Skip to main content

Functional and Ecological Aspects of Ediacaran Assemblages

  • Chapter

Part of the Topics in Geobiology book series (TGBI,volume 10)

Abstract

Reference to fossil imprints of soft-bodied Ediacaran metazoans made by Hill and Bonney (1877, p. 757) recorded two of “those curious arrangements of concentric rings which have been supposed to be organisms” present on one of the bedding faces of the North Quarry, Woodhouse Eaves in Charnwood, Forest, Leicestershire, England (see Ford, 1958, 1963); the markings were dismissed as being “accidental ... (and) inorganic.” Early this century, P. Range and H. Schneiderhöhn collected fossil remains of equivalent age at Kuibis Farm in South West Africa (Namibia), and the organic nature of this material was confirmed by Gürich (1929, 1933). The history of discovery of such fossils during the mid part of the century (Sprigg, 1947, 1949; Ford, 1958, 1963, 1968, 1979a,b, 1981; Anderson and Misra, 1968) and the subsequent finding of similar materials widely sited about the globe are well known (e.g., Glaessner, 1984; Hofmann, 1987).

Keywords

  • Nama Group
  • Trace Fossil
  • Russian Platform
  • Internal Mold
  • Conception Group

These keywords were added by machine and not by the authors. This process is experimental and the keywords may be updated as the learning algorithm improves.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Preview

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

Unable to display preview. Download preview PDF.

References

  • Ahrendt, H., Hunziker, J. C., and Weber, K., 1978, Age and degree of metamorphism and time of nappe emplacement along the southern margin of the Damara orogen/Namibia (SW-Africa), Geol. Rundsch. 67(2):719–742.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. M., 1976, Fossil Metazoa of the Late-Precambrian Avalon fauna, southeastern Newfoundland, Geol. Soc. Am. Abstr. Progr. 8(6):754.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. M., 1978, Ediacara fauna, in: McGraw-Hill Yearbook of Science and Technology, McGraw-Hill, New York, pp. 146–149.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. M., and Conway Morris, S., 1982, A review, with descriptions of four unusual forms, of the soft-bodied fauna of the Conception and St. John’s Groups (late-Precambrian), Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland, in: Proceedings. Third North American Palaeontological Convention (B. Mamet and M. J. Copeland, eds.), Vol. 1, pp. 1–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Anderson, M. M., and Misra, S. B., 1968, Fossils found in the Precambrian Conception Group in Southeastern Newfoundland, Nature 220(5168):680–681.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Benus, A. P., 1988, Sedimentological context of a deep-water Ediacaran fauna (Mistaken Point Formation, Avalon Zone, eastern Newfoundland), Bull. N.Y. St. Mus. 463:8–9.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom, J., 1989, The origin of animal phyla and the new phylum Procoelomata, Lethaia 22(3):259–269.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Bergstrom, J., 1990, Precambrian trace fossils and the rise of bilaterian animals, Ichnos 1(1):3–13.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Birket-Smith, S. J. R., 1981, A reconstruction of the Precambrian Spriggina, Zool. Jahrb. Anat. 105(2):237–258.

    Google Scholar 

  • Borradaile, L. A., Potts, F. A., Eatham, L. E. S., and Saunders, J. T., 1963, The Invertebrata (rev. by G. A. Keskut), 4th ed., Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boynton, H. E., 1978, Fossils from the Pre-Cambrian of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Mercian Geol. 6(4):291–296.

    Google Scholar 

  • Boynton, H. E., and Ford, T. D., 1979, Pseudovendia charnwoodensis—A new Precambrian arthropod from Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Mercian Geol. 7(2):175–177.

    Google Scholar 

  • Brafield, A. E., 1969, Water movements in the pennatulid coelenterate Pteroides griesum, J. Zool. Lond. 158(3):317–325.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Cloud, P., and Glaessner, M. F., 1982, The Ediacarian Period and System: Metazoa inherit the Earth, Science 217(4562):783–792.

