian biota
→
Cambrian explosion → |
| significance |
provides evidence for pre-Cambrian animal evolution
→
represents some of the earliest known complex multicellular life → |
| studiedIn |
evolutionary biology
→
paleontology → stratigraphy → |
Referenced by (5)
| Subject (surface form when different) | Predicate |
|---|---|
|
Proterozoic Eon
→
|
characterizedBy |
|
Cambrian explosion
→
|
follows |
|
Ediacaran biota
("Ediacaria")
→
|
includes |
|
Neoproterozoic Era
("Ediacaran fauna")
→
|
includesFossilAssemblage |
|
Cambrian explosion
("Ediacaran soft-bodied communities")
→
|
precededBy |