Atakia

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Atakia
Temporal range: 571–551  Ma
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Genus:
Atakia
Type species
Atakia vermiformis

Atakia is a genus of animals that were members of the Ediacaran fauna, which existed from 635 to 541 million years ago. Discovered in Ukraine in 1979 by Palij, the genus Atakia are soft-bodied Metazoan cast in Vendian sediments found on the Eastern European Platform formations. [1] Oftentimes the genus Atakia is used as a comparison to other genera, because very little information is known about this genus. [2] There is a discontinuity in identification because the genus Fustiglyphus Vialov is debated to be the same as Atakia but found in different regions. [3]

Contents

Morphology, anatomy, and behavior

There is little information on the morphology, anatomy, and behavior on the genus Atakia, but there is a suggestion that Fustiglyphus may be misidentified to be Atakia. [3] The two genera are compared with one another in Ivantsov et al., 2018. Within this paper, Atakia is described as having “disc-shaped casts with an adjoining worm-like body,” [3] while Fustiglyphus has “horizontal cylindrical traces of a different length have more or less regular bead-like expansions.” [3] In short, both of these genera are similar in the association with bead-like and rounded morphology with “tadpole-like prints”. [1] The worm has a ratio of approximately 1:3 of head to tail where the tail part has a segmented structure. [2] There have also been no traces of movement from around the structures of Atakia, so it is assumed that the prints are planktonic. [2]

Muscente et al., 2019 used COPRA (community overlap propagation algorithm) to describe the Atakia genus and found they have a morphogroup most like porifera (putative). [4]

With poor preservation, it’s difficult to say which end of Atakia specimen is its head and which is its tail. [2]

Fossilization

The mode of preservation found for Atakia and related species according to COPRA (community overlap propagation algorithm) is secondary mineralization of fossils and carbonaceous compressions. [4] Atakia has very poor preservation that also hinders any identifying information about the biogenic nature of the specimen. [3]

Distribution and paleoenvironment

The specimens of Atakia were found in the Vendian sediments in the formations of the Eastern European Platform, specifically the Urals and Podolia. [1] [3] From matching facies, a paleoenvironment where specimens were found was determined to be a shallow sea in a clastic lower shoreface. [4] This specific genera are categorized as Ediacara-type fossils from 571 to 551 Ma. [4] Based on stratigraphic index fossils, Atakia thrived in the Ediacara biota biozone, but within less than five stratigraphic formations. [4] In specific, some specimens were found in a clay siltstone substrate. [1] [2]

The paper by Muscente et al., 2019 applied COPRA (community overlap propagation algorithm) to the Ediacaran genera to detect four overlapping modules. [4] The largest cluster, called the White Sea cluster, consists of bilateralomorph, dickinsoniomorph, and kimberellomorph genera. [4] The Avalon module primarily consists of rangeomorphs. [4] The Nama cluster includes Ediacaran-type fossils and carbonate compressions. [4] The last module is the Miaohe module, which primarily have filament, strap, and ribbon shaped characteristics. [4] All of these module can overlap with each other to include more groups of taxa. Specifically, the Atakia taxon lies in between the Nama and White Sea cluster. [4] Within this group, only fourteen genera are found, which shows the sheer scarcity of Atakia and any related genera (Horodyskia, Helanoichnus, Fusosquamula, Saarina, Ausia, etc). [4]

The paper by Yevheniia (2018) describes the geology of the sequences Atakia and other genera were found in. These genera were found in the Yarishivska Formation, which consists of three sedimentary sequences, named Bernashevsky, Bronnitsky, and Zinkovsky. [5] The Bernashevsky sequence is 15-17 meters thick primarily consisting of sandstones 10-12 meters thick. [5] The base of the sequence includes layers of tuffaceous argillites and bentonite. [5] Some major mineral constituents include mica and kaolinite in the bentonite layers. [5]

Other notable characteristics

The identification of the Atakia genus is debatable as it closely matches and suspected to be the same as the genus Fustiglyphus Vialov, which are found in the same regions as Atakia, but are scattered throughout different stratigraphic formations. [3]

Related Research Articles

<i>Dickinsonia</i> Extinct genus of early animals

Dickinsonia is an extinct genus of basal animal that lived during the late Ediacaran period in what is now Australia, China, India, Russia and Ukraine. The individual Dickinsonia typically resembles a bilaterally symmetrical ribbed oval. Its affinities are presently unknown; its mode of growth is consistent with a stem-group bilaterian affinity, though some have suggested that it belongs to the fungi, or even an "extinct kingdom". The discovery of cholesterol molecules in fossils of Dickinsonia lends support to the idea that Dickinsonia was an animal.