    CrossRef  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Compston, W., Williams, I. S., Jenkins, R. J. F., Gostin, V. A., and Haines, P. W., 1987, Zircon age evidence for the Late Precambrian Acraman ejecta blanket, Aust. J. Earth Sci. 34(4):435–445.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Conway Morris, S., 1981, Parasites and the fossil record, Parasitology 82(3):489–509.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Conway Morris, S., 1985, The Ediacaran biota and early metazoan evolution, Geol. Mag. 122(1):77–81.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Conway Morris, S., 1989a. South-eastern Newfoundland and adjacent areas (Avalon Zone), in: The Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary (J. W. Cowie and M. D. Brasier, eds), Clarendon Press, Oxford, pp. 7–39.

    Google Scholar 

  • Conway Morris, S., 1989b. The Burgess Shale fauna and the Cambrian explosion, Science 246(4928):339–346.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Conway Morris, S., Mattes, B. W., and Chen Menge, 1990, The early skeletal organism Cloudina: New occurrences from Oman and possibly China, Am. J. Sci. 290-A:245–260.

    Google Scholar 

  • Crimes, T. P., and Germs, G. J. B., 1982, Trace fossils from the Nama Group (Precambrian-Cambrian) of southwest Africa (Namibia), J. Paleontol. 56(4):890–907.

    Google Scholar 

  • Dam, L. van, 1940, On the mechanism of ventilation in Aphrodite aculeata, J. Exp. Biol. 17(1):1–7.

    Google Scholar 

  • David, T. W. E., 1922, Occurrence of remains of small Crustacea in the Proterozoic (?) or Lower Cambrian (?) rocks of Reynella, near Adelaide, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 46:6–8.

    Google Scholar 

  • Deacon, G. E. R., 1984, Oxygen in Antarctic water, Deep-Sea Res. 31(11):1369–1371.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Department of Mines and Energy, Newfoundland, 1985, Mineral Occurrence Map Avalon Peninsula Newfoundland, Map 85-62, Mineral Development Division, Department of Mines and Energy, St. John’s, Newfoundland.

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedonkin, M. A., 1980, New Precambrian Coelenterata in the north of the Russian Platform, Paleont. Zh. 1980(2):7–15. [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedonkin, M. A., 1981, White Sea Biota of the Vendian (Precambrian Non-skeletal Fauna of the Russian Platform North), Nauka, Moscow [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedonkin, M. A., 1983, The organic world of the Vendian, Itogi Nauki Tekh. Ser. Strat. Paleontol. 12:1–127 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedonkin, M. A., 1985a, Non-skeletal Vendian fauna: Promorphological analysis, in: The Vendian System, Vol. 1, Paleontology (B. S. Sokolov and A. B. Ivanovskii, eds.), Nauka, Moscow, pp. 10–69 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  • Fedonkin, M. A., 1985b, Precambrian metazoans: The problems of preservation, systematics and evolution, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 311(1148):27–45.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. D., 1958, Precambrian fossils from Charnwood Forest, Proc. Yorkshire Geol. Soc. 31(3):211–217.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. D., 1963, The Pre-Cambrian fossils of Charnwood Forest, Trans. Leicester Lit. Philos. Soc. 57:57–62.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. D., 1968, B. The Precambrian palaeontology of Charnwood Forest, in: The Geology of the East Midlands (P. C. Sylvester Bradley and T. D. Ford, eds.), Leicester University Press, Leicester, England, pp. 12–14.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. D., 1979a, The history of the study of the Precambrian rocks at Charnwood Forest, England, in: History of Concepts in Precambrian Geology (W. O. Kupsch and W. A. S. Sarjeant eds.), Geol. Assoc. Can. Spec. Pap. 19:65–80.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. D., 1979b, Precambrian fossils and the origin of the Phanerozoic phyla, in: The Origin of Major Invertebrate Groups (M. R. House, ed.), Academic Press, New York, pp. 7–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Ford, T. D., 1981, The Ediacaran fossils of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Proc. Geol. Assoc. Lond. 91(142):81–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gardiner, S., and Hiscott, R. N., 1984, Sedimentology and basin analysis of the Precambrian Conception Group, Avalon Zone, Newfoundland, Geol. Surv. Can. Pap. 84-1A:213–216.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J. G., 1982, The sedimentology and stratigraphy of the Precambrian Pound Subgroup, Central Flinders Ranges, South Australia, M.Sc. thesis, University of Adelaide, South Australia.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J. G., 1983, The Ediacara Member: A shallowing upward submarine fan sequence, within the Pound Subgroup, Geol. Soc. Aust. Abstr. 10:52–54.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J. G., 1987, Earliest-known echinoderm—A new Ediacaran fossil from the Pound Subgroup of South Australia, Alcheringa 11(4):337–345.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J. G., 1988, A cnidarian of actinian-grade from Ediacaran Pound Subgroup, South Australia. Alcheringa 12(4):299–314.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J. G., 1991, The case for Ediacaran fossil roots to the metazoan tree, in: The World of Martin F. Glaessner (B. P. Radhakrishna, ed.), Geol. Soc. India Mem. 20:181–223, Geological Society of India, Bangalore.

    Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., 1972a, The stratigraphy and paleontology of the lower Nama Group, South West Africa, Univ. Cape Town Dept. Geol. Precambrian Res. Unit Bull. 12:1–250.

    Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., 1972b, New Shelly fossils from the Nama Group, South West Africa, Am. J. Sci. 272(8):752–761.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., 1972c, Trace fossils from the Nama Group, South West Africa, J. Paleontol. 46(6):864–870.

    Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., 1973a, A reinterpretation of Rangea schneiderhoehni and the discovery of a related new fossil from the Nama Group, South West Africa, Lethaia 6(1):1–10.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., 1973b, Possible sprigginid worm and a new trace fossil from the Nama Group, South West Africa, Geology 1(2):69–70.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., 1974, The Nama Group in South West Africa and its relationship to the Pan-African Geosyncline, J. Geol. 82(3):301–317.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Germs, G. J. B., Knoll, A. H., and Vidal, G., 1986, Latest Proterozoic microfossils from the Nama Group, Namibia (South West Africa), Precambrian Res. 32(1):45–63.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gibson, G. G., Teeter, S. A., and Fedonkin, M. A., 1984, Ediacarian fossils from the Carolina slate belt, Stanly County, North Carolina, Geology 12(7):387–390.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1959, Fauna, in: The geology and Late Precambrian fauna of the Ediacara Fossil Reserve, Rec. S. Aust. Mus. 13(3):377–401.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1960, Precambrian fossils from South Australia, in: Reports. 21st International Geological Congress, Part 22, pp. 59-64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1961, Pre-Cambrian animals, Sci. Am. 204(3):72–78.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1963, Zur Kenntnis der Nama-Fossilien Sudwest-Afrikas, Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 66:113–120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1969, Trace fossils from the Precambrian and basal Cambrian, Lethaia 2(4):369–393.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1976a, Early Phanerozoic annelid worms and their geological and biological significance, J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 132(3):259–275.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1976b, A new genus of Late Precambrian polychaete worms from South Australia, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 100(3):169–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1978, Re-examination of Archaeichnium, a fossil from the Nama Group, Ann. S. Afr. Mus. 74(13):335–342.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1979a, An echiurid worm from the Late Precambrian, Lethaia 12(2):121–124.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1979b, Precambrian, in: Treatise on Invertebrate Paleontology, Part A., Introduction. Fossilization (Taphonomy) Biogeography and Biostratigraphy (R. A. Robinson and C. Teichert, eds.), Geological Society of America, and University of Kansas Press, Lawrence, Kansas, pp. A79–A118.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1980, Parvancorina—An arthropod from the Late Precambrian (Ediacarian) of South Australia, Ann. Naturhist. Mus. Wien 83:83–90.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., 1984, The Dawn of Animal Life: A Biohistorical Study, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., and Wade, M., 1966, The Late Precambrian fossils from Ediacara, South Australia, Palaeontology 9(4):599–628.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., and Wade, M., 1971, Praecambridium—A primitive arthropod, Lethaia 4(1):71–77.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Glaessner, M. F., and Walter, M. R., 1975, New Precambrian fossils from the Arumbera Sandstone, Northern Territory, Australia, Alcheringa 1(1):59–69.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Goldring, R., and Curnow, C. N., 1967, The stratigraphy and facies of the Late Precambrian at Ediacara, South Australia, J. Geol. Soc. Aust. 14(2):195–214.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Gould, S. J., 1984, The Ediacaran experiment, Nat. Hist. 93(3):14–23.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gould, S. J., 1985, Treasures in a taxonomic wastebasket, Nat. Hist. 94(12):22–33.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graff, L. von, 1888, Die Annelidengattung Spinther, Z. Wiss. Zool. 46:1–66.

