The dawn of animal skeletogenesis: Ultrastructural analysis of the Ediacaran metazoan Corumbella werneri

Author(s)

Warren, L. V. ^[1] ; Pacheco, M. L. A. F. ^[1] ; Fairchild, T. R. ^[1] ; Simoes, M. G. ^[2] ; Riccomini, C. ^[1] ; Boggiani, P. C. ^[1] ; Caceres, A. A. ^[3]

Affiliation

^[1] Univ Sao Paulo, Inst Geociencias, BR-05508080 Sao Paulo - Brazil

^[2] Univ Estadual Paulista, Inst Biociencias, Dept Zool, BR-18618000 Botucatu, SP - Brazil

^[3] INC, Vallemi - Paraguay

• Document type: Journal article
• Source: GEOLOGY; v. 40, n. 8, p. 691-694, 2012.
• Web of Science Citations: 30

Abstract

Although the basic morphology of the Ediacaran metazoan Corumbella werneri (the type species of the genus) is well established, little is known about its skeletal tissue. Carbonaceous fragments of this fossil from the Itapucumi Group (Paraguay) reveal details of the ultrastructure of its carapace, providing an unprecedented opportunity to understand a paradigmatic issue of the evolution of skeletogenesis in early metazoans. Corumbella was a sessile predator whose carapace consisted of organic polygonal plates with pores and papillae similar to features observed in some conulariids. Its occurrence with the shelly fossil Cloudina suggests that the acquisition of protective structures in metazoans involved penecontemporaneous processes of biomineralization and secretion of organic walls. (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/02677-0 - Stable isotope records (C, O and Sr) of the Itapucumi Group and correlation with Corumbá Group (Ediacaran Period)
• Grantee: Paulo César Boggiani
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• FAPESP's process: 10/19584-4 - Tectonics and sedimentation of Itapucumi group in the context of Ediacaran carbonatic platforms: a geochemical, geochronological, paleomagnetic and biostratigraphic approach
• Grantee: Lucas Verissimo Warren
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral