Frondophyllas

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Frondophyllas
One of the F. grandis founded at Newfoundland, Canada.jpg
A sketch of Frondophyllas published in the Journal of Paleontology by a student at Michigan State University.
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum:† Petalonamae
Clade:† Rangeomorpha
Genus:† Frondophyllas
Species:
†F. grandis
Binomial name
†Frondophyllas grandis
Bamforth & Narbonne, 2009

Frondophyllas [1] is an extinct, monotypic animal genus in the clade Rangeomorpha . It was found at the Mistaken Point on the Avalon Peninsula in Newfoundland, Canada in 2008 by Bamforth and Anderson. [2] The single species is Frondophyllas grandis and as of 2021 only two specimens have been discovered. Both specimens are incomplete, but one extends to one meter long, making it one of the largest Ediacaran macrofossils. The species name: grandis, comes from its size, and the genus name: Frondophyllas means "frond with leaves". The organism has a base structure with numerous fronds attached to it. It is the only Ediacaran organism to have distinct leaflets. Evidence suggests that F. grandis may have been tethered to the seafloor and used these leaflets to "filter feed", or live off nutrients provided by a current. One of the reasons fossils of this species are so rare is because it was a soft-bodied organism. It is believed that F. grandis was preserved because it was caught beneath quickly solidifying volcanic ash. Many of the Mistaken Point fossils were preserved this way. [3]

Contents

Morphology, Anatomy, & Behavior

The F. grandis has multibranching that differs from the other Rangeomorphs that have been discovered. They have fond-like leaflets that are flexible that were able to be preserved in the fossilization process. They were benthic animals that lived in a deep-sea environment with other taxa that were founded during this time. It was suggested that they eat either small organisms that would pass by or that they would filter feed. The fossil is the only Ediacaran fossil that is fond-like and has multiple leaf-bearing branches of its kind. It is also one of the longest fossils ever found during the Ediacaran period with a 1m long specimen found. [4]

Method of Fossilization

The Frondophyllas, like many other fossils found in the Avalon Peninsula, was preserved by solidified volcanic ash. Within the silicified mudstone-volcanic ash, we can see the soft-bodied organisms being well preserved. Evidence suggests that during this preservation event, the volcanic ash created a mold of the organism when it fell onto the sea floor. Although well preserved, both fossils found were incomplete with a broken central rod. [4] [2]

Distribution & Paleoenvironment

Founded in the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada, the F. grandis was discovered in the Briscal Fm in Bristy Cove. The depositional environment of Mistaken Point consists of silicified mudstones-volcanic ash at 575-560Ma. This environment had indications of having a deep-sea environment at the time that the F. grandis was alive, also indicating that it was a benthic animal. [4]

Related Research Articles

<i>Charnia</i> Genus of frond-like lifeforms

Charnia is a genus of frond-like lifeforms belonging to the Ediacaran biota with segmented, leaf-like ridges branching alternately to the right and left from a zig-zag medial suture. The genus Charnia was named for Charnwood Forest in Leicestershire, England, where the first fossilised specimen was found. Charnia is significant because it was the first Precambrian fossil to be recognized as such.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangeomorph</span> Form taxon of frondose Ediacaran fossils

The rangeomorphs are a form taxon of frondose Ediacaran fossils that are united by a similarity to Rangea. Some researchers, such as Pflug and Narbonne, suggest that a natural taxon Rangeomorpha may include all similar-looking fossils. Rangeomorphs appear to have had an effective reproductive strategy, based on analysis of the distribution pattern of Fractofusus misrai, which consisted of sending out a waterborne asexual propagule to a distant area, and then spreading rapidly from there, just as plants today spread by stolons or runners.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rangea</span> Fossil taxon

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

<i>Bradgatia</i> Genus of rangeomorphs

Bradgatia linfordensis is a bush-like Ediacaran fossil. It consists of six or more fronds radiating from a central anchor point at the base. It superficially resembles a compressed cabbage in appearance, although in reality it had a more intricate, fractal mode of organisation. When multiple fossils are found together they are regularly spaced out rather than randomly distributed. It dominates the ecosystem at 8 to 22 cm above the mud surface at the bottom the sea where it grew. It was over-towered by Charnia and Charniodiscus which grew nearby.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Thectardis</span> Member of the Ediacaran biota

Thectardis avalonensis is a triangular-shaped member of the Ediacaran biota, dating from 574 to 565 million years ago. The organism took the form of an elongated cone with a central depression, and its apex was anchored to the substrate.

<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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Ediacaran biota</span> 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 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. The term "Ediacara biota" has received criticism from some scientists due to its alleged inconsistency, arbitrary exclusion of certain fossils, and inability to be precisely defined.

