Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

A re-assessment of the taxonomy, palaeobiology and taphonomy of the rangeomorph organism Hapsidophyllas flexibilis from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada

  • Research Paper
  • Published:
PalZ Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Newfoundland’s Mistaken Point is home to some of the world’s oldest known complex body fossils. Detailed observation of newly discovered specimens has led to a reconsideration of Hapsidophyllas flexibilis, which is diagnosed as being a complex epifaunal multifoliate rangeomorph with a basal stolon. This study has revealed that published material of H. flexibilis includes a cryptic epifaunal recliner that grew on, and slightly into, the seafloor in a manner similar to the common Ediacaran epifaunal organisms Fractofusus and Beothukis. The new genus and species erected herein to accommodate these epifaunal organisms is Gigarimaneta samsoni, an organism that is broadly round in outline and composed of rows of allantoid units that are further sub-divided into smaller spherocylindrical units. There is no evidence of rangeomorph branching, instead the divisions seen in Gigarimaneta are considered to represent invaginations of the lower epithelium that increased the surface-area-to-volume ratio of these organisms without the creation of true branches. The resulting ‘pneu’-like divisions may have allowed this quasi-infaunal taxon to have gained nutriment from the substrate via the culturing of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, either as endo- or epi-symbionts, perhaps coupled with the absorption of dissolved organic material from pore/seawater.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4
Fig. 5
Fig. 6
Fig. 7
Fig. 8
Fig. 9
Fig. 10

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  • Anderson, M.M., and S.B. Misra. 1968. Fossils found in the Pre-Cambrian Conception Group of South-eastern Newfoundland. Nature 220: 680–681.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antcliffe, J.B., and M.D. Brasier. 2008. Charnia at 50: developmental models for Ediacaran fronds. Palaeontology 51: 11–26.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Antcliffe, J.B., A.D. Hancy, and M.D. Brasier. 2015. A new ecological model for the ~565 Ms Ediacaran biota of Mistaken Point, Newfoundland. Precambrian Research 268: 227–242.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamforth, E.L., and G.M. Narbonne. 2009. New Ediacaran rangeomorphs from Mistaken Point, Newfoundland. Journal of Paleontology 83: 897–913.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Bamforth, E.L., G.M. Narbonne, and M.M. Anderson. 2008. Growth and ecology of a multi-branched Ediacaran rangeomorph from the Mistaken Point assemblage, Newfoundland. Journal of Paleontology 82: 763–777.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Benus, A.P. 1988. Sedimentological context of a deep-water Ediacaran fauna (Mistaken Point, Avalon Zone, eastern Newfoundland). In Trace fossils, small shelly fossils and the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary, eds. E. Landing, G. M. Narbonne, and P. Myrow. New York State Museum and Geological Survey Bulletin 463: 8–9.

  • Berner, R.A. 1985. Sulphate reduction, organic matter decomposition and pyrite formation. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (A) 315: 25–38.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bobrovskiy, I., J.M. Hope, A. Ivantsov, B.J. Nettersheim, C. Hallmann, and J.J. Brocks. 2018. Ancient steroids establish the Ediacaran fossil Dickinsonia as one of the earliest animals. Science 361: 1246–1249.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brasier, M.D., and J.B. Antcliffe. 2009. Evolutionary relationships within the Avalonian Ediacara biota: New insights from laser analysis. Journal of the Geological Society 166: 363–384.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brasier, M.D., J.B. Antcliffe, and A.G. Liu. 2012. The architecture of Ediacaran fronds. Palaeontology 55: 1105–1124.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Brasier, M.D., A.G. Liu, L. Menon, J.J. Mathews, D. McIlroy, and D. Wacey. 2013. Explaining the exceptional preservation of Ediacaran rangeomorphs from Spaniard’s Bay, Newfoundland: a hydraulic model. Precambrian Research 231: 122–135.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Clapham, M.E., G.M. Narbonne, and J.G. Gehling. 2003. Paleoecology of the oldest known animal communities: Ediacaran assemblages at Mistaken Point, Newfoundland. Paleobiology 29: 527–544.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dufour, S.C., and D. McIlroy. 2016. Ediacaran pre-placozoan diploblasts in the Avalonian biota: the role of chemosynthesis in the evolution of early life. In Earth System Evolution and Early Life: a Celebration of the Work of Martin Brasier, eds. A.T. Brasier, A. T., D. McIlroy, and N. McLoughlin. Geological Survey, Special Publications 448: 211–219.

