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

Geology, ISSN: 0091-7613, Vol: 38, Issue: 2, Page: 123-126
2010
  • 154
    Citations
  • 0
    Usage
  • 145
    Captures
  • 4
    Mentions
  • 0
    Social Media
Metric Options:   Counts1 Year3 Year

Metrics Details

  • Citations
    154
    • Citation Indexes
      151
    • Policy Citations
      3
      • Policy Citation
        3
  • Captures
    145
  • Mentions
    4
    • News Mentions
      3
      • News
        3
    • References
      1
      • Wikipedia
        1

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Article Description

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. © 2010 Geological Society of America.

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