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Charnia masoni

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Journal Article

Architectural modelling of the fractal-like Ediacaran rangeomorph C harnia masoni Open Access

D. McIlroy
Published: 20 March 2025
Journal of the Geological Society (2025) 182 (3): jgs2024-242.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/jgs2024-242
...D. McIlroy The frondose Rangeomorpha are a poorly understood group of Ediacaran fractal-like organisms with a body plan that is unknown among modern organisms. The first described rangeomorph Charnia masoni is one of the most iconic members of the Ediacaran biotas, first described from Charnwood...
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View PDF for article title, Architectural modelling of the fractal-like Ediacaran rangeomorph C harnia <span class="search-highlight">masoni</span>
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The characters of valid Charnia species. (a) Charnia masoni holotype from Charnwood, UK showing sigmoidal branches and arcs of secondary-order branches. (b) Charnia gracilis from Inner Meadow, Newfoundland, Canada with long narrow primary-order branches. (c) Charnia ewinoni from Matthews Surface, Newfoundland, Canada with long stem. (d) Charnia masoni showing a purported disc (white arrow). Most specimens do not have discs. Scale bars (a, b) 2 cm; (c, d) 1 cm.

The characters of valid Charnia species. ( a ) Charnia masoni holotype ... Open Access

Published: 20 March 2025
Fig. 1. The characters of valid Charnia species. ( a ) Charnia masoni holotype from Charnwood, UK showing sigmoidal branches and arcs of secondary-order branches. ( b ) Charnia gracilis from Inner Meadow, Newfoundland, Canada with long narrow primary-order branches. ( c ) Charnia ewinoni
Journal Article

The rangeomorph fossil Charnia from the Ediacaran Shibantan biota in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China Available to Purchase

Chengxi Wu, Ke Pang, Zhe Chen, Xiaopeng Wang, Chuanming Zhou, Bin Wan, Xunlai Yuan, Shuhai Xiao
Published: 01 March 2024
Journal of Paleontology (2024) 98 (2): 232–248.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2022.97
..., we report two species of the rangeomorph genus Charnia , including the type species Charnia masoni Ford, 1958 emend. and Charnia gracilis new species, from the Shibantan biota. Most of the Shibantan Charnia specimens preserve only the petalodium, with a few bearing the holdfast and stem. Despite...
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View PDF for article title, The rangeomorph fossil <span class="search-highlight">Charnia</span> from the Ediacaran Shibantan biota in the Yangtze Gorges area, South China
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Possible mode of life of Charnia masoni. (a) Lateral view of an isolated primary-order branch showing only one surface in contact with the sediment. (b) Transverse cross-section of the branch in (a) showing the very high surface area in contact with the seawater. (c) Hypothetical reconstruction of the tip of a third-order Charnia branch, depicted as being covered with collar cells (choanocytes) for feeding and pumping of seawater. Inner surface only. (d) Artist's reconstruction of C. masoni in inferred life position on the seafloor surrounded by matground.

Possible mode of life of Charnia masoni . ( a ) Lateral view of an isolate... Open Access

Published: 20 March 2025
Fig. 5. Possible mode of life of Charnia masoni . ( a ) Lateral view of an isolated primary-order branch showing only one surface in contact with the sediment. ( b ) Transverse cross-section of the branch in ( a ) showing the very high surface area in contact with the seawater. ( c
Image
Details of internal structure of the holotype of Charnia masoni. (a) Detailed laser image, showing the internal structure revealed by four directions of laser lighting. (b) Camera lucida drawing compiled from such laser images with the aid of lighting from about 10 directions. Here and in subsequent drawings, black lines show the topographic high points and shading employs the effect of lighting these features from the top left of the fossil. These drawings clearly show that Charnia masoni had a base (Bs) and a single growth tip (Gt) at one end of the growth axis, along which are arranged two alternating (’rangeomorph' or biserial) rows (Ro, shown in yellow) of first-order (1°) segments whose margins are furled, even along the central axis. It is only at this 1° level (shown in orange) that ’rangeomorph' architecture is displayed. These sigmoid 1° branches of Charnia masoni have inclined axes that are subparallel to each other within each row. The successively smaller 2° (red), 3° (green) and even 4° (blue) branches have subparallel sutures that are furled, with their rangeomorph structure undisplayed.

Details of internal structure of the holotype of Charnia masoni . ( a ) De... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 March 2009
Fig. 2. Details of internal structure of the holotype of Charnia masoni . ( a ) Detailed laser image, showing the internal structure revealed by four directions of laser lighting. ( b ) Camera lucida drawing compiled from such laser images with the aid of lighting from about 10 directions. Here
Image
Primary- and secondary-order branching in Charnia masoni. (a) Lower surface of C. masoni with branching based on the holotype. (b) Single primary-order branch (brown) showing its peapod-like shape composed of two vanes of secondary-order branches (one coloured purple is extracted in (d)): (i) lower surface of primary; (ii) internal view of primary showing central lumen between the two curved vanes; (iii) view showing the straight axis, with glide plane symmetry. (c) Oblique view of the upper surface of C. masoni holotype angled towards the tip showing hypothetical gaping between pairs of branches at the primary and secondary orders. (d) Three views of a pair of secondary-order branches showing the curved axis (pink): (i) axial view; (ii) oblique view; (iii) view showing lumina of secondary-order branches.

Primary- and secondary-order branching in Charnia masoni . ( a ) Lower sur... Open Access

Published: 20 March 2025
Fig. 3. Primary- and secondary-order branching in Charnia masoni . ( a ) Lower surface of C. masoni with branching based on the holotype. ( b ) Single primary-order branch (brown) showing its peapod-like shape composed of two vanes of secondary-order branches (one coloured purple is extracted
Image
Primary-order branch of Charnia masoni reconstructed with secondary- and tertiary-order branches. (a) Primary-order branch with a single secondary-order branch highlighted in orange. (b) A pair of opposing secondary-order branch of C. masoni in three orientations (i–iii) with the outermost vanes of the secondary-order branches coloured orange; the inner vanes are white. Two pairs of opposing tertiary-order branches are coloured dark purple on the outside and light purple on the inside. (c) Two pairs of tertiary-order branches of C. masoni in three orientations corresponding to those in (bi–iii) (all other branches deleted). It should be noted that the shapes, curvature and orientations of the tertiary-order branch pairs (dark v. light blue) are different from one another. If the inner and outer surfaces of (c1–iii) were covered in (for example) collar cells there would be 16 surfaces available for feeding.

Primary-order branch of Charnia masoni reconstructed with secondary- and ... Open Access

Published: 20 March 2025
Fig. 4. Primary-order branch of Charnia masoni reconstructed with secondary- and tertiary-order branches. ( a ) Primary-order branch with a single secondary-order branch highlighted in orange. ( b ) A pair of opposing secondary-order branch of C. masoni in three orientations (i–iii
Journal Article

Life after snowball: The oldest complex Ediacaran fossils Available to Purchase

Guy M. Narbonne, James G. Gehling
Journal: Geology
Published: 01 January 2003
Geology (2003) 31 (1): 27–30.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1130/0091-7613(2003)031<0027:LASTOC>2.0.CO;2
...Guy M. Narbonne; James G. Gehling Abstract Newly discovered fronds of the Ediacaran index fossil Charnia from the Drook Formation of southeastern Newfoundland are the oldest large, architecturally complex fossils known anywhere. Two species are present: Charnia masoni , originally described from...
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(1) Charnia masoni from the Shibantan limestone preserved in positive relief, bed sole view; black arrow points to twisted stem and white arrow points to discoidal holdfast; (2) magnified view of rectangle in (1), with black and white rectangles marking two different orientations of filiform structures on the holdfast; NIGP161628. (3, 4) Holotype of C. gracilis n. sp. from the Shibantan limestone preserved in positive relief, bed sole view: (3) magnified view of rectangle in (4), showing well-preserved second-order branches and possible third-order branches (arrow); note the straight first-order branches with small divergence angles in (4); NIGP161629. (5) Specimen of C. gracilis n. sp. with complete petalodium, preserved in positive relief, bed sole view; arrowhead points to apex of petalodium; NIGP161630. (6) Specimen of C. gracilis n. sp. preserved in positive relief, bed sole view; NIGP161631. (7) Incomplete specimen of C. gracilis n. sp. preserved in positive relief, bed sole view; arrow points to a possible and faintly preserved holdfast; NIGP161632. (8) Incomplete specimen of C. gracilis n. sp. preserved in positive relief, bed sole view; NIGP161633. (1) Scale bar = 5 cm; (2) scale bar = 2 cm; (3–8) scale bars = 1 cm.

( 1 ) Charnia masoni from the Shibantan limestone preserved in positive r... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 March 2024
Figure 2. ( 1 ) Charnia masoni from the Shibantan limestone preserved in positive relief, bed sole view; black arrow points to twisted stem and white arrow points to discoidal holdfast; ( 2 ) magnified view of rectangle in ( 1 ), with black and white rectangles marking two different
Journal Article

A new assemblage of juvenile Ediacaran fronds from the Drook Formation, Newfoundland Available to Purchase

Alexander G. Liu, Duncan McIlroy, Jack J. Matthews, Martin D. Brasier
Published: 01 July 2012
Journal of the Geological Society (2012) 169 (4): 395–403.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1144/0016-76492011-094
... fossils also extend the stratigraphic ranges of several key frondose taxa ( Charnia masoni, Charniodiscus spp.) back into some of the oldest known macrofossil-bearing strata. These revised ranges lend support to the suggestion that the previously observed low diversity within the Drook Formation may...
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Images of the holotypes from Ford (1958). (A)Charnia masoni Ford (length = 21 cm). (B)Charniodiscus concentricus Ford (stem is 25 cm in length from centre of holdfast to tip of frond). These fossils occur on a bedding plane in distal-facies volcaniclastic turbidites in the upper part of the Bradgate Formation, Charnian Supergroup (for stratigraphical nomenclature see Moseley &amp; Ford 1985; Worssam et al. 1988).

Images of the holotypes from Ford (1958) . (A) Charnia masoni Ford (len... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 November 2012
Fig. 1. Images of the holotypes from Ford (1958) . (A) Charnia masoni Ford (length = 21 cm). (B) Charniodiscus concentricus Ford (stem is 25 cm in length from centre of holdfast to tip of frond). These fossils occur on a bedding plane in distal-facies volcaniclastic turbidites in the upper
Image
Laser-generated image of the holotype of Charnia masoniFord 1958 from from the Woodhouse Beds, Maplewell Group of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. The four colours refer to four directions of lighting, as shown. Lighting of this kind can be used to help pick out internal structures of the first order and smaller branches, as shown in Figure 2. Unlike the digital photographic images (e.g. Antcliffe &amp; Brasier 2008, text-fig. 1), this new dataset can also be lit and viewed on a computer screen from any direction, making it an invaluable aid for study. The holotype is a negative impression, 208 mm long, preserved on the top surface of a fine layer of volcaniclastic mudstone. It is housed in the Leicester City Museum, New Walk, Leicester: LEICT G279. 1958.

Laser-generated image of the holotype of Charnia masoni Ford 1958 from f... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 March 2009
Fig. 1. Laser-generated image of the holotype of Charnia masoni Ford 1958 from from the Woodhouse Beds, Maplewell Group of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England. The four colours refer to four directions of lighting, as shown. Lighting of this kind can be used to help pick out internal
Image
 Charnia masoni(holotype) from the Leicester City Museum; specimen is 26 cm long. Pennatula phosphorea from the Darwin Centre, Natural History Museum (specimen number 1888-3-1-1-6); specimen is 8 cm long.

Charnia masoni (holotype) from the Leicester City Museum; specimen is 26 cm... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 January 2007
Fig. 2.   Charnia masoni (holotype) from the Leicester City Museum; specimen is 26 cm long. Pennatula phosphorea from the Darwin Centre, Natural History Museum (specimen number 1888-3-1-1-6); specimen is 8 cm long.
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A diagram showing two possible ways in which Bradgatia linfordensis (left, middle box) and Charnia masoni (right, middle box) may been interrelated. The top box shows how Charnia may have evolved as an evolutionary simplification from part of the Bradgatia organism. In this view Bradgatia could be seen as a colony of Charnia-like fronds. The bottom box show a second, and more favoured hypothesis, that the whole of Bradgatia is homologous to Charnia, with simplifications and rotations taking place in the first-order branches, which are likewise homologues.

A diagram showing two possible ways in which Bradgatia linfordensis (left... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 March 2009
Fig. 19. A diagram showing two possible ways in which Bradgatia linfordensis (left, middle box) and Charnia masoni (right, middle box) may been interrelated. The top box shows how Charnia may have evolved as an evolutionary simplification from part of the Bradgatia organism. In this view
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Juvenile frondose organisms from Pigeon Cove, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. (a) Charnia aff. masoni, frond C8 on the map. A replica cast of this specimen is housed in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, OUM ÁT.426/p. (b) Charnia masoni, C1, OUM ÁT.425/p. (c) Aff. Trepassia wardae, C84, OUM ÁT.428/p. It should be noted that in aff. Trepassia specimens, primary branching angles vary substantially within the population. (d) A specimen likely to be a partially folded aff. Trepassia, showing just one row of primary branches, C42, OUM ÁT.427/p. All figured specimens remain in situ on the bedding plane. Scale bars represent 5 mm.

Juvenile frondose organisms from Pigeon Cove, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundlan... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 July 2012
Fig. 4. Juvenile frondose organisms from Pigeon Cove, Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. ( a ) Charnia aff. masoni , frond C8 on the map. A replica cast of this specimen is housed in the Oxford University Museum of Natural History, OUM ÁT.426/p. ( b ) Charnia masoni , C1, OUM ÁT.425/p. ( c ) Aff
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Figure 7. Comparison of the architecture of hapsidophyllid leaflets (1, 2 Hapsidophyllas flexibilis; 3, 4 Frondophyllas grandis) and; 5, 6 a complete Charnia masoni petalodium. Small box-shaped divisions in each taxon are formed by secondary branches, which are combined as modules to make up elongate primary branches. These in turn combine to make up each individual hapsidophyllid leaflet (1–4) or the entire leaf of Charnia (6). Thick black bars in the hapsidophyllid leaflets (2, 4) represent open tubes, which are either absent or internal in Charnia (6).

Figure 7. Comparison of the architecture of hapsidophyllid leaflets ( 1 , ... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 November 2009
Figure 7. Comparison of the architecture of hapsidophyllid leaflets ( 1 , 2 Hapsidophyllas flexibilis ; 3 , 4 Frondophyllas grandis ) and; 5 , 6 a complete Charnia masoni petalodium. Small box-shaped divisions in each taxon are formed by secondary branches, which are combined as modules
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 Figure13—Charnia fronds in Catalina area. All specimens retrodeformed. Bar scale divisions in cm. 1, Charnia masoniFord, 1958, Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 5 at 17.6 m E on surface F7 in Fig. 3.1. NFM F-487. 2, Two aligned specimens of C. masoni, Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 11. NFM F-488 (lower) and NFM F-489 (upper left). 3, Specimen with long stem and C. masoni frond. Fermeuse Formation, Locality 18. 4, C. masoni. Specimen with overfolded primary branches in proximal part of frond and more regular divergent branching in distal portion. Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 6. 5, C. masoni. Specimen with overfolded primary branches. Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 6. NFM F-490. 6, C. masoni. Specimen with well developed rhomboidal pattern. Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 7. NFM F-491. 7, Cast of partial specimen of C. antecedens. illustrated in O'Brien and King (2004, fig. 3f, 5a). Note distinct rangeomorph elements in area indicated by white arrows. Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 4 on surface F2 in Fig. 3.1. NFM F-492. 8, C. antecedens. Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 9 on surface F3 in Fig. 3.1. NFM F-493. 9, C. antecedens. Small specimen, associated with C. masoni in part 2, Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 11. 10, Poorly preserved chevron structure, possibly a form of Charnia, in oldest exposed fossiliferous bed in area. Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 8.

Figure 13 — Charnia fronds in Catalina area. All specimens retrodeformed.... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 January 2008
Figure 13 — Charnia fronds in Catalina area. All specimens retrodeformed. Bar scale divisions in cm. 1 , Charnia masoni Ford, 1958 , Mistaken Point Formation, Locality 5 at 17.6 m E on surface F7 in Fig. 3.1 . NFM F-487. 2 , Two aligned specimens of C. masoni , Mistaken Point Formation
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Figure 2. Field photographs of Charnia from upper Drook Formation near Portugal Cove South. All specimens are preserved in positive epirelief beneath volcanic ashes. Divisions on scale bars are in centimeters. A: Charnia masoni, ROM 54348. B: Detail of proximal part of largest specimen of C. wardi showing first- and second-order branch pattern. C: Proximal part of complete, 1.6-m-long frond of C. wardi with holdfast (far right) and good preservation of branches. ROM 54349. D: Line drawing of C illustrating details of holdfast and branch morphology.

Figure 2. Field photographs of Charnia from upper Drook Formation near Po... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 January 2003
Figure 2. Field photographs of Charnia from upper Drook Formation near Portugal Cove South. All specimens are preserved in positive epirelief beneath volcanic ashes. Divisions on scale bars are in centimeters. A: Charnia masoni , ROM 54348. B: Detail of proximal part of largest specimen of C
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Avalon-type fossils from finely laminated nodular limestones of Khatyspyt Formation. A: Charnia masoni. B–E: Holdfast structures Hiemalora (B, C), Protodipleurosoma (D), Inaria (E). F: Thin section through Charnia, perpendicular to the fine lamination in the country rock; each of limestone lenses (arrows) corresponds to quilt-like unit. G: Thin section through Aspidella, perpendicular to fine lamination; note three-dimensional cast of stalk that emanates from center of holdfast (arrow). Scale bars: A–E = 10 mm; F = 0.5 mm; G = 5 mm.

Avalon-type fossils from finely laminated nodular limestones of Khatyspyt F... Available to Purchase

Published: 01 October 2008
Figure 2. Avalon-type fossils from finely laminated nodular limestones of Khatyspyt Formation. A: Charnia masoni. B–E: Holdfast structures Hiemalora (B, C), Protodipleurosoma (D), Inaria (E). F: Thin section through Charnia, perpendicular to the fine lamination in the country rock; each
Book Chapter

Morphology and taphonomy of an Ediacaran frond: Charnia from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland Available to Purchase

Author(s)
M. Laflamme, G. M. Narbonne, C. Greentree, M. M. Anderson
Book: The Rise and Fall of the Ediacaran Biota
Series: Geological Society, London, Special Publications
Publisher: Geological Society of London
Published: 01 January 2007
DOI: 10.1144/SP286.17
EISBN: 9781862395343
... of Newfoundland Canada. ( b ) Composite stratigraphic section, indicating stratigraphic ranges of C. masoni , C. wardi , and C. antecedens . U–Pb dates from Dunning in Benus (1988) and Bowring et al. (2003) . Complete specimens of Charnia with its basal attachment bulb also preserved...
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View PDF for content titled, Morphology and taphonomy of an Ediacaran frond: <span class="search-highlight">Charnia</span> from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland
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Abstract The Ediacaran frond Charnia , known mainly from fragmentary leaf-like fronds from around the world, is represented by completely preserved specimens with holdfasts in the Mistaken Point biota of Newfoundland. Previous reconstructions of Charnia from two-dimensional impressions were significantly oversimplified, resulting in three-dimensional reconstructions which highlighted a sheet-like morphology. Overlapping relationships and internal structures are rarely (if ever) preserved, and only through detailed photography together with both landmark and traditional morphometric analyses of numerous complete Charnia specimens can the preservational biases be removed. Charnia is reinterpreted here as having a series of individual overlapping primary branches attached to an internal central stalk, and with individual branches constrained by an internal, organic skeleton and/or attachments between adjacent branches. Three species, C. masoni Ford 1958 , C. wardi Narbonne &amp; Gehling 2003 , and C. antecedens sp. nov. can be distinguished on the basis of length/width ratios and the degree of attachment of adjacent branches. Morphological, taphonomical, and ecological studies at Mistaken Point imply that Charnia was a sessile, epibenthic frond that fed from suspension in this deep-water volcaniclastic setting. Evolution of more rigorous connections between the primary branches allowed Charnia to migrate into more turbulent, shallower-water habitats by the late Ediacaran.