Ediacaran metazoan fossil record from South America and its implications in the studies about origin and complexification of animal life

The Ediacaran Period marks the first appearance of complex macroscopic organisms in the fossil record. Current evidence indicates that Ediacara biota is composed of animals, groups of extinct giant protists, algae and other organisms without proven affinities with modern groups. Fossils of this biot...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Geologia USP. Série Científica
Main Authors: Bruno Becker Kerber, Ana Lucia Zucatti da Rosa, Sandra Garcia Gabas, Juliana de Moraes Leme, Mírian Liza Alves Forancelli Pacheco
Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
Language:English
Portuguese
Published: Universidade de São Paulo 2013
Subjects:
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.5327/Z1519-874X201300030006
https://doaj.org/article/df1b3143015741d5b79875bf3377e758
Description
Summary:The Ediacaran Period marks the first appearance of complex macroscopic organisms in the fossil record. Current evidence indicates that Ediacara biota is composed of animals, groups of extinct giant protists, algae and other organisms without proven affinities with modern groups. Fossils of this biota have been documented in at least 40 locations worldwide. In South America, ediacaran metazoan fossils are found in Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Argentina. In most of these locations, are found fossils of the last moment of evolutionary ediacaran biota, capable of performing skeletogenesis, such as Cloudina and Corumbella , related to Nama assemblage. This evolutionary novelty arose probably in response to predation pressures and chemical changes in the oceans. Newly, fossils of soft-bodied organisms were found, typical of other ediacaran assembly (White Sea), in Santa Catarina (Brazil). This occurrence is of great importance since it represents the only discovery about its assemblage in South America. This work aims to compile the occurrences of the Ediacara biota in South America, as well as discussing the importance of inclusion and study these events on the world scene in the scope of one of the most important issues of Paleobiology: the origin and evolution animals on Earth.