X-RAY MICRO-CT INVESTIGATION OF THE EDIACARA FOSSIL PTERIDINIUM SIMPLEX FROM NAMIBIA

Ediacara fossils often exhibit enigmatic morphologies that defy easy characterization and ready categorization with extant taxa; such is the case with the tri-vaned late Ediacara fossil Pteridinium simplex from the Ediacaran Kliphoek Member in southern Namibia. While it is a widely distributed taxon, Pteridinium simplex in Namibia is typically preserved as three-dimensional casts and molds in coarse grained sandstones and quartzites, making detailed morphological characterization difficult. In addition, Pteridinium simplex is often transported, distorted, and embedded in gutter fills, channel or mass flow deposits, further obscuring its morphologies. By utilizing X-ray microCT techniques, we were able to trace individual vanes of Pteridinium simplex and restore the three-dimensional morphology of this enigmatic fossil. X-ray microCT offers a new opportunity to investigate the morphologies of three-dimensionally preserved Ediacara fossils.