Abstract
The interpretation of Ediacara-type body fossils in terms of modern soft-bodied metazoans must be questioned. Their morphology rather suggests foliate, non-locomotory quasi-autotrophs. Their mode of preservation, which has no counterpart in comparable post-Vendian rocks, remains problematical, since associated trace fossils attest to oxic conditions and the presence of worm-like heterotrophic burrowers in the same environment. It seems that Vendian biota mark not simply a non-skeletal start of metazoan evolution, but a distinct episode in the history of life that was followed by a major extinction.
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© 1984 Dr. S. Bernhard, Dahlem Konferenzen
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Seilacher, A. (1984). Late Precambrian and Early Cambrian Metazoa: Preservational or Real Extinctions?. In: Holland, H.D., Trendall, A.F. (eds) Patterns of Change in Earth Evolution. Dahlem Workshop Reports Physical, Chemical, and Earth Sciences Research Reports, vol 5. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69317-5_10
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-69317-5_10
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