Veprina

Veprina Temporal range: Ediacaran, 558–553  Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N ↓
A photo of the Veprina fossil, photo taken by Fedonkin, 1980
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Cnidaria
Genus:	† Veprina Fedonkin, 1980
Species:	†V. undosa
Binomial name
†Veprina undosa Fedonkin, 1980

Veprina is a rare Ediacaran coelenterate cnidarian found on the Zimny coast of the White Sea, Russia and was first described by Mikhail Fedonkin in 1980. ^[1]

Diversity

Veprina is a monotypic genus, with its only species being V. undosa. ^{[2] [3]} One trace fossil is attributed to the species. ^[4]

Description

Veprina has an oval-shaped body, with a diameter up to 60mm in width, and consists of an outer and inner ribbed zone. The inner zone consist of ridges that may or may not have been tentacles. An elongated central depression of the body can be seen, which probably imparts a bilateral character, which possibly corresponds to the oral aperture. ^{[2] [3]}

Discovery

Veprina was discovered on the Zimny coast of the White Sea, Russia and was described by Mikhail A. Fedonkin in 1980. ^{[2] [3]}

Distribution

Besides being found in the White Sea, a trace fossil of Veprina was also found in the Varyshev Formation on the Derlo Rver bank, Mogilev – Podolsky, Ukraine. The fossil has been described as feeding and locomotion traces of Veprina. ^[4]

Ecology

Having only one complete fossil specimen discovered, this makes interpretations of the ecology of the animal difficult to interpret. ^{[2] [3]} The trace fossil discovered in Ukraine suggests that the animal itself was capable of locomotion and was probably an active feeder. ^[4]

See also

• List of Ediacaran genera
• Mikhail Fedonkin
• White Sea

References

1. Fedonkin, Mikhail A.; Gehling, James G.; Grey, Kathleen; Narbonne, Guy M.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia (March 16, 2007). The Rise of Animals: Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia. JHU Press. ISBN   9780801886799 . Retrieved June 4, 2022– via Google Books.
2. Fedonkin, M. A. (1980). "New representatives of the Precambrian coelenterates in the northern Russian platform". Paleontologicheskii Zhurnal. 5: 7–15.
3. "Systematic descriptions of Vendian metazoa". The Vendian system. Sokolov, B. S. (Boris Sergeevich), 1914-2013., Ivanovskiĭ, A. B. (Andreĭ Borisovich), Fedonkin, M. A. (Mikhail Aleksandrovich). Berlin: Springer-Verlag. 1990. pp. 86–87. ISBN   3540501428. OCLC   20490926.
4. Ivantsov, A. Y. (2015). "Atlas of macrofossils from upper Vendian and lower Cambrian of middle Dniester area and Volhynia". Upper Vendian macrofossils of Eastern Europe Middle Dniester area and Volhynia. V. P. Gritsenko, V. M. Paliy, V. A. Velіkanov, L. I. Konstantinenko, A. Sh Menasova, M. A. Fedonkin, M. A. Zakrevskaya, and E. A. Serezhnikova. Moscow. p. 113. ISBN   9785903825325. OCLC   949268086.