  • Dufour, S.C., and D. McIlroy. 2017. An Ediacaran pre-placozoan alternative to the pre-sponge route towards the Cambrian Explosion of animal life: a comment on Cavalier-Smith 2017. Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society (B) 373: 20170148.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, F.S., A.G. Liu, and C.J. Donoghue. 2018a. Ediacaran developmental biology. Biological Reviews 93: 914–932.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, F.S., P.R. Wilby, C.G. Kenchington, D.V. Grazhdankin, P.C. Donoghue, and A.G. Liu. 2018b. Anatomy of the Ediacaran rangeomorph Charnia masoni. Papers in Palaeontology 5: 157–176.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Dunn, F.E., A.G. Liu, and J.G. Gehling. 2019. Anatomical and ontogenetic reassessment of the Ediacaran frond Arborea arborea and its placement within total group Eumetazoa. Palaeontology 62: 851–865.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Flude, L.I., and G.M. Narbonne. 2008. Taphonomy and ontogeny of a multibranched Ediacaran fossil: Bradgatia from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Science 45: 1095–1109.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gatschet, A.S. 1885. The Beothuk Indians. Proceedings of the American Philosophical Society 22: 408–424.

    Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J.G. 1999. Microbial Mats in Terminal Proterozoic Siliciclastics: Ediacaran Death Masks. Palaios 14: 40–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Gehling, J.G., and G.M. Narbonne. 2007. Spindle-shaped Ediacara fossils from the Mistaken Point assemblage, Avalon Zone, Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 44: 367–387.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Grazhdankin, D.V., and A. Seilacher. 2005. A re-examination of the Nama-type Vendian organism Rangea schneiderhoehni. Geological Magazine 142: 571–582.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hofmann, H.J., S.J. O’Brien, and A.F. King. 2008. Ediacaran biota on Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland, Canada. Journal of Paleontology 82: 1–36.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Hoyal Cuthill, J.F., and S. Conway-Morris. 2014. Fractal branching organizations of Ediacaran rangeomorph fronds reveal a lost Proterozoic body plan. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America 111: 13122–13126.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ichaso, A.A., R.W. Dalrymple, and G.M. Narbonne. 2007. Paleoenvironmental and basin analysis of the late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) upper Conception and St. John’s groups, west Conception Bay Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Science 44: 25–41.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R.J.F. 1985. The enigmatic Ediacaran (late Precambrian) genus Rangea and related forms. Paleobiology 11: 336–355.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Jenkins, R.J. F. 1992. Functional and ecological aspects of Ediacaran assemblages. In Origin and Early Evolution of the Metazoa, eds. J.H. Lipps, J. H. and P. W. Signor. Topics in Geobiology 10: 131–176.

  • Jensen, S., A.E.S. Högström, J. Almond, W.L. Taylor, G. Meinhold, M. Høyberget, J.O.R. Ebbestad, H. Agíc, and T. Palacios. 2018. Scratch circles from the Ediacaran and Cambrian of Arctic Norway and southern Africa, with a review of scratch circle occurrences. Bulletin of Geosciences 93: 287–304.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kenchington, C.G., and P.R. Wilby. 2017. Rangeomorph classification schemes and intra-specific variation: are all characters created equal? In Earth System Evolution and Early Life: a Celebration of the Work of Martin Brasier, eds. A.T. Brasier., D. McIlroy, and N. McLoughlin. Geological Survey, Special Publications 448: 221–250.

  • Kenchington, C.G., F.S. Dunn, and P.R. Wilby. 2018. Modularity and overcompensatory growth in Ediacaran rangeomorphs demonstrate early adaptations for coping with environmental pressures. Current Biology 28: 3330–3336.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • King, A.F., and H. Williams. 1979. Trepassey map area, Newfoundland. Geological Survey of Canada, Memoir 389: 1–24.

    Google Scholar 

  • Laflamme, M., G.M. Carbone, and M.M. Anderson. 2004. Morphometric analysis of the Ediacaran frond Charniodiscus from the Mistaken Point Formation, Newfoundland. Journal of Paleontology 78: 827–837.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laflamme, M., G.M. Narbonne, C. Greentree, and M.M. Anderson. 2007. Morphology and taphonomy of an Ediacaran frond: Charnia from the Avalon Peninsula of Newfoundland. Geological Society, London, Special Publications 286: 237–257.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laflamme, M., S. Xiao, and M. Kowalewski. 2009. Osmotrophy in modular Ediacara organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States 106: 14438–14443.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Laflamme, M., L.I. Flude, and G.M. Narbonne. 2012. Ecological tiering and the evolution of a stem: the oldest stemmed frond from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada. Journal of Paleontology 86: 193–200.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • LaFlamme, M., J.G. Gehling, and M.L. Drose. 2018. Deconstructing an Ediacaran frond: three-dimensional preservation of Arborea from Ediacara, South Australia. Journal of Paleontology 92: 323–335.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Landing, E., G.M. Narbonne, G.M. Myrow, A.P. Benus, and M.M. Anderson. 1988. Faunas and depositional environments of the Upper Precambrian through Lower Cambrian, southeastern Newfoundland. In Trace fossils, small shelly fossils and the Precambrian–Cambrian boundary, eds. E. Landing, G.M. Narbonne, and P. Myrow. New York State Museum and Geological Survey Bulletin 463: 18–52.

  • Landing, E., P.M. Myrow, G.M. Narbonne, G. Geyer, L.A. Buatois, M.G. Mángano, A.J. Kaufman, S.R. Westrop, B. Kröger, B. Laing, and R. Gougeon. 2017. Ediacaran– Cambrian of Avalonian Eastern Newfoundland (Avalon, Burin, and Bonavista Peninsulas). In International Symposium on the Ediacaran–Cambrian Transition, Field Trip 4, eds. E. Landing, P.M. Myrow, G. Geyer, and D. McIlroy, 1–169.

  • Liu, A.G., and J.J. Matthews. 2017. Great Canadian Lagerstätten 6. Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. Southeast Newfoundland. Geoscience Canada 44: 63–76.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A.G., D. McIlroy, J.B. Antcliffe, and M.D. Brasier. 2011. Effaced preservation in the Ediacara biota and its implications for the early macrofossil record. Palaeontology 54: 607–630.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A.G., D. McIlroy, J.J. Matthews, and M.D. Brasier. 2012b. A new assemblage of juvenile Ediacaran fronds from the Drook Formation, Newfoundland. Journal of the Geological Society 169: 395–403.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A.G., L. Herringshaw, J.J. Matthews, and D. McIlroy. 2012. Ediacaran-Cambrian ichnology, palaeobiology and geology of the Avalon and Burin Peninsulas, Newfoundland, Canada. Field Guide for Ichnia 2012, St John’s, Newfoundland. 88 pp. (Officially published in 2015 as: Part B, Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve Field Trip Guide, ed. D. McIlroy, 231–272. Ichnology: Papers from Ichnia III, Geological Association of Canada Miscellaneous Publications 9).

  • Liu, A.G., C.G. Kenchington, and E.G. Mitchell. 2015. Remarkable insights into the paleoecology of the Avalonian Ediacaran macrobiota. Gondwana Research 27: 1355–1380.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Liu, A.G., J.J. Matthews, and D. McIlroy. 2016. The Beothukis/Culmofrons problem and its bearing on Ediacaran macrofossil taxonomy: evidence from an exceptional new fossil locality. Palaeontology 59: 45–58.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Matthews, J.J., A.G. Liu, and D. McIlroy. 2017. Post-fossilization processed and their implications for understanding Ediacaran macrofossil assemblages. In Earth System Evolution and Early Life: a Celebration of the Work of Martin Brasier, eds. A.T. Brasier, D. McIlroy and N. McLoughlin. Geological Survey, Special Publications 448: 251–270.

  • Matthews, J.J., A.G. Liu, C. Yang, D. McIlroy, B. Levell, and D.J. Condon. 2020. A chronostratigraphic framework for the rise of the Ediacaran macrobiota: new constraints from Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, Newfoundland. GSA Bulletin, July 2020, https://doi.org/10.1130/B35646.1

  • McIlroy, D., M.D. Brasier, and A.S. Lang. 2009. Smothering of microbial mats by macrobiota: implications for the Ediacara biota. Journal of the Geological Society 166: 1117–1121.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • McIlroy, D., J. Hawco, C. McKean, R. Nichols, G. Pasinetti, and R.S. Taylor. 2020. Palaeobiology of the reclining rangeomorph Beothukis from the Ediacaran Mistaken Point Formation of southeastern Newfoundland. (To be published in Geological Magazine special edition: The Ediacaran System and the Ediacaran-Cambrian Transition)

  • Misra, S.B. 1969. Late Precambrian (?) fossils from southeastern Newfoundland. Geological Society of America Bulletin 80: 2133–2140.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, E.G., and N.J. Butterfield. 2018. Spatial analyses of Ediacaran communities at Mistaken Point. Paleobiology 44: 40–57.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, E.G., and C.G. Kenchington. 2018. The utility of height for the Ediacaran organisms of Mistaken Point. Nature Ecology & Evolution 2: 1218–1222.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Mitchell, E.G., C.G. Kenchington, A.G. Liu, J.J. Matthews, and N.J. Butterfield. 2015. Reconstructing the reproductive mode of an Ediacaran macro-organism. Nature 524: 343–346.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narbonne, G.M. 2004. Modular construction of early Ediacaran complex life forms. Science 305: 1141–1144.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narbonne, G.M. 2005. The Ediacara Biota: Neoproterozoic Origin of Animals and Their Ecosystem. Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences 33: 421–442.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Narbonne, G.M., R.W. Dalrymple, and J.G. Gehling. 2001. Neoproterozoic fossils and environments of the Avalon Peninsula, Newfoundland. Field Trip B5, Geological Association of Canada—Mineralogical Association of Canada joint annual meeting, St. John’s, Newfoundland, 1–98.

  • Narbonne, G.M., R.W. Dalrymple, J.G. Gehling, D.A. Wood, M.E. Clapham, and R.A. Sala. 2002. Life after Snowball: the Mistaken Point biota and the early evolution of animals. Geological Association of Canada, Newfoundland Section, St. John's, Newfoundland, Canada, Field Trip Guidebook 4–6 October 2002, 1–49.

  • Narbonne, G.M., R.W. Dalrymple, M. LaFlamme, J.G. Gehling, and W.D. Boyce. 2005. Life after Snowball: Mistaken Point Biota and the Cambrian of the Avalon. North American Paleontology Convention, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, Field Trip Guidebook June 19–25, 2005, 1–100.

  • Narbonne, G.M., J.G. Gehling, and P. Vickers-Rich. 2007. The Misty Coasts of Newfoundland. In The Rise of Animals. Evolution and Diversification of the Animal Kingdom, eds. M.A. Fedonkin, J.G. Gehling, K. Grey, G.M. Narbonne, and P. Vickers-Rich, 53–67. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.

  • O'Brien, S.J., and A.F. King. 2005. Late Neoproterozoic (Ediacaran) stratigraphy of the Avalon zone sedimentary rocks, Bonavista Peninsula, Newfoundland. Current Research, Newfoundland and Labrador Department of Natural Resources Geological Survey 05–1: 101–113.

  • Pflug, H.D. 1972. Zur fauna der Nama-Schichten in Südwest-Afrika. III. Erniettomorpha, Bau und Systematik. Palaeontographica (A: Paläozoologie, Stratigraphie) 139: 134–170.

  • Pu, J.P., S.A. Bowring, J. Ramezani, P. Myrow, T.D. Raub, E. Landing, A. Mills, R. Hodgin, and F.A. Macdonald. 2016. Dodging snowballs: Geochronology of the Gaskiers glaciation and the first appearance of the Ediacaran biota. Geology 44: 955–958.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Ramsay, J.G. 1967. Folding and Fracturing of Rocks, 1–568. New York: McGraw-Hill.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A. 1964. Biogenic sedimentary structures. In Approaches to paleoecology, eds. J. Imbrie and N.D. Newell, 296–316. New York: Wiley.

    Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A. 1989. Vendozoa: Organismic construction in the Proterozoic biosphere. Lethaia 11: 229–239.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Seilacher, A. 1992. Vendobionta and Psammocorallia—lost constructions of Precambrian evolution. Journal of the Geological Society of London 149: 607–613.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Suess, E. 1979. Mineral phases formed in anoxic sediments by microbial decomposition of organic matter. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 43(339–341): 343–353.

    Google Scholar 

  • Thiel, J., J.M. Byrne, A. Kappler, B. Schink, and M. Pester. 2019. Pyrite formation from FeS and H2S is mediated through microbial redox activity. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 116: 6897–6902.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Tolhurst, T.J., G. Gust, and D.M. Paterson. 2002. The influence of an extracellular polymeric substance (EPS) on cohesive sediment stability. In Fine Sediment Dynamics in the Marine Environment, eds. J.C. Winterwerp and C. Kranenburg. Proceedings in Marine Science Series 5: 409–425.

  • Vickers-Rich, P., A.Y. Ivantsov, P.W. Trusler, G.M. Narbonne, M. Hall, S.A. Wilson, C. Greentree, M.A. Fedonkin, D.A. Elliott, K.H. Hoffmann, and G.I.C. Schneider. 2013. Reconstructing Rangea: new discoveries from the Ediacaran of southern Namibia. Journal of Paleontology 87: 1–15.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Wood, D.A., R.W. Dalrymple, G.M. Narbonne, J.G. Gehling, and M.E. Clapham. 2003. Paleoenviromental analysis of the late Neoproterozoic Mistaken Point and Trepassey formations, Southeastern Newfoundland. Canadian Journal of Earth Sciences 40: 1375–1313.

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We wish to thank the people of the communities of the Avalon Peninsula’s Southern Shore as well as Bonavista Peninsula’s Port Union for their support over the course of this project. We also wish to thank the staff at the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve for their assistance and support. Permits are required for Ediacaran research in the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve and the Bonavista Peninsula; they are available from the Department of Fisheries and Land Resources and the Department of Tourism, Culture, Industry and Innovation, respectively. Maryam Akrami is thanked for providing the authors with access to Royal Ontario Museum material. Thanks also go out to Jessica Hawko, for fieldwork assistance and helpful discussions during the writing of this manuscript. Financial support for this project was made available through Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Discovery Grant funding to D. McIlroy.

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Sciences, Memorial University of Newfoundland, St. John’s, NL, A1B 3X5, Canada

    Rod S. Taylor, Jack J. Matthews & Duncan McIlroy

  2. Oxford University Museum of Natural History, South Parks Road, Oxford, OX1 3PR, UK

    Jack J. Matthews

  3. Paleocreations, Kingswood, Bristol, BS15 9QQ, UK

    Robert Nicholls

  4. Bonne Bay Marine Station, Memorial University of Newfoundland, PO Box 69, Norris Point, A0K 3V0, Canada

    Duncan McIlroy

Authors
  1. Rod S. Taylor
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Jack J. Matthews
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Robert Nicholls
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Duncan McIlroy
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Rod S. Taylor.

Additional information

Handling Editor: Mike Reich.

Supplementary Information

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Taylor, R.S., Matthews, J.J., Nicholls, R. et al. A re-assessment of the taxonomy, palaeobiology and taphonomy of the rangeomorph organism Hapsidophyllas flexibilis from the Ediacaran of Newfoundland, Canada. PalZ 95, 187–207 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-020-00537-4

Download citation

  • Received:

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12542-020-00537-4

Keywords

Search

Navigation