A Critical Look at the Ediacaran Trace Fossil Record

Jensen, Søren Rosendal; Droser, Mary L.; Gehlîng, James G.

doi:10.1007/1-4020-5202-2_5

Cited by 111 publications

(122 citation statements)

References 80 publications

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“…Because of uncertainties in the phylogenetic affinities of Dickinsonia and Yorgia, their trace fossils (Epibaion) have not been included in this table. With respect to the Ediacaran, we agree with more conservative estimations that the oldest bilaterian trace fossils are dated to approximately 560 Ma [17]. The Ediacaran bin has been further divided using the informal subdivision of Vendian (560-550 Ma) and Nama (550-541 Ma) [17].…”

Section: (B) Fortuniansupporting

confidence: 86%

“…Six time slices (two informal Ediacaran subdivisions-Vendian and Nama [17]-and the four official Lower Cambrian stages) are considered. An older subdivision (Avalon) has not been included, because uncontroversial bilaterian trace fossils are not known from this time slice.…”

Section: Material Methods and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The trace-fossil database includes taxonomical composition, preservation styles, ethology, feeding strategies, degree of bioturbation, tiering structure, architectural designs, potential tracemakers, age and depositional environment. Critical reassessment of published identifications was of paramount importance (see also [17,18]). Synonyms have been checked, and we have adopted a consistent taxonomical approach to trace fossils.…”

Section: Material Methods and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 2 more Smart Citations

Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks

2014

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The rapid appearance of bilaterian clades at the beginning of the Phanerozoic is one of the most intriguing topics in macroevolution. However, the complex feedbacks between diversification and ecological interactions are still poorly understood. Here, we show that a systematic and comprehensive analysis of the trace-fossil record of the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition indicates that body-plan diversification and ecological structuring were decoupled. The appearance of a wide repertoire of behavioural strategies and body plans occurred by the Fortunian. However, a major shift in benthic ecological structure, recording the establishment of a suspension-feeder infauna, increased complexity of the trophic web, and coupling of benthos and plankton took place during Cambrian Stage 2. Both phases were accompanied by different styles of ecosystem engineering, but only the second one resulted in the establishment of the Phanerozoic-style ecology. In turn, the suspension-feeding infauna may have been the ecological drivers of a further diversification of deposit-feeding strategies by Cambrian Stage 3, favouring an ecological spillover scenario. Trace-fossil information strongly supports the Cambrian explosion, but allows for a short time of phylogenetic fuse during the terminal Ediacaran-Fortunian.

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Section: (B) Fortuniansupporting

confidence: 86%

Section: Material Methods and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Material Methods and Conceptsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks

2014

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“…2). The grazing trace fossils are essentially identical to those from the Ediacaran matgrounds 25,27 , revealing continuity across the Ediacaran-Cambrian boundary of microbial grazing as one of the most widespread feeding strategies. The appendage imprints reflect the appearance of a new cast of matground scratchers.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 82%

Ediacaran matground ecology persisted into the earliest Cambrian

et al. 2014

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The beginning of the Cambrian was a time of marked biological and sedimentary changes, including the replacement of Proterozoic-style microbial matgrounds by Phanerozoic-style bioturbated mixgrounds. Here we show that Ediacaran-style matground-based ecology persisted into the earliest Cambrian. Our study in the type section of the basal Cambrian in Fortune Head, Newfoundland, Canada reveals widespread microbially induced sedimentary structures and typical Ediacaran-type matground ichnofossils. Ediacara-type body fossils are present immediately below the top of the Ediacaran but are strikingly absent from the overlying Cambrian succession, despite optimal conditions for their preservation, and instead the microbial surfaces are marked by the appearance of the first abundant arthropod scratch marks in Earth evolution. These features imply that the disappearance of the Ediacara biota represents an abrupt evolutionary event that corresponded with the appearance of novel bilaterian clades, rather than a fading away owing to the gradual elimination of conditions appropriate for Ediacaran preservation.

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“…Many of them had differentiated morphologies. In addition, a moderate number of trace fossils have been reported from the Ediacaran Period [73][74][75][76], including the Avalon biota, and macroalgal fossils from the Miaohe biota [77]. Although the exact phylogenetic affinities of many Ediacaran macrofossils remain unresolved, their wide distribution implies that macroorganisms may have initiated a more complex ecosystem in the late Ediacaran, particularly in shallow marine environments where free oxygen levels were sufficiently high.…”

Section: Previous Knowledgementioning

confidence: 99%

The Lantian biota: A new window onto the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms

et al. 2012

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The Lantian biota at the Lantian Town of Xiuning County, Anhui Province, is preserved in black shales of the Ediacaran Lantian Formation. It yields some of the oldest known complex macroorganisms, including fan-shaped seaweeds and possible animal fossils with tentacles and intestinal-like structures reminiscent of modern coelenterates and bilaterians. The Lantian Lagerstätte sheds new light on the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms in relatively quiet and deep environments soon after the Neoproterozoic Marinoan glaciation. The morphological complexity and diversity of early multicellular organisms may be closely related to sexual reproduction and alternation of generations. The fluctuation of oceanic redox conditions during this period may have played a role in the ecology and preservation of the Lantian biota.

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A Critical Look at the Ediacaran Trace Fossil Record

Cited by 111 publications

References 80 publications

Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks

Decoupling of body-plan diversification and ecological structuring during the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition: evolutionary and geobiological feedbacks

Ediacaran matground ecology persisted into the earliest Cambrian

The Lantian biota: A new window onto the origin and early evolution of multicellular organisms

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