Age of Neoproterozoic Bilatarian Body and Trace Fossils, White Sea, Russia: Implications for Metazoan Evolution

A uranium-lead zircon age for a volcanic ash interstratified with fossil-bearing, shallow marine siliciclastic rocks in the Zimnie Gory section of the White Sea region indicates that a diverse assemblage of body and trace fossils occurred before 555.3 ± 0.3 million years ago. This age is a minimum f...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Science (American Association for the Advancement of Science) 2000-05, Vol.288 (5467), p.841-845
Main Authors: Martin, M. W., Grazhdankin, D. V., Bowring, S. A., Evans, D. A. D., Fedonkin, M. A., Kirschvink, J. L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Animals
Bilateria
Biological Evolution
Carbon dating
Carbon Isotopes
Chondrules
Claystones
Continental crust
Fossils
Geologic Sediments
Invertebrates
Isotopes
Kimberella
Lead - analysis
Mantle
Marine
Metazoa
Neoproterozoic era
Observations
Oceans
Paleontology
Particle diffusion
Prehistoric era
Russia
Seawater
Silicates
Silicides
Taxa
Trace fossils
Uranium
Volcanic ash
Zirconium
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Summary:A uranium-lead zircon age for a volcanic ash interstratified with fossil-bearing, shallow marine siliciclastic rocks in the Zimnie Gory section of the White Sea region indicates that a diverse assemblage of body and trace fossils occurred before 555.3 ± 0.3 million years ago. This age is a minimum for the oldest well-documented triploblastic bilaterian Kimberella. It also makes co-occurring trace fossils the oldest that are reliably dated. This determination of age implies that there is no simple relation between Ediacaran diversity and the carbon isotopic composition of Neoproterozoic seawater.
ISSN:0036-8075
1095-9203
DOI:10.1126/science.288.5467.841