    Google Scholar 

  • Grant, S. W. F., 1990, Shell structure and distribution of Cloudina, a potential index fossil for the terminal Proterozoic. Am. J. Sci. 290-A:261–294.

    PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Gürich, G., 1929, Die altesten fossilien Sudafrikas, Z. Prakt. Geol. 37(6):85.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gürich, G., 1933, Die Kuibis-Fossilien der Nama-Formation von Sudwestafrika, Palaeontol. Z. 15(2-3):137–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Harris, C. W. and Glover III., L., 1988, The regional extent of the ca. 600 Ma Virgilina deformation: Implications for stratigraphic correlation in the Carolina terrane, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 100(2):299–310.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Hill, E., and Bonney, T. G., 1877, The Precarboniferous rocks of Charnwood Forest, Q. J. Geol. Soc. Lond. 33:754–789.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, H. J., 1987, Precambrian biostratigraphy, Geosci. Can. 14(3):135–154.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, H. J., 1988, An alternative interpretation of the Ediacaran (Precambrian) chondrophore Chondroplon Wade, Alcheringa 12(4):315–318.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, H. J., and King, A. F., 1979, Late Precambrian microfossils, southeastern Newfoundland, Geol. Surv. Can. Curr. Res. B Pap. 79-lB:83–98.

    Google Scholar 

  • Horstmann, V. E., Ahrendt, H., Clauer, N., and Porada, H., 1990, The metamorphic history of the Damara Orogen based on K/Ar data of detrital white micas from the Nama Group, Namibia, Precambrian Res. 48(1/2):41–61.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Howchin, W., 1925, The Building of Australia and the Succession of Life: With Special Reference to South Australia, Part 1, Government Printer, Adelaide.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, L. H., 1940, The Invertebrates: Protozoa through Ctenophora, McGraw-Hill, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1981, The concept of an ‘Ediacaran Period’ and its stratigraphie significance in Australia, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 105(4):179–194.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1984a, Ediacaran events: Boundary relationships and correlation of key section, especially in ‘Armorica’, Geol. Mag. 121(6):635–643.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1984b, Interpreting the oldest fossil cnidarians, Palaeontogr. 54:95–104.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1985, The enigmatic Ediacaran (late Precambrian) genus Rangea and related forms, Paleobiology 11(3):336–355.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1986, Are enigmatic markings in Adelaidean of Flinders Ranges fossil ice-tracks?, Nature 323(6087):472.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1989, The “supposed terminal Precambrian extinction event” in relation to the Cnidaria, Mem. Ass. Australas Palaeontols 8:307–317.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., 1991, The early environment, in: Animal Life Without Oxygen (C. Bryant, ed.), Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 38–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., and Gehling, J. G., 1978, A review of the frond-like fossils of the Ediacara assemblage, Rec. S. Aust. Mus. 17(23):347–359.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., Plummer, P. S., and Moriarty, K. C., 1981, Late Precambrian pseudofossils from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 105(2):67–83.

    Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R. J. F., Ford, C. H., and Gehling, J. G., 1983, The Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite: The context of the Ediacara assemblage (late Precambrian, Flinders Ranges), J. Geol. Soc. Aust. 30(1):101–119.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Jones, J. B., and Fitzgerald, M. J., 1986, Silica-rich layering at Blanche Point, South Australia, Aust. J. Earth Sci. 33(4):529–551.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Knoll, A. H., Hayes, J. M., Kaufman, A. J., Swett, K., and Lambert, I. B., 1986, Secular variation in carbon isotope ratios from Upper Proterozoic successions of Svalbard and East Greenland, Nature 321(6073):832–838.

    CrossRef  PubMed  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Krasnobaev, A. A., and Semikhatov, M. A., 1986, Geochronological scale of the Upper Proterozoic (Riphean and Vendian) of the USSR: The present state, in: Metody isotopnoy geologii i geok-hronologicheskaya shkala, Nauka, Moscow, pp. 159–183 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  • Krogh, T. E., Strong, D. F., and Papezik, V. S., 1983, Precise U-Pb ages of zircons from volcanic and plutonic units in the Avalon Peninsula, Geol. Soc. Am. Prog. Ahstr. 15(3):135.

    Google Scholar 

  • Krogh, T. E., Strong, D. F., O’Brien, S. J., and Papezik, V. S., 1988, Precise U-Pb zircon dates from the Avalon Terrane in Newfoundland, Can. J. Earth Sci. 25(3);442–453.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Kroner, A., McWilliams, M. O., Germs, G. J. B., Reid, A. B., and Schalk, K. E. L., 1980, Paleomagnetism of late Precambrian to early Paleozoic mixtite-bearing formations in Namibia (South West Africa): The Nama Group and Blaubeker Formation, Am. J. Sci. 280(9):942–968.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Landing, E., Narbonne, G. M., Myrow, P., Benus, A. P., and Anderson, M. M., 1988, Faunas and depositional environments of the Upper Precambrian through Lower Cambrian, southeastern Newfoundland, Bull N.Y. St. Mus. 463:18–52.

    Google Scholar 

  • Makhnach, A. S., Veretennikov, N. V., and Shkurator, V. I., 1986, Vendian rocks of the western part of the East European Platform: Stratotype range, boundaries and principles of their establishment, Geol. Mag. 123(4):349–356.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Manton, S. M., 1967, The polychaete Spinther and the origin of the Athropoda, J. Nat. Hist. 1(1):1–22.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mawson, D., and Sprigg, R. C., 1950, Subdivision of the Adelaide System, Aust. J. Sci. 13(1):69–72.

    Google Scholar 

  • McCartney, W. D., 1967, Whitbourne map-area, Newfoundland, Geol. Surv. Can. Mem. 341:1–135.

    Google Scholar 

  • McMenamin, M. A. S., 1986, The garden of Ediacara, Palaios 1(2):178–182.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • McMenamin, M. A. S., 1987, The emergence of animals, Sci. Am. 256(4):84–92.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • McMenamin, M. A. S. and McMenamin, D. L. S., 1990, The Emergence of Animals: The Cambrian Breakthrough, Columbia University Press, New York.

    Google Scholar 

  • Misra, S. B., 1969, Late Precambrian (?) fossils from Southeastern Newfoundland, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 80(11):2133–2139.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Misra, S. B., 1971, Stratigraphy and depositional history of late Precambrian coelenterate-bering rocks, southeastern Newfoundland, Geol. Soc. Am. Bull. 82(4):979–987.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mosely, J., and Ford, T. D., 1985, A stratigraphie revision of the Late Precambrian rocks of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, Mercian Geol. 10(1):1–18.

    Google Scholar 

  • Mount, J. F., 1989, Re-evaluation of unconformities separating the “Ediacaran” and Cambrian Systems, South Australia, Palaios 4(4):366–373.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Mount, J. F., 1991, Re-evaluation of unconformities separating the “Ediacaran” and Cambrian Systems, South Australia: Reply, Palaios 6(1):105–107.

