Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-r5fsc Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-24T01:45:37.908Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Two new Ediacaran small fronds from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2016

Sara J. Mason  and
Guy M. Narbonne
Sara J. Mason
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada 〈[email protected]〉 Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada 〈[email protected]〉
Guy M. Narbonne
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, ON K7L 3N6, Canada 〈[email protected]〉
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Small, stemmed frond fossils are common in Ediacaran-aged strata (ca. 565Ma) at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland, and many of them have previously been informally referred to as ‘dusters,’ but due to their small size and consequent relatively poor preservation, they have not yet been described taxonomically. Two new genera are herein defined on the basis of their unique constructions: the mop-like rangeomorph Plumeropriscum hofmanni new genus new species, and a flabellate, lobate frond Broccoliforma alta new genus new species. Plumeropriscum hofmanni n. gen., n. sp. has a three-dimensional petalodium structure with numerous primary branches attached at the base of the petalodium rather than at a central axis. Broccoliforma alta n. gen., n. sp. lacks visible branching, and instead has a lobate morphology with a petalodium that is at least superficially similar to the ivesheadiomorph Blackbrookia. Several other previously described taxa had also been included under the umbrella of ‘dusters.’ Collectively, these taxa show that the low epibenthic tier that small fronds occupied was more diverse than previously realized, with multiple taxa converging on the stemmed, small-frond body plan.

Type
Articles
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 90 , Issue 2 , March 2016 , pp. 183 - 194
Copyright
Copyright © 2016, The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Anderson, M.M., and Conway Morris, S., 1982, A review, with descriptions of four unusual forms, of the soft-bodied fauna of the Conception and St. John’s groups (late Precambrian), Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland: Proceedings of the Third North American Paleontological Convention, v. 1, p. 1–8.Google Scholar
Bamforth, E.L., Narbonne, G.M., and Anderson, M.M., 2008, Growth and ecology of an Ediacaran multibranched rangeomorph from the Mistaken Point Assemblage, Newfoundland: Journal of Paleontology, v. 82, p. 763–777.Google Scholar
Benus, A.P., 1988, Sedimentological context of a deep-water Ediacaran fauna (Mistaken Point, Avalon Zone, eastern Newfoundland), in Landing, E., Narbonne, G.M., and Myrow, P.M., eds., Trace Fossils, Small Shelly Fossils, and the Precambrian-Cambrian Boundary: New York State Museum and Geological Survey Bulletin, v. 463, p. 8–9.Google Scholar
Bouma, A.H., 1962, Sedimentology of Some Flysch Deposits, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, Elsevier, 168 p.Google Scholar
Boynton, H.E., and Ford, T.D., 1995, Ediacaran fossils from the Precambrian (Charnian Supergroup) of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England: Mercian Geologist, v. 13, p. 165–182.Google Scholar
Boynton, H.E., and Ford, T.D., 1996, Ediacaran fossils from the Precambrian (Charnian Supergroup) of Charnwood Forest, Leicestershire, England—revision of nomenclature: Mercian Geologist, v. 14, p. 3.Google Scholar
Brasier, M.D., and Antcliffe, J., 2009, Evolutionary relationships within the Avalonian Ediacara biota: New insights from laser analysis: Journal of the Geological Society, London, v. 166, p. 363–384.Google Scholar
Buss, L.W., and Seilacher, A., 1994, The phylum Vendobionta: A sister group of the Eumetazoa?: Paleobiology, v. 20, p. 1–4.Google Scholar
Canfield, D.E., Poulton, S.W., and Narbonne, G.M., 2007, Late Neoproterozoic deep ocean oxygenation and the rise of animal life: Science, v. 315, p. 92–95.Google Scholar
Clapham, M.E., and Narbonne, G.M., 2002, Ediacaran epifaunal tiering: Geology, v. 30, p. 527–544.Google Scholar
Clapham, M.E., Narbonne, G.M., and Gehling, J.G., 2003, Paleoecology of the oldest-known animal communities: Ediacaran assemblages at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland: Paleobiology, v. 29, p. 527–544.Google Scholar
Clapham, M.E., Narbonne, G.M., Gehling, J.G., Greentree, C., and Anderson, M.M., 2004, Thectardis avalonensis: A new Ediacaran fossil from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland: Journal of Paleontology, v. 78, p. 1031–1036.Google Scholar
Darroch, S.A.F., Laflamme, M., and Clapham, M.E., 2013, Population structure of the oldest known macroscopic communities from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland: Paleobiology, v. 39, p. 591–608.Google Scholar
Dzik, J., 2002, Possible ctenophoran affinities of the Precambrian ‘seapen’ Rangea: Journal of Morphology, v. 252, p. 315–334.Google Scholar
Erwin, D.H., Laflamme, M., Tweedt, S.M., Sperling, E.A., Pisani, D., and Peterson, K.J., 2011, The Cambrian conundrum: Early divergence and later ecological success in the early history of animals: Science, v. 334, p. 1091–1097.Google Scholar
Fedonkin, M.A., 1985, Systematic description of the Vendian Metazoa, in Solokov, B.S., and Iwanowski, A.B., eds., The Vendian System, Volume 1, Paleontology, Berlin, Germany, Springer-Verlag, p. 71–120.Google Scholar
Fedonkin, M.A., Gehling, J.G., Grey, K., Narbonne, G.M., and Vickers-Rich, P., 2007, The Rise of Animals: Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia, Baltimore, Maryland, Johns Hopkins University Press, 326 p.Google Scholar
Flude, L.I., and Narbonne, G.M., 2008, Taphonomy and ontogeny of a multibranched Ediacaran fossil: Bradgatia from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 45, p. 1095–1109.Google Scholar
Ford, T.D., 1958, Pre-Cambrian fossils from Charnwood Forest: Proceedings of the Yorkshire Geological Society, v. 31, p. 211–217.Google Scholar
Gehling, J.G., and Narbonne, G.M., 2007, Spindle-shaped Ediacara fossils from the Mistaken Point Assemblage, Avalon Zone, Newfoundland: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 44, p. 367–387.Google Scholar
Gehling, J.G., Narbonne, G.M., and Anderson, M.M., 2000, The first named Ediacaran body fossil, Aspidella terranovica: Palaeontology, v. 43, p. 427–456.Google Scholar
Glaessner, M.F., and Daily, B., 1959, The geology and late Precambrian fauna of the Ediacara fossil reserve: Records of the South Australian Museum, v. 13, p. 369–407.Google Scholar
Glaessner, M.F., and Wade, M., 1966, The late Precambrian fossils from Ediacara, South Australia: Palaeontology, v. 9, p. 599–628.Google Scholar
Gürich, G., 1933, Die Kuibis-Fossilien der Nama-Formation von Südwestafrika: Palaeontologische Zeitschrift, v. 15, p. 137–154.Google Scholar
Hesse, R., 1975, Turbiditic and non-turbiditic mudstone of Cretaceous flysch sections of the east Alps and other basins: Sedimentology, v. 22, p. 307–416.Google Scholar
Hofmann, H.J., O’Brien, S.J., and King, A.F., 2008, Ediacaran biota on Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada: Journal of Paleontology, v. 82, p. 1–36.Google Scholar
Ichaso, A.A., Dalrymple, R.W., and Narbonne, G.M., 2007, Paleoenvironmental and basin analysis of the late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) upper Conception and St. John’s groups, west Conception Bay, Newfoundland: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 44, p. 25–41.Google Scholar
Jenkins, R.J.F., 1985, The enigmatic Ediacaran (late Precambrian genus) Rangea and related forms: Paleobiology, v. 11, p. 336–355.Google Scholar
Jenkins, R.J.F., 1992, Functional and ecological aspects of Ediacaran assemblages, in Lipps, J.H., and Signor, P.W., eds., Origin and Early Evolution of the Metazoa, New York, Plenum Press, p. 131–176.Google Scholar
Jenkins, R.J.F., and Gehling, J.G., 1978, A review of the frond-like fossils of the Ediacara assemblage: Records of the South Australian Museum, v. 17, p. 347–359.Google Scholar
King, A.F., 1988, Geology of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland (parts of 1K, 1L, 1M, 1N, and 2C): Newfoundland Department of Mines, Mineral Development Division, Map 88-01, scale 1:250 000.Google Scholar
King, A.F., 1990, Geology of the St. John’s area: Report 90-2, Newfoundland Department of Mines and Energy, Geological Survey Branch, 93 p.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., and Narbonne, G.M., 2008a, Competition in a Precambrian world: Palaeoecology and functional biology of Ediacaran fronds: Geology Today, v. 24, p. 182–187.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., and Narbonne, G.M., 2008b, Ediacaran fronds: Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, v. 258, p. 162–179.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., Narbonne, G.M., and Anderson, M.M., 2004, Morphometrics of the Ediacaran frond Charniodiscus from the Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland: Journal of Paleontology, v. 78, p. 827–837.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., Narbonne, G.M., Greentree, C., and Anderson, M.M., 2007, Morphology and taphonomy of the Ediacaran frond: Charnia from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland, in Vickers-Rich, P., and Komarower, P., eds., The Rise and Fall of the Ediacaran Biota, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, v. 286, p. 237–257.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., Xiao, S., and Kowalewski, M., 2009, Osmotrophy in modular Ediacara organisms: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, v. 106, p. 14438–14443.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., Schiffbauer, J. D., and Narbonne, G.M., 2011, Deep-water Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures (MISS) in deep time: The Ediacaran fossil Ivesheadia, in Noffke, N.K., and Chafetz, H., eds., Microbial Mats in Siliciclastic Depositional Systems Through Time: SEPM Special Publications, v. 101, p. 111–123.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., Flude, L.I., and Narbonne, G.M., 2012, Ecological tiering and the evolution of a stem: The oldest stemmed frond from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada: Journal of Paleontology, v. 86, p. 193–200.Google Scholar
Laflamme, M., Darroch, S.A.F., Tweedt, S.M., Peterson, K.J., and Erwin, D.H., 2013, The end of the Ediacara biota: Extinction, biotic replacement, or Cheshire Cat?: Gondwana Research, v. 23, p. 558–573.Google Scholar
Liu, A.G., McIlroy, D., and Brasier, M.D., 2010, First evidence for locomotion in the Ediacara biota from the 565 Ma Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland: Geology, v. 38, p. 123–126.Google Scholar
Liu, A.G., McIlroy, D., Antcliffe, J.B., and Brasier, M.D., 2011, Effaced preservation in the Ediacara biota and its implications for the early macrofossil record: Palaeontology, v. 54, p. 607–630.Google Scholar
Liu, A.G., McIlroy, D., Matthews, J.J., and Brasier, M.D., 2012, A juvenile assemblage of Ediacaran fronds from the Drook Formation, Newfoundland: Journal of the Geological Society of London, v. 169, p. 395–403.Google Scholar
Liu, A.G., Kenchington, C.G., and Mitchell, E.G., 2015, Remarkable insights into the paleoecology of the Avalonian Ediacaran macrobiota: Gondwana Research, v. 27, p. 1355–1380.Google Scholar
Mason, S.J., Narbonne, G.M., Dalrymple, R.W., and O’Brien, S.J., 2013, Paleoenvironmental analysis of Ediacaran strata in the Catalina Dome, Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 50, p. 197–212.Google Scholar
Misra, S.B., 1971, Stratigraphy and depositional history of the late Precambrian coelenterate-bearing rock, southeastern Newfoundland: Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 82, p. 979–987.Google Scholar
Myrow, P.M., 1995, Neoproterozoic rocks of the Newfoundland Avalon Zone: Precambrian Research, v. 7, p. 123–136.Google Scholar
Nance, R.D., Murphy, J.B., and Keppie, J. D., 2002, A Cordilleran model for the evolution of Avalonia: Tectonophysics, v. 352, p. 1–31.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., 2004, Modular construction of complex early Ediacaran life forms: Science, v. 305, p. 1141–1144.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., 2005, The Ediacara biota: Neoproterozoic origin of animals and their ecosystems: Annual Reviews of Earth and Planetary Sciences, v. 33, p. 13.1–13.22.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., 2011, When life got big: Nature, v. 470, p. 339–340.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., and Gehling, J.G., 2003, Life after snowball: the oldest complex Ediacaran fossils: Geology, v. 31, p. 27–30.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., Saylor, B.Z., and Grotzinger, J.P., 1997, The youngest Ediacaran fossils from southern Africa: Journal of Paleontology, v. 71, p. 953–967.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., Gehling, J.G., and Vickers-Rich, P., 2007, The misty coasts of Newfoundland, in Fedonkin, M.A., Gehling, J.G., Grey, K., Narbonne, G.M., and Vickers-Rich, P., eds., The Rise of Animals: Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia, Baltimore, Maryland, John Hopkins Press, p. 53–68.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., Laflamme, M., Greentree, C., and Trusler, P., 2009, Reconstructing a lost world: Ediacaran rangeomorphs from Spaniard’s Bay, Newfoundland: Journal of Paleontology, v. 83, p. 503–523.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., Laflamme, M., and Thomas, R., 2012a, When life got big: Ediacaran glaciation, oxidation, and the Mistaken Point biota of Newfoundland: Geological Association of Canada–Mineralogical Association of Canada [GAC-MAC] Joint Annual Meeting, Field Trip Guidebook B1, 78 p.Google Scholar
Narbonne, G.M., Xiao, S., and Shields, G.A., 2012b, The Ediacaran period, in Gradstein, F., Ogg, J., and Ogg, G., eds., Geological Timescale 2012, Boston, Elsevier, p. 427–449.Google Scholar
O’Brien, S.J., and King, A.F., 2004, Ediacaran fossils from the Bonavista Peninsula (Avalon Zone), Newfoundland: Preliminary descriptions and implications for regional correlation: Newfoundland Department of Mines and Energy, Geological Survey Report 04-01, p. 203–212.Google Scholar
O’Brien, S.J., Wardle, R.J., and King, A.F., 1983, The Avalon Zone: A Pan-African terrane in the Appalachian Orogen of Canada: Geological Journal, v. 18, p. 195–222.Google Scholar
Peterson, K.J., Waggoner, B., and Hagadorn, J.W., 2003, A fungal analog for Newfoundland Ediacaran fossils?: Integrated and Comparative Biology, v. 43, p. 127–136.Google Scholar
Pflug, H.D., 1970, Zur Fauna der Nama-Schichten in Südwest-Afrika, II. Rangeidae, Bau und Systematische Zugehörigkeit: Palaeontographica, v. A135, p. 198–231.Google Scholar
Pflug, H.D., 1972, Systematik der jung-präkambrischen Petalonamae: Paläontologische Zeitschrift, v. 46, p. 56–67.Google Scholar
Pisarevsky, S.A., McCausland, P.J.A., Hodych, J.P., O’Brien, S.J., Tait, J.A., and Murphy, J.B., 2011, Paleomagnetic study of the late Neoproterozoic Bull Arm and Crown Hill formations (Musgravetown Group) of eastern Newfoundland: Implications for Avalonia and West Gondwana paleogeography: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 49, p. 308–327.Google Scholar
Retallack, G.J., 1994, Were the Ediacaran fossils lichens?: Paleobiology, v. 20, p. 523–544.Google Scholar
Retallack, G.J., 2013, Ediacaran life on land: Nature, v. 492, p. 89–92.Google Scholar
Seilacher, A., 1992, Vendobionta and Psammocorallia: lost constructions of Precambrian evolution: Geological Society of London, Special Publications, v. 149, p. 607–613.Google Scholar
Seilacher, A., 1999, Biomat-related lifestyles in the Precambrian: Palaios, v. 14, p. 86–93.Google Scholar
Sperling, E.A., Peterson, K.J., and Laflamme, M., 2011, Rangeomorphs, Thectardis (Porifera?) and dissolved organic carbon in the Ediacaran ocean: Geobiology, v. 9, p. 24–33.Google Scholar
Sprigg, R.C., 1947, Early Cambrian (?) jellyfishes from the Flinders Ranges, South Australia: Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, v. 71, p. 212–224.Google Scholar
Sprigg, R.C., 1949, Early Cambrian ‘jellyfishes’ of Ediacara, South Australia and Mount John, Kimberley District, Western Australia: Transactions of the Royal Society of South Australia, v. 73, p. 72–99.Google Scholar
Steiner, M., and Reitner, J., 2001, Evidence of organic structures in Ediacara-type fossils and associated microbial mats: Geology, v. 29, p. 1119–1122.Google Scholar
Van Kronendonk, M.J., Gehling, J.G., and Shields, G., 2008, Precambrian, in Ogg, J.G., Ogg, G., and Gradstein, F.M., eds., The Concise Geologic Time Scale, Cambridge, UK, Cambridge University Press, p. 23–36.Google Scholar
Vickers-Rich, P., Ivantsov, A.Y., Trusler, P.W., Narbonne, G.M., Hall, M., Wilson, S.A., Greentree, C., Fedonkin, M.A., Elliott, D.A., Hoffmann, K.H., and Schneider, G.I.C., 2013, Reconstructing Rangea: New discoveries from the Ediacaran of Southern Namibia: Journal of Paleontology, v. 87, p. 1–15.Google Scholar
Wilby, P.R., Carney, J.N., and Howe, M.P.A., 2011, A rich Ediacaran assemblage from eastern Avalonia: Evidence of early widespread diversity in the deep ocean: Geology, v. 39, p. 655–658.Google Scholar
Wood, D.A., Dalrymple, R.W., Narbonne, G.M., Gehling, J.G., and Clapham, M.E., 2003, Environmental analysis of the late Neoproterozoic Mistaken Point and Trepassey formations, southeastern Newfoundland: Paleobiological and tectonic implication: Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences, v. 40, p. 1375–1391.Google Scholar
Xiao, S., and Laflamme, M., 2009, On the eve of animal radiation: Phylogeny, ecology, and evolution of the Ediacara biota: Trends in Ecology & Evolution, v. 24, p. 31–40.Google Scholar