Gehlingia Temporal range: Ediacaran
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Artists reconstruction of Gehlingia dibrachida (note deep groove and tubular structures). Reconstruction from McMenamin and McMenamin, 1994, Hypersea: Life on Land modified by Heather Winkelmann. | |
Scientific classification | |
Domain: | Eukaryota |
Kingdom: | Animalia |
Phylum: | incertae sedis |
Genus: | †Gehlingia McMenamin, 1998 |
Species: | †G. dibrachida
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Binomial name | |
†Gehlingia dibrachida McMenamin, 1998
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Gehlingia dibrachida is a species of enigmatic Ediacaran organism from South Australia described in 1998. Gehlingia has been described as having many characteristics of petalonamids, although it has been classified as a rather close relative of the Tribrachidium.[1] The overall shape of Gehlingia contradicts this affinity, however, with its shape being a more Bilaterally symmetrical one although the basic structure similar to that of Tribrachidium appears in Gehlingia as separate branches extending into bifurcating minor branches[1] along with "thumb structures" that are apparent in Tribrachidium in the form of side bulges on an axis.[2]