Ediacaran
Sign in to saveThe Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last period of the Proterozoic Eon as well as the last of the so-called "Precambrian supereon", before the beginning of the subsequent Cambrian Period marks the start of the Phanerozoic Eon, where recognizable fossil evidence of life becomes common.
AI overview
The Ediacaran is a geological period that lasted about 96 million years, ending roughly 539 million years ago, and represents the final chapter of Earth's early history before the fossil record becomes abundant. It matters because it bridges the gap between an earlier world of microscopic life and the Cambrian Period, when recognizable fossils of complex organisms become common in the geological record.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Key facts
- Geologic timespan.name
- Ediacaran
- Geologic timespan.color
- Ediacaran
- Geologic timespan.top_bar
- all time
- Geologic timespan.time_start_prefix
- ~
- Geologic timespan.image_map
- Mollweide Paleographic Map of Earth, 600 Ma (Ediacaran Period).png
- Geologic timespan.caption_map
- A map of Earth as it appeared during the mid-Ediacaran, 600 Ma
- Geologic timespan.timeline
- Ediacaran
- Geologic timespan.name_formality
- Formal
- Geologic timespan.name_accept_date
- 1990
- Geologic timespan.celestial_body
- earth
- Geologic timespan.usage
- Global (ICS)
- Geologic timespan.timescales_used
Article
10 sectionsContents
- Ediacaran vs. Vendian
- Upper and lower boundaries
- Subdivisions
- Absolute dating
- Biota
- Astronomical factors
- Documentaries
- See also
- References
- External links
The Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last period of the Proterozoic Eon as well as the last of the so-called "Precambrian supereon", before the beginning of the subsequent Cambrian Period marks the start of the Phanerozoic Eon, where recognizable fossil evidence of life becomes common.
The Ediacaran Period is named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, where trace fossils of a diverse community of previously unrecognized lifeforms (later named the Ediacaran biota) were first discovered by geologist Reg Sprigg in 1946. Its status as an official geological period was ratified in 2004 by the International Union of Geological Sciences (IUGS), making it the first new geological period declared in 120 years. Although the period took namesake from the Ediacara Hills in the Nilpena Ediacara National Park, the type section is actually located in the bed of the Enorama Creek within the Brachina Gorge in the Ikara-Flinders Ranges National Park, at , approximately southeast of the Ediacara Hills fossil site.