Insights into the Skeletonization, Lifestyle, and Affinity of the Unusual Ediacaran Fossil Corumbella

Author(s):Show less -

Pacheco, Mrian L. A. Forancelli ^[1] ; Galante, Douglas ^[2] ; Rodrigues, Fabio ^[2] ; Leme, Juliana de M. ^[3] ; Bidola, Pidassa ^{[4, 5]} ; Hagadorn, Whitey ^[6] ; Stockmar, Marco ^{[4, 5]} ; Herzen, Julia ^[7] ; Rudnitzki, Isaac D. ^[8] ; Pfeiffer, Franz ^{[4, 5]} ; Marques, Antonio C. ^{[9, 10]}

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Fed Sao Carlos, Dept Biol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Brazilian Synchrotron Light Lab, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[3] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Geosci, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[4] Tech Univ Munich, Dept Phys, Garching - Germany

^[5] Tech Univ Munich, Inst Med Engn, Garching - Germany

^[6] Denver Museum Nat & Sci, Dept Earth Sci, Denver, CO - USA

^[7] Helmholtz Zentrum Geesthacht, Inst Mat Res, D-21502 Geesthacht - Germany

^[8] Fed Univ Para, Inst Geosci, BR-66059 Belem, Para - Brazil

^[9] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Biosci, Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[10] Univ Sao Paulo, Ctr Marine Biol, Sao Paulo - Brazil

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: PLoS One; v. 10, n. 3 MAR 30 2015.
• Web of Science Citations: 20

Abstract

The Ediacaran fossil Corumbella is important because it is hypothesized to be a scyphozoan cnidarian, and thus might be one of the rare examples of bona fide Neoproterozoic animals. Unfortunately, its mode of life, style of skeletonization, and taxonomic affinity have been very controversial. Here, we use X-ray micro-CT, SEM, and taphonomic analysis to compare preservational modes of Corumbella, in order to better understand the symmetry, mode of construction, preservational style, and taxonomy of this group. Results suggest that articulated and disarticulated specimens of Corumbella from the Ediacaran of Brazil, Paraguay, and the United States, although sometimes preserved very differently, represent the same taxon-Corumbella werneri. Corumbellids had a thick but flexible theca and probably lived with their basalmost part anchored in the sediment, much like Conotubus. When considered together, these results suggest that Corumbella was one of the first animals to build a skeleton, employing a lamellar microfabric similar to conulariids. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 09/02312-4 - Morphological reconstitution and systematic analysis of Corumbella werneri Hahn et al. 1982 (Tamengo Formation, Ediacaran, Corumbá Group), Mato Grosso do Sul, Brazil: paleoecological and taphonomical implications.
• Grantee: Mírian Liza Alves Forancelli Pacheco
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• FAPESP's process: 11/50242-5 - Dimensions of marine life: patterns and process of diversifications in planktonic and benthic cnidarians
• Grantee: Antonio Carlos Marques
• Support Opportunities: BIOTA-FAPESP Program - Thematic Grants