Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland
Surface locomotory trace fossils from the Mistaken Point Formation of Newfoundland, dated at ∼ 565 Ma, suggest that organisms capable of controlled locomotion and possessing muscular tissue may have existed among Avalonian Ediacaran macrofossil assemblages. Here we describe the Mistaken Point trace-...
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SEPM (Society of Sedimentary Geology)
2014
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Online Access: | http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/ http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/1/Liu%20et%20al.%20-%202014%20-%20Confirming%20the%20Metazoan%20Character%20of%20a%20565%20Ma%20Trac.pdf http://palaios.geoscienceworld.org/content/29/8/420 https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 |
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ftucambridgeesc:oai:eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk:3244 2023-05-15T17:21:51+02:00 Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland Liu, Alexander G. Mcilroy, Duncan Matthews, Jack J. Brasier, Martin D. 2014-08 text http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/ http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/1/Liu%20et%20al.%20-%202014%20-%20Confirming%20the%20Metazoan%20Character%20of%20a%20565%20Ma%20Trac.pdf http://palaios.geoscienceworld.org/content/29/8/420 https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 en eng SEPM (Society of Sedimentary Geology) http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/1/Liu%20et%20al.%20-%202014%20-%20Confirming%20the%20Metazoan%20Character%20of%20a%20565%20Ma%20Trac.pdf Liu, Alexander G. and Mcilroy, Duncan and Matthews, Jack J. and Brasier, Martin D. (2014) Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland. Palaios, 29 (8). pp. 420-430. ISSN 0833-1351 DOI https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 <https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011> 04 - Palaeobiology Article PeerReviewed 2014 ftucambridgeesc https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 2020-08-27T18:09:36Z Surface locomotory trace fossils from the Mistaken Point Formation of Newfoundland, dated at ∼ 565 Ma, suggest that organisms capable of controlled locomotion and possessing muscular tissue may have existed among Avalonian Ediacaran macrofossil assemblages. Here we describe the Mistaken Point trace-fossil assemblage in full, discuss its stratigraphic context within the Mistaken Point Formation, and explore the competing hypotheses for the formation of the traces. We find that the trace fossils, preserved within a turbidite succession in a deep-marine depositional environment, are not attributable to abiogenic structures, to Ediacaran tubular or filamentous body fossils, to rangeomorph stems, or to a host of late Ediacaran and early Phanerozoic ichnofossils. Specimens within the assemblage show some similarities to the ichnogenera Helminthoidichnites and Archaeonassa, but discrepancies in certain aspects of their structure mean that we do not formally attribute them to these ichnotaxa at this time. The Mistaken Point ichnofossils possess morphological characteristics indicative of formation by an organism with a round base. Comparison with traces formed by modern organisms of such character appears to rule out formation by protistan, echinoderm, or annelid styles of movement, but is consistent with organisms moving via muscular controlled locomotion in a similar way to some modern mollusks and actinian cnidarians. We suggest therefore that the Mistaken Point trace-fossil assemblage reveals the presence of muscular metazoans in late Ediacaran deep-marine ecosystems. Such organisms cannot yet be attributed to specific phyla, but their inferred locomotory mechanisms share closest similarities with those utilized by extant actinians. Article in Journal/Newspaper Newfoundland University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences: ESC Publications Mistaken Point ENVELOPE(-55.774,-55.774,53.478,53.478) PALAIOS 29 8 420 430 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
University of Cambridge, Department of Earth Sciences: ESC Publications |
op_collection_id |
ftucambridgeesc |
language |
English |
topic |
04 - Palaeobiology |
spellingShingle |
04 - Palaeobiology Liu, Alexander G. Mcilroy, Duncan Matthews, Jack J. Brasier, Martin D. Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland |
topic_facet |
04 - Palaeobiology |
description |
Surface locomotory trace fossils from the Mistaken Point Formation of Newfoundland, dated at ∼ 565 Ma, suggest that organisms capable of controlled locomotion and possessing muscular tissue may have existed among Avalonian Ediacaran macrofossil assemblages. Here we describe the Mistaken Point trace-fossil assemblage in full, discuss its stratigraphic context within the Mistaken Point Formation, and explore the competing hypotheses for the formation of the traces. We find that the trace fossils, preserved within a turbidite succession in a deep-marine depositional environment, are not attributable to abiogenic structures, to Ediacaran tubular or filamentous body fossils, to rangeomorph stems, or to a host of late Ediacaran and early Phanerozoic ichnofossils. Specimens within the assemblage show some similarities to the ichnogenera Helminthoidichnites and Archaeonassa, but discrepancies in certain aspects of their structure mean that we do not formally attribute them to these ichnotaxa at this time. The Mistaken Point ichnofossils possess morphological characteristics indicative of formation by an organism with a round base. Comparison with traces formed by modern organisms of such character appears to rule out formation by protistan, echinoderm, or annelid styles of movement, but is consistent with organisms moving via muscular controlled locomotion in a similar way to some modern mollusks and actinian cnidarians. We suggest therefore that the Mistaken Point trace-fossil assemblage reveals the presence of muscular metazoans in late Ediacaran deep-marine ecosystems. Such organisms cannot yet be attributed to specific phyla, but their inferred locomotory mechanisms share closest similarities with those utilized by extant actinians. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Liu, Alexander G. Mcilroy, Duncan Matthews, Jack J. Brasier, Martin D. |
author_facet |
Liu, Alexander G. Mcilroy, Duncan Matthews, Jack J. Brasier, Martin D. |
author_sort |
Liu, Alexander G. |
title |
Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland |
title_short |
Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland |
title_full |
Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland |
title_fullStr |
Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland |
title_full_unstemmed |
Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland |
title_sort |
confirming the metazoan character of a 565 ma trace-fossil assemblage from mistaken point, newfoundland |
publisher |
SEPM (Society of Sedimentary Geology) |
publishDate |
2014 |
url |
http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/ http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/1/Liu%20et%20al.%20-%202014%20-%20Confirming%20the%20Metazoan%20Character%20of%20a%20565%20Ma%20Trac.pdf http://palaios.geoscienceworld.org/content/29/8/420 https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-55.774,-55.774,53.478,53.478) |
geographic |
Mistaken Point |
geographic_facet |
Mistaken Point |
genre |
Newfoundland |
genre_facet |
Newfoundland |
op_relation |
http://eprints.esc.cam.ac.uk/3244/1/Liu%20et%20al.%20-%202014%20-%20Confirming%20the%20Metazoan%20Character%20of%20a%20565%20Ma%20Trac.pdf Liu, Alexander G. and Mcilroy, Duncan and Matthews, Jack J. and Brasier, Martin D. (2014) Confirming the Metazoan Character of a 565 Ma Trace-Fossil Assemblage from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland. Palaios, 29 (8). pp. 420-430. ISSN 0833-1351 DOI https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 <https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011> |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.2110/palo.2014.011 |
container_title |
PALAIOS |
container_volume |
29 |
container_issue |
8 |
container_start_page |
420 |
op_container_end_page |
430 |
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1766107690658955264 |