    Google Scholar 

  • Nedin, C., and Jenkins, R. J. F., 1991. Evaluation of unconformities separating the “Ediacaran” and Cambrian Systems, South Australia: Comment, Palaios 6(1):102–105.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • O’Brien, S. J., Wardle, R. J., and King, A. F., 1983, The Avalon Zone: A Pan-African terrane in the Appalachian orogen of Canada, Geol. J. 18(3):195–222.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Papezik, V. S., 1982, Stop 0-4: Harbour Main Volcanics, in: Field Guide for Avalon and Meguma Zones (A. F. King, ed.), the Caledonide Orogen IGCP Project 27, NATO Advanced Study Institute Atlantic Canada, Memorial University, St. Johns, Newfoundland, pp. 42–43.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pflug, H. D., 1970a, Zur Fauna der Nama-Schichten in Sudwest-Afrika. 1. Pteridinia, Bau und systematische Zugerhorigkeit, Palaeontogr. Abt. A. 134(4-6):226–262.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pflug, H. D., 1970b, Zur Fauna der Nama-Schichten in Sudwest-Africa. II. Rangidae, bau und systematische Zugehörigkeit, Palaeontogr. Abt. A. 135(3-6):198–231.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pflug, H. D., 1972a, Zur Fauna der Nama-Schichten in Sudwest-Afrika. 111. Erniettomorpha, beu und Systematik, Palaeontologr. Abt. A. 139(4-6):134–170.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pflug, H. D., 1972b, Systematik der jungprakambrischen Petalonamae Pflug 1970, Palaeontol. Z. 46(l/2):56–67.

    Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, K. T., 1983, Transitional submarine fan deposits from the late Precambrian Kongsfjord formation submarine fan, N. E. Finnmark, N. Norway, Sedimentology 30(2):181–199.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Pickering, K. T., 1985, Kongsfjord turbidite system, Norway, in: Submarine Fans and Related Turbidite Systems (A. H. Bouma, W. R. Normark, and N. E. Barnes, ed.), Springer-Verlag, New York, pp. 237–244.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Preiss, W. V. (Compiler), 1987, The Adelaide Geosyncline—Late Proterozoic stratigraphy, sedimentation, palaeontology and tectonics, Bull. Geol. Surv. S. Aust. 53:1–438.

    Google Scholar 

  • Richter, R., 1955, Die altesten Fossilien Sud-Afrikas, Senckenb. Lethaea 36(3/4):243–289.

    Google Scholar 

  • Rose, E. R., 1952, Torbay map-area, Newfoundland, Geol. Surv. Can. Mem. 265:1–64.

    Google Scholar 

  • Runnegar, B., 1982a, Oxygen requirements, biology and phylogenetic significance of the late Precambrian worm Dickinsonia, and the evolution of the burrowing habit, Alcheringa 6(3):223–239.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Runnegar, B., 1982b, The Cambrian explosion: Animals or fossils?, J. Geol. Soc. Aust. 29(4):395–411.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Runnegar, B., 1991, Oxygen and the early evolution of the Metazoa, in: Animal Life Without Oxygen (C. Bryant, ed.), Chapman and Hall, London, pp. 65–87.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russell, F. S., 1970. The medusae of the British Isles II. Pelagic Scyphozoa with a supplement to the first volume on Hydromedusae, Cambridge University Press, Cambridge.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A., 1983, Paleozoic sandstones in southern Jordan: Trace fossils depositional environments and biogeography, in: Geology of Jordan (A. M. Abed and H. M. Khaled, eds.), Jordan Geologists Association, pp. 209-222.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A., 1984, Late Precambrian and early Cambrian Metazoa: Preservational or real extinctions?, in: Patterns of Change in Earth Evolution (H. D. Holland and A. F. Trendall eds.), Springer-Verlag, Berlin, pp. 159–168.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A., 1985, Discussion of Precambrian metazoans, Philos. Trans. R. Soc. Lond. B 311(1148):47–48.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A., 1989, Vendozoa: Organismic construction in the Proterozoic biosphere, Lethaia 22(3):229–239.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sokolov, B. S., 1952, On the age of the ancient sedimentary cover of the Russian Platform, Izv. Akad. Nauk SSSR Ser. Geol. 1952(5):21–31 [in Russian].

    Google Scholar 

  • Sokolov, B. S., and Fedonkin, M. A., 1984, The Vendian as the terminal system of the Precambrian, Episodes 7(1):12–19.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprigg, R. C., 1947, Early Cambrian (?) jellyfishes from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia, Trans. R. Soc. S. Aust. 71(2):212–224.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sprigg, R. C., 1949, Early Cambrian “Jellyfishes” of Ediacara, South Australia and Mount John, Kim-berley District, Western Australia, Trans. Roy. Soc. S. Aust. 73(1):72–99.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanistreet, I. G., Kukla, P. A., and Henry, G. 1991, Sedimentary basinal responses to a Late Precambrian Wilson Cycle: The Damara Orogen and Nama Foreland, Namibia, J. African Earth Sci. 13(1):141–156.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Strong, D. F., O’Brien, S. J., Taylor, S. W., Strong, P. G., and Wilton, D. H., 1978, Aborted Proterozoic rifting in eastern Newfoundland, Can. J. Earth Sci. 15(1):117–131.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, W. G., 1986a, Precambrian medusoids: The Cyclomedusa plexus and Cyclomedusa-like pseudofossils, Precambrian Res. 31(4):325–360.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Sun, W. G., 1986b, Late Precambrian pennatulids (sea pens) from the eastern Yangtze Gorge, China: Paracharnia gen. nov. Precambrian Res. 31(4):361–375.

    Google Scholar 

  • Sun, W. G., 1986c, Late Precambrian scyphozoan medusa Mawsonites randellensis sp. nov. and its significance in the Ediacara metazoan assemblage, South Australia, Alcheringa 10(3):169–181.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Tankard, A. J., Jackson, M. P. A., Eriksson, K. A., Hobday, D. K., Hunter, D. R., and Minter, W. E. L., 1982, Crustal Evolution of Southern Africa: 3.8 Billion Years of Earth History, Springer-Verlag, New York.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Termier, H., and Termier, G., 1968, Évolution et biocinèse. Les invertébrés dans l’histoire du monde vivant, Masson, Paris.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wade, M., 1968, Preservation of soft-bodied animals in Precambrian sandstones at Ediacara, South Australia, Lethaia 1(3):238–267.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

  • Wade, M., 1972a, Hydrozoa and Scyphozoa and other medusoids from the Precambrian Ediacara fauna, South Australia, Palaeontology 15(2):197–225.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wade, M., 1972b, Dickinsonia: Polychaete worms from the late Precambrian Ediacara fauna, South Australia, Mem. Queensl. Mus. 16(2):171–190.

    Google Scholar 

  • Watts, W. W., 1947, Geology of the Ancient Rocks of Charnwood Forest, Leicester Literary and Philosophical Society, Leicester, England.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wilde, P., 1987, Model of progressive ventilation of the Late Precambrian-Early Paleozoic ocean, Am. J. Sci. 287(5):442–459.

    CrossRef  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Williams, H., and King, A. F., 1979. Trepassey map-area, Newfoundland, Geol. Surv. Can. Mem. 389:1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yakobson, K. E., 1987, Vendian strata in their type area, Geol. Mag. 124(1):73–78.

    CrossRef  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

Copyright information

© 1992 Springer Science+Business Media New York

About this chapter

Cite this chapter

Jenkins, R.J.F. (1992). Functional and Ecological Aspects of Ediacaran Assemblages. In: Lipps, J.H., Signor, P.W. (eds) Origin and Early Evolution of the Metazoa. Topics in Geobiology, vol 10. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2427-8_5

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-2427-8_5

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Boston, MA

  • Print ISBN: 978-1-4899-2429-2

  • Online ISBN: 978-1-4899-2427-8

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive