Ediacaran
adjective
- final time period of the Neoproterozoic; preceding the Cambrian period
Wiktionary
Pronunciation: /ɛdiˈakəɹən/
adj
Etymology: From Ediacara + -an. After the Ediacara Hills in South Australia; from an Australian Aboriginal term (details disputed). See Ediacara Hills on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- Of a geologic period within the Neoproterozoic era from about 620 to 542 million years ago.
“The widespread discoveries of fossil remains of Ediacaran aspect have generated continued excitement in respect of their possible evolutionary significance, and in terms of recent surrealistic interpretations of their morphology and inferred interrelationships (Pflug, 1970a,b, 1972a,b; Fedonkin, 1985 a,b; Gould, 1984, 1985; Seilacher, 1984, 1985, 1989; McMenamin, 1986; and Bergstrom, 1989, 1990), a reexamination of the actual fossil material is timely.”
“Swartpuntia (frondlike metazoans) and Ernietta (ribbed saclike metazoans) are part of the Ediacaran fauna.”
name
Etymology: From Ediacara + -an. After the Ediacara Hills in South Australia; from an Australian Aboriginal term (details disputed). See Ediacara Hills on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- The Ediacaran period.
“Recently, in 2004, a new geological period, the Ediacaran, was formally added to the time scale. It immediately precedes the Cambrian period, and therefore lies within the Proterozoic.”
“They became prevalent during the Ediacaran, 635 to 542 million years ago.”
noun
Etymology: From Ediacara + -an. After the Ediacara Hills in South Australia; from an Australian Aboriginal term (details disputed). See Ediacara Hills on Wikipedia.Wikipedia
- An organism that lived in the Ediacaran period.
“Many Ediacarans seem to have lived quiet lives of very limited mobility on the bottom of the sea.”