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Paper No. 52-7
Presentation Time: 11:30 AM

TWO NOVEL BIOMINERALIZED TUBULAR FOSSILS FROM THE TERMINAL EDIACARAN, CENTRAL IRAN


LINDSAY-KAUFMAN, Amelia, Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, 101 Geology Building, Columbia, MO 65211, SCHIFFBAUER, James D., Department of Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65211, VAZIRI, Seyed Hamid, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5L1C6, Canada, MAJIDIFARD, Mahmoud Reza, Stratigraphy and Paleontology, Geological Survey of Iran, Geological Survey of Iran, Meraj blvd, ., Azadi sq, P.O. Box: 13185-1494, Tehran, 0098-21, Iran, ROSBACH, Stephanie A., Geological Sciences, University of Missouri, 101 Geological Sciences Building, Columbia, MO 65211, SELLY, Tara, X-ray Microanalysis Core, University of Missouri, 101 Geological Sciences Building, Columbia, MO 65211 and LAFLAMME, Marc, Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of Toronto Mississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, ON L5L 1C6, Canada

Fossil deposits from the terminal Ediacaran are commonly characterized by enigmatic millimeter-scale tubular forms, the best known of which is the genus Cloudina. Samples consisting of hundreds of fragments of previously unidentified tubular fossils, outwardly appearing most similar to Cloudina shell hash, were collected from the Kushk Series in the Bafq and Behabad regions of central Iran along with numerous other late Ediacaran fossils (Vaziri et al, 2018, Scientific Reports). These samples were analyzed using Gigamacro photomosaicing, scanning electron microscopy, energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy, and X-ray tomographic microscopy, with the goal of investigating the morphological and taxonomic characteristics of the tubular fossils and their preservational history. Statistical analysis of morphometric measurements of the tubes has revealed that these samples contain populations of two distinct tubular organisms. Elemental composition data suggest that the fossils have a complex preservational history consisting of a phase of calcium carbonate infilling of the inside of the tube, along with mineral replacement of the tube itself with calcium phosphate. Through these investigations, we further our understanding of the ecology of the earliest shelly animals and continue to shed light on the one of the most intriguing periods of animal evolution.

Session No. 52

T77. New Insights into the History of Life from Novel Techniques
Tuesday, 27 October 2020: 10:00 AM-12:00 PM
Geological Society of America Abstracts with Programs. Vol 52, No. 6
doi: 10.1130/abs/2020AM-358511
© Copyright 2020 The Geological Society of America (GSA), all rights reserved. Permission is hereby granted to the author(s) of this abstract to reproduce and distribute it freely, for noncommercial purposes. Permission is hereby granted to any individual scientist to download a single copy of this electronic file and reproduce up to 20 paper copies for noncommercial purposes advancing science and education, including classroom use, providing all reproductions include the complete content shown here, including the author information. All other forms of reproduction and/or transmittal are prohibited without written permission from GSA Copyright Permissions.
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