Deep-Water Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) in Deep Time: The Ediacaran Fossil Ivesheadia
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Published:January 01, 2012
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CiteCitation
Marc Laflamme, James D. Schiffbauer, Guy M. Narbonne, 2012. "Deep-Water Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) in Deep Time: The Ediacaran Fossil Ivesheadia", Microbial Mats in Siliciclastic Depositional Systems Through Time, Nora Noffke, Henry Chafetz
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Abstract
The affinities of the Ediacara biota are a source of continual debate. A case can be made, however, that they represent an assortment of stem and crown group metazoans together with a large proportion of enigmatic forms that are difficult to classify and likely represent extinct multicellular evolutionary experiments. In the backdrop of these complex multicellular organisms are microbial communities, which in the absence of metazoan grazing and active bioturbating, constructed thick mat structures that dominated shallow- to deep-water paleoenvironments throughout the Mesoproterozoic and Neoproterozoic. Microbial mat communities played an important role in Ediacaran ecosystems by creating a firm...
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Microbial Mats in Siliciclastic Depositional Systems Through Time

The research field on microbial mats in siliciclastic environmental settings has greatly developed since its establishment by studies of pioneering scientists such as Gisela Gerdes, Wolfgang Krumbein, Jürgen Scheiber, David Bottjer and others. This SEPM Special Publication is the result of the SEPM Research Conference on Sandy Microbial Mats (modern and ancient), which was held in May 21-23, 2010 at Dinosaur Ridge, Denver, Colorado, USA. This volume presents peer reviewed individual case studies on microbial mats and on sedimentary structures (often called “microbially induced sedimentary structures-MISS”) that occur in modern and ancient marine and terrestrial environments. The conference brought together sedimentologists, microbiologists, and paleontologists from 30 countries and all five continents.