Ediacaran biota
Sign in to saveAlso known as Ediacara biota, Vendozoa
enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sessile organisms that lived during the Ediacaran Period (ca. 635–542 Mya)
Wikidata facts
- Subclass of
- biota
- Named after
- Ediacara Hills
- Image
- DickinsoniaCostata.jpg
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- Commons category
- Ediacaran biota
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via Wikidata · CC0
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Encyclopedic overview
A diorama of the macroscopic organisms of the Avalon assemblage at the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History.
The Ediacaran (/ˌiːdiˈækərən/ EE-dee-ACK-ər-ən; formerly Vendian) biota is a taxonomic period classification that consists of all life forms that were present on Earth during the Ediacaran Period (c. 635–538.8 Mya). 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.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “Ediacaran biota” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.