<i>Ausia fenestrata</i> Genus of marine filter feeders

Ausia fenestrata is a curious Ediacaran period fossil represented by only one specimen 5 cm long from the Nama Group, a Vendian to Cambrian group of stratigraphic sequences deposited in the Nama foreland basin in central and southern Namibia. It has similarity to Burykhia from Ediacaran (Vendian) siliciclastic sediments exposed on the Syuzma River of northern Russia. This fossil is of the form of an elongate bag-like sandstone cast tapering to a cone on one end. The surface of the fossil is covered with oval depressions ("windows") regularly spaced over the surface in the manner of concentric/parallel rows. The taxonomic identity of Ausia is unresolved.

<i>Kimberella</i> Genus of molluscs

Kimberella is an extinct genus of bilaterian known only from rocks of the Ediacaran period. The slug-like organism fed by scratching the microbial surface on which it dwelt in a manner similar to the gastropods, although its affinity with this group is contentious.

<i>Tribrachidium</i> Extinct genus of invertebrates

Tribrachidium heraldicum is a tri-radially symmetric fossil animal that lived in the late Ediacaran (Vendian) seas. In life, it was hemispherical in form. T. heraldicum is the best known member of the extinct group Trilobozoa.

Spriggina Extinct genus of annelid worms

Spriggina is a genus of early bilaterian animals whose relationship to living animals is unclear. Fossils of Spriggina are known from the late Ediacaran period in what is now South Australia. Spriggina floundersi is the official fossil emblem of South Australia. It has been found nowhere else. The organism reached about 3–5 centimetres (1.2–2.0 in) in length and may have been predatory. Its bottom was covered with two rows of tough interlocking plates, while one row covered its top; its front few segments fused to form a "head."

<i>Yorgia</i> Extinct species of disc-shaped organism

Yorgia waggoneri is a discoid Ediacaran organism. It has a low, segmented body consisting of a short wide "head", no appendages, and a long body region, reaching a maximum length of 25 cm (9.8 in). It is classified within the extinct animal phylum Proarticulata.

<i>Cephalonega</i> Extinct genus of invertebrates

Cephalonega stepanovi is a fossil organism from Ediacaran deposits of the Arkhangelsk Region, Russia. It was described by Mikhail A. Fedonkin in 1976

Rangea Fossil taxon

Rangea is a frond-like Ediacaran fossil with six-fold radial symmetry. It is the type genus of the rangeomorphs.

<i>Parvancorina</i>

Parvancorina is a genus of shield-shaped bilaterally symmetrical fossil animal that lived in the late Ediacaran seafloor. It has some superficial similarities with the Cambrian trilobite-like arthropods.

<i>Vendia</i> Fossil taxon

Vendia is a genus of oval-shaped, Ediacaran fossils ranging from 4.5 to 12.5 mm long. The body is completely segmented into isomers, which are arranged alternately in two rows longitudinal to the axis of the body. The larger isomers cover the smaller ones externally but the posterior ends of all the isomers remain free. The transverse elements decrease in size from anterior to posterior and are all inclined in the same direction.

<i>Swartpuntia</i> Extinct genus of Ediacaran fossil

Swartpuntia is a monospecific genus of erniettomorph from the terminal Ediacaran period, with at least three quilted, leaf-shaped petaloids — probably five or six. The petaloids comprise vertical sheets of tubes filled with sand. Swartpuntia specimens range in length from 12 to 19 cm, and in width from 11.5 to 140 cm. The margin is serrated, with a 1 mm wide groove. A 14 mm wide stem extends down the middle, tapering towards the top, and stopping 25 mm from the tip. The stem has a V shaped ornamentation on it. The original fossils were found at, and named after, the Swartpunt farm between Aus and Rosh Pinah in Namibia. The generic name comes from Swartpunt, meaning black point in reference to the colour of the rocks. The specific name germsi honours Gerard Germs, who studied the Nama formation of geological beds.

