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Extended Data Fig. 2 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Extended Data Fig. 2 | Constrained phylogenetic topologies. (a) 'Ctenosis' (ctenophores as sister to all other animals) constrained. (b) Living cnidarian inter-relationships constrained against recent molecular phylogenies. All fossils were allowed to fully explore treespace under both set of constraints. Auroralumina is recovered as a cnidarian in both cases. Fossil cnidarians are shown in bold and the position of Auroralumina highted with with a silhouette. Scale bar for branch lengths is in units of expected number of substitutions per site.

Extended Data Fig. 1 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Extended Data Fig. 1 | Unconstrained phylogenetic topologies presented in full. (a) Excluding the fossil taxa Namacalathus and Eolympia, Antipathes and those taxa that posses uninformative character states after safe taxonomic reduction (b) including all taxa. Auroralumina is recovered as a cnidarian in both trees. Fossil cnidarians are shown in bold and the position of Auroralumina is highlighted with a silhouette. Scale bar for branch lengths is in units of expected number of substitutions per site.

Fig. 4 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Fig. 4 | The Phylogenetic position of Auroralumina attenboroughii. a, Artistic reconstruction of Auroralumina. b, Bayesian phylogenetic analysis of animals (348 characters, 108 taxa, mk + gamma model) incorporating Auroralumina attenboroughii. Numbers indicate posterior probabilities and scale bar shows expected number of substitutions per site. Fossils are indicated by dagger symbols. Raw polyp width is shown on the right, with the mean size shown for the extant groups sampled (for logged polyp size graph, see Extended Data Fig. 3). Branch length shown. Maximum polyp width data also shown in Extended Data Fig. 3. NA indicates where ancestral state values were inapplicable because they were derived from characters recovered as absent.

Fig. 5 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Fig. 5 | Tubular morphospace occupation across the Ediacaran–Cambrian transition. a–c, The sum of variances (a), sum of ranges (b) and the median of centroids (c) for tubular morphospace occupation. The sum of variances examines the evenness of morphospace occupation, the sum of ranges examines the extent of morphospace occupation in all computed dimensions and the median of centroids measures the clustering of taxa around a central point. Adding Auroralumina increases the sum of variances, ranges and (marginally) the median of centroids compared to Ediacaran morphospace excluding Auroralumina. The boxes represent the interquartile range, with black line showing the median. The whiskers indicate minimum (Q1 − 1.5 × IQR) and maximum (Q3 + 1.5 × IQR), excluding outliers. Outliers are shown in black squares. d, Morphospace occupation with convex hulls showing Ediacaran morphospace occupation with and without Auroralumina and Cambrian morphospace occupation. Black circles represent Ediacaran taxa and white circles represent Cambrian taxa.

Fig. 3 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Fig. 3 | Details of the distal anatomy of Auroralumina attenboroughii (GSM 106119) and the mode of preservation. a, Left-hand goblet, with dense crown of overlapping tentacles and conspicuous corner sulcus (now a ridge) and band (now a trench) near the aperture rim. The margins of the fossil are well-defined and the tentacle crown texturally and topographically distinct from the smooth periderm. b, Interpretative drawing of region in a. c, Right-hand goblet, principally preserving only one face but with a second partially visible where its edge (and intervening corner sulcus) was twisted into the plane of preservation, towards the right-hand side. d, Interpretative drawing of region in c. Specimen photographed under low-angle light and interpretations based on features revealed by varying the lighting direction. Scale bar in a and c, 5 cm. e,f, Preservation of the goblet and tentacles of A. attenboroughii. e, Apical view of the two goblets showing how their different orientations at the time of burial generated different views of the tetraradial structure in the fossil in lateral aspect. Schematic goblets (labelled 1 and 2) are representative of the two goblets in Auroralumina. The interpretative drawing of Auroralumina is also shown, with goblets labelled 1 and 2 next to a conulariid cnidarian (OUMNH DU17), also inferred to have been tetraradial in life, to illustrate analogous preservation of multiple faces in lateral view. f, Hypothetical arrangement of the tentacles in oral view in vivo and probable arrangement of tentacles in lateral view at time of burial along with proposed preservational pathway of the tentacles. 1: Tentacles, mostly overlapping, buried by sediment. 2: Partial retraction and deflation postmortem. 3: Decay and casting of the resultant space by sediment from below.

