Ediacara growing pains: Modular addition and development in Dickinsonia costata.

ABSTRACT: Constraining patterns of growth using directly observable and quantifiable characteristics can reveal a wealth of information regarding the biology of the Ediacara Biota - the oldest macroscopic, complex community forming organisms in the fossil record. However, these rely on individuals captured at an instant in time at various growth stages, and so different interpretations can be derived from the same material. Here we leverage newly discovered and well-preserved Dickinsonia costata Sprigg 1947 from South Australia, combined with hundreds of previously described specimens, to test competing hypotheses for the location of module addition. We find considerable variation in the relationship between the total number of modules and body size that cannot be explained solely by expansio

SUBMITTER: Evans SD 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8740542 | biostudies-literature | 2022

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature