<i>Himatiichnus mangano</i> igen. et isp. nov., a scalidophoran trace fossil from the late Ediacaran of Namibia
<i>Himatiichnus mangano</i> igen. et isp. nov., a new trace fossil from the late Ediacaran Huns Member of the Urusis Formation, southern Namibia, comprises intertwining tubes exhibiting dual lineation patterns and reminiscent of both modern and early Cambrian examples of priapulid worm burrows. These similarities support the interpretation of a total-group scalidophoran tracemaker for <i>H. mangano</i>, thus providing direct evidence for the first appearance date of Scalidophora in the late Ediacaran <i>ca</i> 539 Ma. This new material is thus indicative of the presence of total-group scalidophorans below the Cambrian boundary and supports inference of a lengthy Precambrian fuse for the Cambrian explosion.
Authors
- Marc Laflamme (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2679-705X)
- Simon A.F. Darroch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1922-7136)
- Helke Mocke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1674-8369)
- Katherine A. Turk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5436-7367)
- Mikaela A. Pulsipher
Institutions
- National Park Service (US)
- University of Toronto (CA)
- Vanderbilt University (US)
- Senckenberg Research Institute and Natural History Museum Frankfurt/M (DE)
- Geological Survey of Namibia (NA)
- Institut de Biologia Evolutiva (ES)
- University of Missouri (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Royal Society Open Science
- Published
- 2024-10-01
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1098/rsos.240452
- Citations
- 6
- Primary Topic
- Paleontology and Stratigraphy of Fossils
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 9.53
Funders
- National Science Foundation
- Vanderbilt University
- Paleontological Society
- Sight Research UK
- Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
- Natural Environment Research Council
- Division of Environmental Biology
- Division of Earth Sciences