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First evidence for locomotion in the Ediacara biota from the 565 Ma Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland

Alexander G. Liu, Duncan McIlroy and Martin D. Brasier
First evidence for locomotion in the Ediacara biota from the 565 Ma Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland
Geology (Boulder) (February 2010) 38 (2): 123-126

Abstract

Evidence for locomotion in the Precambrian fossil record is scant. Reliable Ediacaran trace fossils are all younger than 560 Ma, and consist of relatively simple horizontal burrows and trails from shallow-water deposits. Here we describe an assemblage of macroscopic locomotory traces from deep-water environments at Mistaken Point, southeastern Newfoundland, Canada, dated to ca. 565 Ma. These trails extend the record of complex trace fossils back into the earliest Avalonian biota. Our new evidence for large motile organisms on the seafloor at this time suggests that at least some of these early Ediacaran organisms, whose biological affinities are widely debated, could have been muscular and of metazoan grade.


ISSN: 0091-7613
EISSN: 1943-2682
Coden: GLGYBA
Serial Title: Geology (Boulder)
Serial Volume: 38
Serial Issue: 2
Title: First evidence for locomotion in the Ediacara biota from the 565 Ma Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland
Affiliation: University of Oxford, Department of Earth Sciences, Oxford, United Kingdom
Pages: 123-126
Published: 201002
Text Language: English
Publisher: Geological Society of America (GSA), Boulder, CO, United States
References: 36
Accession Number: 2010-024665
Categories: Stratigraphy
Document Type: Serial
Bibliographic Level: Analytic
Annotation: With GSA Data Repository Item 2010025
Illustration Description: illus. incl. strat. col., sketch map
N46°30'00" - N48°10'00", W54°15'00" - W52°30'00"
Secondary Affiliation: Memorial University of Newfoundland, CAN, Canada
Country of Publication: United States
Secondary Affiliation: GeoRef, Copyright 2017, American Geosciences Institute. Reference includes data from GeoScienceWorld, Alexandria, VA, United States. Reference includes data supplied by the Geological Society of America, Boulder, CO, United States
Update Code: 201015
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