Description

Margaritiflabellum anatolii
Late Precambrian (Vendian)
Penega Formation
East Angelsk, White Sea, Russia

17mm on 112mm slab. Extremely rare soft-bodied animal only recently described. First example we have ever seen.

Problematica. Ediacaran. Soft-bodied. Lagerstatten.

Margaritiflabellum is a genus of extinct ancient animal that has left fan-shaped imprints to mark its existence. So far, these fossils are known only from the White Sea.

Another mysterious animal from the Vendian Period which spans about the last 110 million years of the Proterozoic Eon from about 540 to 650 million years ago. It is during this time that soft-bodied, macroscopic life appeared.

For the original description (In Russian) see: Ivantsov, A. Y. (2014) Margaritiflabellum anatolii — A new problematic fossil from the Vendian deposits of the South-Eastern White Sea. Proceedings of the Arkhangelsk Center of the Russian Geographic Society. Vol. 2. Arkhangelsk 2014, pages 123-126