The rangeomorph Pectinifrons abyssalis: Hydrodynamic function at the dawn of animal life.

ABSTRACT: Rangeomorphs are among the oldest putative eumetazoans known from the fossil record. Establishing how they fed is thus key to understanding the structure and function of the earliest animal ecosystems. Here, we use computational fluid dynamics to test hypothesized feeding modes for the fence-like rangeomorph Pectinifrons abyssalis, comparing this to the morphologically similar extant carnivorous sponge Chondrocladia lyra. Our results reveal complex patterns of flow around P. abyssalis unlike those previously reconstructed for any other Ediacaran taxon. Comparisons with C. lyra reveal substantial differences between the two organisms, suggesting they converged on a similar fence-like morphology for different functions. We argue that the flow patterns recov

SUBMITTER: Darroch SAF 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9900436 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature