Palaeoplatoda

Palaeoplatoda is a genus from the Ediacaran biota. It is a soft-bodied organism with a segmented body that resembles Dickinsonia, another Ediacaran organism.

Palaeoplatoda
Temporal range: Late Ediacaran, around 558–555 Ma
↓
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Proarticulata
Class:
Dipleurozoa
Family:
Dickinsodiiae
Genus:
Palaeoplatoda Fedonkin, 1979
Species:
P. segmentata Fedonkin, 1979

Description

Palaeoplatoda has a leaf-like, segmented body, that is similar to Dickinsonia, but with a narrower middle and more curved frame. Its body is 7 centimeters long and 3 centimeters wide, with each of the segments measuring about 0.06 centimeters in length.[1][2] Also, Palaeoplatoda has a body with a convex shape and is bilaterally symmetric.[3] This species has high elasticity due to its irregular, deformed body margins.[2] On its ventral side, one can see thin ridges that generally diverge from the center and all curve in a similar direction.[3]

Diversity

The only known species of Palaeoplatoda is Palaeplatoda segmentata.[1]

Discovery

Mikhail A. Fedonkin discovered and described P. segmentata in 1979. The discovery was made near the Syuz’ma river in the Onega peninsula in the White Sea Region of Russia. The fossil outcrop is interstratified sandstone and is a part of the Valdai unit of the Verkhova formation.[1][4]

Distribution

Most Palaeoplatoda specimens are found in the White Sea region of Russia. Specifically, 12 specimens were found on the coastal shore of the Verkhovka formation, near the Syuz’ma River.[1][5] Palaeoplatoda specimens found in the White Sea region are found in thick channelized, interstratified sandstone layers and in high-energy channel systems.[4] Other specimens have been identified in the Halkal Shale unit in Bhim Basin, India.[6]

See also

References
  1. Fedonkin, M. A. (1979). "Paleoichnology of Precambrian and Early Cambrian". In Sokolov, B. S. (ed.). Paleontology of Precambrian and Early Cambrian (in Russian). Leningrad: USSR Academy of Sciences. pp. 183–192.
  2. Palij, P. M.; Posti, E.; Fedonkin, M. A. (2009). "Soft-bodied metazoa and trace fossils of Vendian and Lower Cambrian". In Keller, B. M.; Rozanov, A. Y. (eds.). Upper Precambrian and Cambrian Paleontology of East-European Platform (in Russian). Moscow: Russian Academy of Sciences. pp. 49–82.
  3. Fedonkin, M. A. (2007). The rise of animals : evolution and diversification of the kingdom animalia. James G. Gehling, Kathleen Grey, Guy M. Narbonne, and Patricia Vickers-Rich. Baltimore, Md.: Johns Hopkins University Press. ISBN 9780801886799. OCLC 85162342.
  4. Grazhdankin, Dima (2004). "Patterns of distribution in the Ediacaran biotas: facies versus biogeography and evolution". Paleobiology. 30 (2): 203–221. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2004)030<0203:podite>2.0.co;2.
  5. Fedonkin, M. A.; Vickers-Rich, P.; Swalla, B. J.; Trusler, P.; Hall, M. (2012). "A new metazoan from the Vendian of the White Sea, Russia, with possible affinities to the ascidians". Paleontological Journal. 46 (1): 1–11. doi:10.1134/s0031030112010042. ISSN 0031-0301.
  6. Moitra, A. K.; Kumar, P. A.; Das Sarma, D. A. (2000). "A review of chronological status of Chuaria-Tawuia assemblage: A case study of Bhim Basin, India". Geological Survey of India. 55: 163–168.
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