Australia: The Land Where Time Began

A biography of the Australian continent 

The taxonomy of the Ediacaran Fauna is likely to remain in flux for some time. A number of fossil specimens have been given 2 or more names. There is also disagreement about which taxonomic group some specimens should be assigned to. Some specimens were originally thought to be jellyfish, but have now been recognised as the holdfast of sessile frondose species. Some species may also be different stages in the life cycle of other species.

Phylum: Trilobozoa fedonkin 1985

        Albumaresidae Fedonkin 1985

            Albumares Fedonkin 1976

            Anfesta (Anafesta) Fedonkin 1984

Phylum: Proarticulata

    Vendiamorpha

        Vendiidae

            Vendia sokolovi

            V. rachiata

            Paravendia janae

            Karakhtia nessovi

            Podolomirus mirus

    Dipleurozoa

        Dickinsonidae        

• Dickinsonia brachina Holotype Australia
• Dickinsonia costata Dickinsonia costata Australia, Russia, Ukraine. material from the Ediacaran Hills site in South Australia in the Natural History Museum, Oxford, has found that all the characteristics of the Dickinsonia can be explained by the hypothesis that its body was based on a simple hydraulic system, such as that found in coelenterates where movement is achieved by changes in turgor pressure in the body
• "Dickinsonia elongata" Australia
• Dickinsonia lissa Australia
• "Dickinsonia minima Holotype Australia
• Dickinsonia rex Holotype Australia
• "Dickinsonia spriggi" Holotype Australia
• Dickinsonia tenuis Australia, Russia, Ukraine
• Epibaion axiferus Holotype Russia
• Windermeria aikeni

    Cephalozoa

        Yorgiidae

            Yorgia waggoneri

        Sprigginidae

Phylum: Trilobozoa. Some authorities have assigned the Trilobozoa to a class of Cnidaria.

        Albumaresidae

            Albumares brunae

            Anabarites

            Anfesta stankovskii Fedonkin 1984 A trilobozoan, close relative of Tribrachidium heraldicum 18 mm diameter, 3-lobed, circular shape. Arkhangelsk Region, White Sea, northern Russia. Wikipedia

            Rugoconites

            Tribrachidium heraldicum

            Vendocondularia

            Ventogyrus

Sources & Further reading

The Rise of Animals evolution and diversification of the kingdom Animalia, Mikhail A Fodonkin, James G, Gehling, Kathleen Grey, Guy M. Narbonne, Patricia Vickers-Rich, Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, 2007

Links

• Introduction to the Ediacaran Fauna
• Ediacaran genera

• Ediacaran Era
• Ediacaran Hills
• Ediacaran Fauna
• Ediacaran Fauna Distribution
• Ediacaran Fauna Distribution by Country
• Ediacaran Fauna Taxonomy
• Ediacaran Species
• Australian Age of Dinosaurs