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Dickinsonia
*** Shopping-Tip: Dickinsonia
'''''Dickinsonia''''' is an ancient ovoid fossil with somewhat radial tubes from a (sometimes missing) central ridge. The ends are different, with close spaced tubes on one end and larger, more widely spaced tubes on the other. However, it is unclear whether there is an actual
head (anatomy) head and
tail.
''Dickinsonia'' somewhat resembles the
Polychaete worm ''
Spinther''. It is thought by some possibly to be an
annelid worm. It has also been described as a
jellyfish,
coral,
sea anemone, an
arthropod, a
bacterium, a new
phylum (biology) phylum, a new
kingdom (biology) kingdom, and as an
Alien (biology) alien animal. Four species are known; ''Dikinsonia costata'', ''Dikinsonia lissa'', ''Dikinsonia tenuis'', and ''Dikinsonia rex'', the last of which can be as large as 43 cm.
''Dickinsonia'' is known from
neoproterozoic beds in both the
Alice Springs and
Ediacara regions of
Australia, as well as
Rajastan,
Podolia, and the
White Sea region of
Russia. ''Dickinsonia'' is generally regarded as a member of the
Vendazoa — a group of somewhat obscure organisms that thrived just before most of the modern multicellular animal phyla appeared. It is unclear if the
Vendazoa are plants, animals, or something else entirely. Another
Vendazoa vendazoan known as ''
Marywadea'' somewhat resembles ''Dickinsonia'' and may be related.
External links
* A picture of Dickinsonia can be found at http://www.yale.edu/ypmip/taxon/vendo/35467.html
Category:Fossils
Category:Vendian biota
