Ausia fenestrata

Ausia fenestrata
Temporal range: Ediacaran
Fossil and M. Fedonkin reconstruction of Ausia as sponge-like organism
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Chordata
Subphylum: Tunicata
Class: Ascidiacea
Genus: †Ausia
Hahn and Pflug, 1985
Species:
†A. fenestrata
Binomial name
†Ausia fenestrata
Hahn and Pflug, 1985[1]

Ausia fenestrata is a curious Ediacaran period (635 – 539 million years ago)[2] fossil represented by only one specimen 5 cm long from the Nama Group, a Vendian to Cambrian group of stratigraphic sequences deposited in the Nama foreland basin in central and southern Namibia.[1] It has similarity to Burykhia from Ediacaran (Vendian) siliciclastic sediments exposed on the Syuzma River of Arkhangelsk Oblast, northwest Russia.[3][4][5] This fossil is of the form of an elongate bag-like sandstone cast (Nama-type preservation) tapering to a cone on one end. The surface of the fossil is covered with oval depressions ("windows") regularly spaced over the surface in the manner of concentric/parallel rows. The taxonomic identity of Ausia is unresolved.

  1. ^ a b Hahn, G.; Pflug, H. D. (1985). "Polypenartige Organismen aus dem Jung-Präkambrium (Nama-Gruppe) von Namibia". Geologica et Palaeontologica. 19: 1–13.
  2. ^ "Stratigraphic Chart 2022" (PDF). International Stratigraphic Commission. February 2022. Retrieved 25 April 2022.
  3. ^ "IGCP 493 Annual Report 2003" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2008-07-21. Retrieved 2008-11-20.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference Fedonkin_1996 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Cite error: The named reference Oslo_2008 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).