Fig. 2 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Fig. 2 | Details of the proximal part of the holotype specimen of Auroralumina (GSM 106119). a, Interpretative drawing of entire specimen, with area shown in b–d outlined. b, Base of the preserved specimen, showing progressive cover of the left-hand goblet towards the bifurcation point and the mostly concealed proximal part of the right-hand goblet. The margins of the fossil in the concealed area are impressed—albeit weakly—through the sediment and the area underlain by the skeleton is defined by a change in sediment texture. Fossil photographed under low-angle light. c, Interpretative overlay, generated by combining observations made under multiple lighting directions. d, Interpretative drawing from c, showing symmetrical bifurcation of the two goblets and probable broken proximal termination of the specimen. Key in d covers all annotations in this figure. Scale bar in b and c, 5 cm.

Fig. 1 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Fig. 1 | Holotype specimen of Auroralumina attenboroughii. a, In context alongside rangeomorph fossils preserved in a comparable manner and distinct from the textured background substrate (GSM 105874); imaged under low-angle light. b,c, Plastotype (GSM 106119) (b) and interpretative drawing (c) showing the differentiated stalk and cup of each goblet, well-defined corner sulci (now ridges) and texturally distinct tentacles. The proximal portions of both goblets, including their mutual branching point, are concealed beneath a thin cover of sediment but are nonetheless discernible as topographically and texturally distinct tracts (dashed grey line); see Fig. 2 for more information. RTI file available76.

Extended Data Fig. 3 in A crown-group cnidarian from the Ediacaran of Charnwood Forest, UK

Extended Data Fig. 3 | Maximum polyp width in cnidarians. Maximum polyp width plotted for extant cnidarian Classes and fossil groups. Auroralumina has a much larger polyp width than any other sampled medusozoan. Maximum conulariid polyp width is also larger than any sampled living medusozoan. Source data available with manuscript.

opencc-by-4.0Dec 2013View details →

Fig. 1. A in Alternative interpretations of some earliest Ediacaran fossils from China

Fig. 1. A new Lantian fossil illustrated by Yuan et al. (2011: fig. 3E), ~632.5 6 0.5 Myr, southern Anhui, Province, South China. A. Specimen of Type A (NIGPAS−LT−295) showing corner crown consisting of a single ribbon. B. Line drawing B apical angle showing an alternative interpretation of this fossil as a conulariid or conulariid−like cnidarian.

Fig. 5. Specimen NGS−F−V−258 in New evidence on the taphonomic context of the Ediacaran Pteridinium

Fig. 5. Specimen NGS−F−V−258 collected on Farm Aar. Multiple membrane−like surfaces are visible. These are interpreted as flexible organic structures, see discussion for more information.

Fig. 7 in New evidence on the taphonomic context of the Ediacaran Pteridinium

Fig. 7. Membrane−like structures preserved in association with Pteridinium fossils. A. Block number NGS−F−V−172, note the pattern resembling a repeated series of segments around the outer edge of the specimen (towards the top of the photograph). B. A membrane−like structure on block NGS−F−V−166, note the larger structures resembling Pteridinium segments in the upper left of the figure.

Fig. 4. A in New evidence on the taphonomic context of the Ediacaran Pteridinium

Fig. 4. A. Side view of a section bearing dish structures. The top of the bed is toward the top of the photograph. B. Pteridinium fossil embedded within dish structures, indicating that Pteridinium fossils formed a component of consolidating sediment, underlying rapidly deposited beds. Both from the top of the Lower Kliphoek on Farm Aar (see Figs. 1 and 2).

Fig. 6 in New evidence on the taphonomic context of the Ediacaran Pteridinium

Fig. 6. Membrane−like structures preserved in association with Pteridinium fossils. Block number NGS−F−V−174. A. Specimen showing the membrane−like surfaces running parallel to a Pteridinium specimen. B. Map of features. Compare to A and C; note the non−lineated membrane−like surface immediately adjacent to the surface bearing fine parallel lineations. C. The same specimen rotated to focus on the membrane−like structure. Note the consistency of lineations.

Fig. 3 in New evidence on the taphonomic context of the Ediacaran Pteridinium

Fig. 3. Bed of Pteridinium fossils underlain by a scour−and−fill structure. Lamina− tions are visible in the underlying sediment, cross−cut by the material containing Pteridinium fossils. From the top of the Lower Kliphoek on Farm Aar (see Figs. 1 and 2).

Fig. 2 in New evidence on the taphonomic context of the Ediacaran Pteridinium

Fig. 2. Generalised stratigraphic section of the Nama Group south of Osis (left) and the uppermost part of the Kliphoek Member on Farm Aar (right). Dates refer to U−Pb zircon dates of ash beds, after Saylor et al. (1998). † U−Pb zircon date from an ash bed in the early Cambrian Nomtsas Formation (Grotzinger et al. 1995), which cuts unconformably into limestone of the upper Schwarzrand subgroup. ‡ U−Pb zircon date from an ash bed in the Hoogland Member of the Kuibis Subgroup, which outcrops north of Osis (Grotzinger et al. 1995). Trends in δ13C suggest that this postdates deposition in the Kuibis Subgroup south of Osis (Saylor et al. 2005).

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Data for: Frond orientations with independent current indicators demonstrate the reclining rheotropic mode of life of several Ediacaran rangeomorph taxa

Fossils from the deep-sea Ediacaran biotas of Newfoundland are among the oldest architecturally complex soft-bodied macroorganisms on Earth. Most organisms in the Mistaken Point-type biotas of Avalonia — particularly the fractal-branching frondose Rangeomorpha — have been traditionally interpreted as living erect within the water column during life. However, due to the scarcity of documented physical sedimentological proxies associated with fossiliferous beds, Ediacaran paleocurrents have been inferred in some instances from the preferential orientation of fronds. This calls into question the relationship between frond orientation and paleocurrents. In this study, we present an integrated approach from a newly described fossiliferous surface (the "Melrose Surface" in the Fermeuse Formation at Melrose, on the southern portion of the Catalina Dome in the Discovery UNESCO Global Geopark) combining: (1) physical sedimentological evidence for paleocurrent direction in the form of climbing ripple cross lamination, and (2) a series of statistical analyses based on modified polythetic and monothetic clustering techniques reflecting the circular nature of the recorded orientation of Fractofusus misrai specimens. This study demonstrates the reclining rheotropic mode of life of the Ediacaran rangeomorph taxon Fractofusus misrai and presents preliminary inferences suggesting a similar mode of life for Bradgatia sp. and Pectinifrons abyssalis based on qualitative evidence. These results advocate for the consideration of an alternative conceptual hypothesis for the position of life of Ediacaran organisms in which they are interpreted as having lived reclined on the seafloor, in the position that they are preserved.

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Data from: Species of Dickinsonia Sprigg from the Ediacaran of South Australia

An iconic member of the Ediacara Biota, Dickinsonia Sprigg is one of few such taxa with multiple species. Here we use gaussian finite mixture models to assess the validity of species distinctions for this genus. Our results indicate that the five described species of Dickinsonia from the Ediacara Member, South Australia are better classified as two based on multiple approaches. Two different methods for dimension reduction both provide strong support for two groups, with overlapping but distinct mixture models. The variable selection method produces the most biologically realistic clusters, indicating that the two species can be primarily differentiated based on the greater relative size of the anteriormost unit of Dickinsonia costata Sprigg compared with Dickinsonia tenuis Glaessner & Wade. Despite differences in aspect ratio and number of modules, both species regulated growth to maintain overall shape. The greater likelihood of preservation of a midline and an irregular outer margin in D. tenuis highlights differential structural integrity and flexibility. Co-occurrence in the Ediacara Member indicates that both species occupied the same environments and temporal distribution. Smaller maximum and average size, combined with higher abundance of D. costata, may suggest a comparatively shorter lifespan and increased rates of reproduction.

opencc-zeroJan 2023View details →