<i>Pectinifrons</i> Extinct organism

Pectinifrons was a rangeomorph, a member of the Ediacara biota found at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland.

<i>Fractofusus misrai</i> Frondose Ediacaran fossil

Fractofusus misrai is an Ediacaran fossil discovered in 1967 by S.B. Misra at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, which has since become the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. It was named after Professor Misra in 2007. It represents a frondose rangeomorph.

<i>Eoandromeda</i> Species of Ediacaran animal

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>Primocandelabrum</i> Genus of frond fossils

Primocandelabrum is a genus of rangeomorph known from the Avalon-type Ediacaran biota. It makes up the brunt of some bedding plane assemblages. Primocandelabrum was described by Hofmann, O'Brien, and King in 2008.

Avalofractus abaculus is a frond-like rangeomorph fossil described from the Ediacaran of the Trepassey Formation, Spaniard's Bay, Newfoundland.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mistaken Point Formation</span>

The Mistaken Point Formation is a geologic formation in Newfoundland and Labrador. It is recognized as a Lagerstätte preserving fossils dating back to the Ediacaran period. It contains a stratum dated to 565 ± 3 million years ago.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fermeuse Formation</span>

The Fermeuse Formation is a fossil-bearing Ediacaran geologic formation in Newfoundland.

<i>Parviscopa</i> Genus of frondose

Parviscopa is a genus of frondose forms characterized in 2008 based on specimens from Newfoundland, Canada. Parviscopa is a member of the Ediacaran biota, and is more specifically part of the Avalon type assemblage, which is from the older part of the Ediacaran and is characterized by deep water deposits.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Frondose</span> Property of organism shaped like a frond

Frondosity is the property of an organism that normally flourishes with fronds or leaf-like structures.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Petalonamae</span> Proposed extinct group of animals

The petalonamids (Petalonamae) are an extinct group of archaic animals typical of the Ediacaran biota, also called frondomorphs, dating from approximately 635 million years ago to 516 million years ago. They are benthic and motionless animals, that have the shape of leaves, fronds (frondomorphic), feathers or spindles and were initially considered algae, octocorals or sea pens. It is now believed that there are no living descendants of the group, which shares a probable relation to the Ediacaran animals known as Vendozoans.

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

Trepassia is a 579 million-year-old fossil of Ediacaran rangeomorph. It was first discovered by Guy M. Narbonne, a professor at Queen's University in Ontario, Canada and colleagues in 2009. Three years later, Martin D. Brasier added additional description to Trepassia. The generic name is taken from the French word, trépassés, which translates to "those that have departed forever" and honors the Trepassey community in Newfoundland. It was originally described as Charnia wardi; it was referred under this synonym in a 2016 paper.

<i>Hapsidophyllas</i> Ediacaran rangeomorph fossil Hapsidophyllas flexibilis

Hapsidophyllas is a rare Ediacaran rangeomorph fossil found at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, Canada. It was first identified by Emily Bamforth and Guy Narbonne in 2009. Its name comes from the Greek words for “a network of leaves.” Because its characteristic flexible leaflet structure is dissimilar to other known rangeomorphs, Bamforth and Narbonne describe it as a new rangeomorph form, called hapsidophyllid. The only other known hapsidophyllid is the Ediacaran frond Frondophyllas grandis, which shares the network-like configuration of leaflets seen in Hapsidophyllas. Currently, the Hapsidophyllas flexibilis holotype resides in its type locality in the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, and a cast of the specimen is on display at the Royal Ontario Museum in Toronto, Canada.

References

  1. ↑ Clapham, Matthew E.; Narbonne, Guy M.; Gehling, James G. (2003). "Paleoecology of the oldest known animal communities: Ediacaran assemblages at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland". Paleobiology. 29 (4): 527–544. doi:10.1666/0094-8373(2003)029<0527:POTOKA>2.0.CO;2. ISSN   0094-8373. S2CID   45514650.
  2. 1 2 Bamforth, Emily (July 2008). "MULTIBRANCHED RANGEOMORPHS FROM THE EDIACARAN MISTAKEN POINT ASSEMBLAGE, NEWFOUNDLAND, CANADA" (PDF).
  3. ↑ Bamforth, Emily L.; Narbonne, Guy M. (2009). "New ediacaran rangeomorphs from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, Canada". Journal of Paleontology. 83 (6): 897–913. doi:10.1666/09-047.1. ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   86227242.
  4. 1 2 3 Bamforth, Emily L.; Narbonne, Guy M. (November 2009). "New ediacaran rangeomorphs from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, Canada". Journal of Paleontology. 83 (6): 897–913. doi:10.1666/09-047.1. ISSN   0022-3360. S2CID   86227242.
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