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Ernietta from the late Edicaran Nama Group, Namibia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  09 September 2016

David A. Elliott ,
Peter W. Trusler ,
Guy M. Narbonne ,
Patricia Vickers-Rich ,
Nicole Morton ,
Mike Hall ,
Karl H. Hoffmann  and
Gabi I.C. Schneider
David A. Elliott
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
Peter W. Trusler
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
Guy M. Narbonne
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada, 〈[email protected]〉
Patricia Vickers-Rich
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
Nicole Morton
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
Mike Hall
Affiliation:
School of Geosciences, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
Karl H. Hoffmann
Affiliation:
Namibian Geological Survey, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Windhoek, Namibia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
Gabi I.C. Schneider
Affiliation:
Namibian Geological Survey, Ministry of Mines and Energy, Windhoek, Namibia, 〈[email protected]〉 〈[email protected]〉
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Abstract

Ernietta plateauensis Pflug, 1966 is the type species of the Erniettomorpha, an extinct clade of Ediacaran life. It was likely a gregarious, partially infaunal organism. Despite its ecological and taxonomic significance, there has not been an in-depth systematic description in the literature since the original description fell out of use. A newly discovered field site on Farm Aar in southern Namibia has yielded dozens of specimens buried in original life position. Mudstone and sandstone features associated with the fossils indicate that organisms were buried while still exposed to the water column rather than deposited in a flow event. Ernietta plateauensis was a sac-shaped erniettomorph with a body wall constructed from a double layer of tubes. It possessed an equatorial seam lying perpendicular to the tubes. The body is asymmetrical on either side of this seam. The tubes change direction along the body length and appear to be constricted together in the dorsal part of the organism.

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Articles
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 90 , Issue 6 , November 2016 , pp. 1017 - 1026
Copyright
Copyright © 2016, The Paleontological Society 

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