You can get anything you want from Alice's Restaurant Bed: exceptional preservation and an unusual fossil assemblage from a newly excavated bed (Ediacara Member, Nilpena, South Australia)

We present findings from the newly discovered fossiliferous bed, TB-ARB, from the Ediacara Member exposed at the National Heritage Site, Nilpena Station, west of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. TB-ARB contains Ediacaran fossils, some of which are rare, remarkably preserved as casts in fine-gra...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Australian journal of earth sciences 2020-08, Vol.67 (6), p.873-883
Main Authors: Evans, S. D., Dzaugis, P. W., Droser, M. L., Gehling, J. G.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Andiva ivantsovi
development
Ediacara Biota
Ediacaran
Fossil assemblages
Fossils
growth
Heterogeneity
Historic sites
mobility
Morphology
Ocean floor
Palaeoecology
Paleoecology
Preservation
Sandstone
Sedimentary rocks
Taphonomy
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Summary:We present findings from the newly discovered fossiliferous bed, TB-ARB, from the Ediacara Member exposed at the National Heritage Site, Nilpena Station, west of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia. TB-ARB contains Ediacaran fossils, some of which are rare, remarkably preserved as casts in fine-grained sandstone with little evidence for taphonomic disturbance. Here we demonstrate that, despite extraordinary preservation, ecological metrics from TB-ARB are characteristic of those found on other Ediacara Member beds and that this fossil assemblage is consistent with the previously recognised heterogeneity of the Ediacaran seafloor. This result suggests that limited taphonomic processes identified on more typical beds at Nilpena do not bias our view of Ediacaran paleoecology, but together, these beds present a complete picture of ancient animal communities. Remarkable preservation of rare Andiva ivantsovi allows investigations of morphology, growth and life habit. We identify complex growth in this organism that maximises surface area relative to volume and a morphology consistent with previously unsubstantiated claims for mobility. Features of Andiva indicate that it was likely related to two other extinct Ediacaran flat-lying, modular, mobile taxa, Dickinsonia and Yorgia, suggesting a possible eumetazoan placement for this organism.
ISSN:0812-0099
1440-0952
DOI:10.1080/08120099.2018.1470110