Data from: The Beothukis/Culmofrons problem and its bearing on Ediacaran macrofossil taxonomy: evidence from an exceptional new fossil locality ...

• Main Authors: Liu, Alexander G., Matthews, Jack J., McIlroy, Duncan
• Format: Dataset
• Language: English
• Published: Dryad 2016
• Subjects: Culmofrons plumosa; Beothukis mistakensis; Ediacaran; rangeomorph; Canada; Newfoundland
• Online Access: https://dx.doi.org/10.5061/dryad.6r4j8; https://datadryad.org/stash/dataset/doi:10.5061/dryad.6r4j8

The late Ediacaran siliciclastic successions of eastern Newfoundland, Canada, are renowned for their fossils of soft-bodied macro-organisms, which may include some of the earliest animals. Despite the potential importance of such fossils for evolutionary understanding, the taxonomic framework within which Ediacaran macrofossils are described is not clearly defined. Rangeomorphs from a newly discovered fossil surface on the Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland, require us to reconsider contemporary use of morphological characters to distinguish between genera and species within Ediacaran taxa. The new surface exhibits remarkable preservational fidelity, resolving features smaller than 0.1 mm in dimension in both frondose and non-frondose taxa. Such preservation permits the recognition of rarely observed fourth- and fifth-order rangeomorph branching, offering unparalleled opportunities to investigate the fine-scale construction of rangeomorph taxa including Culmofrons plumosa Laflamme et al., 2012. Our ... : Liu et al Appendix S1Information on the sedimentology and stratigraphic setting of the MUN Surface, and six additional figures.MUN Beothukis plateHigh resolution image of Supplementary Figure 6. ...