<i>Praecambridium</i> Extinct genus of trilobites

Praecambridium sigillum is an extinct organism that superficially resembles a segmented trilobite-like arthropod. It was originally described as being a trilobite-like arthropod, though the majority of experts now place it within the Proarticulata as a close relative of the much larger Yorgia. It is from the Late Ediacaran deposit of Ediacara Hills, Australia, about 555 million years ago. On average, P. sigillum had at least 5 pairs of segments, with each unit becoming progressively larger as they approach the cephalon-like head.

Ediacaran biota All organisms of the Ediacaran Period (c. 635–538.8 million years ago)

The Ediacaranbiota is a taxonomic period classification that consists of all life forms that were present on Earth during the Ediacaran Period. These were composed of enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile, organisms. Trace fossils of these organisms have been found worldwide, and represent the earliest known complex multicellular organisms.

<i>Rugoconites</i> Extinct genus of invertebrates

Rugoconites is a genus of Ediacaran biota found as fossils in the form of a circular or oval-like impression preserved in high relief, six or more centimeters in diameter. The fossils are surrounded by frills that have been interpreted as sets of tentacles. The bifurcating radial ribs, spreading from a central dome, serve to distinguish this genus from the sponge Palaeophragmodictya, and may represent the channels of the gastrovascular system. Fossils of Rugoconites have been interpreted as early sponges, although this is countered by Sepkoski et al. (2002), who interpreted the organism as a free-swimming jellyfish-like cnidarian; similar to Ovatoscutum. However, the fossil is consistently preserved as a neat circular form and its general morphology does not vary, therefore a benthic and perhaps slow-moving or sessile lifestyle is more likely. Ivantstov & Fedonkin (2002), suggest that Rugoconites may possess tri-radial symmetry and be a member of the Trilobozoa.

Vendiamorpha Extinct class of simple animals

Vendiamorpha is a class of extinct animals within the Ediacaran phylum Proarticulata.

<i>Eoandromeda</i>

Eoandromeda is an Ediacaran organism consisting of eight radial spiral arms, and known from two taphonomic modes: the standard Ediacara type preservation in Australia, and as carbonaceous compressions from the Doushantuo formation of China, where it is abundant.

<i>Andiva</i> Vendian fossil

Andiva ivantsovi is a Vendian fossil, identified to be a bilaterian triploblastic animal in the Ediacaran phylum Proarticulata, known from the Winter Coast, White Sea, Russia. It was first discovered in 1977, and described as a new species in a new genus by Mikhail Fedonkin in 2002. It lived about 555 million years ago. Fossils of Andiva also occur in South Australia. All known fossils of Andiva are external molds.

Beltanelloides is a genus of marine microorganisms, known from Vendian (Ediacaran) macrofossils and found in sedimentary rocks of the White Sea, Ukraine and the Puncoviscana Formation in Argentina. The first finding of prints of the Vendian Beltanelloides sorichevae Sokolov 1965 in the lower part of the Barakun Formation confirms the Vendian age of the Far Taiga Group, Patom Complex. This finding also raises a problem concerning the lower propagation limit of Beltanelloides sorichevae. Analyzing the character of burial of Beltanelloides podolicus, Ishchenko concluded that, at early ontogenetic stages, these organisms were free floating and, then, they probably settled down on the bottom.

Studenicia is a genus of Ediacaran fauna which is approximately 635-545 million years old. All Ediacaran fauna are considered to be invertebrate Metazoans or multicellular organisms with no backbone.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 Palij, V. M. (1979). "Soft-bodied Metazoa and trace fossils of Vendian and Lower Cambrian, in: Keller, B. M., Rozanov, A. Yu., (Eds.), Upper Precambrian and Cambrian Paleontology of East-European Platform". Nauka, Moskva: 49–82.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 Мєнасова, A. (2011). "Деякі Закономірності Вертикального Поширення Викопної Фауни Відкладів Венду Поділля". Геологія.
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Ivantsov, A. Yu. (2018). "Upper Vendian Macrofossils of Eastern Europe. Middle and Southern Ural". Borissiak Paleontological Institute and Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Muscente, A. D. (2019). "Ediacaran biozones identified with network analysis provide evidence for pulsed extinctions of early complex life". Nature Communications. 10 (1): 911. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-08837-3. PMC   6384941 . PMID   30796215.
  5. 1 2 3 4 Yevheniia, S. (2018). "Évolution des environnements sédimentaires du bassin de Podolya (Ukraine) à l'avènement des premiers métazoaires édiacariens". Géologie appliquée.
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