Era
Ediacaran
ee-dee-AK-uh-run
Also Known As Vendian Earlier Russian-proposed name (Sokolov, 1952) for an overlapping but not identical span; retained here as the period's best-known former name.
Proterozoic
The Ediacaran is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era, running from the end of the Cryogenian Period about 635 million years ago to the start of the Cambrian Period 538.8 million years ago. It is named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, where geologist Reg Sprigg discovered trace fossils of a previously unrecognized community of organisms in 1946. The period records the first widespread appearance of complex, soft-bodied multicellular life, the Ediacaran biota, following the end of the Cryogenian's global glaciations. It closes with the Cambrian explosion, the rapid diversification of animal body plans that followed.
Facts
Start (Million Years Ago)Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas. End (Million Years Ago)Standard boundary age from the ICS International Chronostratigraphic Chart; not independently re-dated by this atlas. Key EventThe Ediacaran biota, the first widespread complex multicellular fauna, appeared following the end of the Cryogenian's Snowball Earth glaciations; the period closes with the Cambrian explosion. 1 Defining Event Ediacaran
Filter Results5 entries
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Anticipated By
Associated With
Source Doushantuo Formation (Wikipedia)
Source Ediacara Hills (Wikipedia)
Source Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (Wikipedia)
Source Nama Group (Wikipedia)
Source Scandinavian Mountains (Wikipedia)
Has Geologic Rank
Sources
1. Ediacaran (Wikipedia)
Wikimedia FoundationLead section
The Ediacaran Period is named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, where trace fossils of a diverse community of previously unrecognized lifeforms (later named the Ediacaran biota) were first discovered by geologist Reg Sprigg in 1946.
Lead section
The Ediacaran ( EE-dee-AK-ər-ən, ED-ee-) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period 635 million years ago to the beginning of the Cambrian Period 538.8 million years ago.
Introduction (key event)
The Ediacaran marks the first widespread appearance of complex multicellular fauna following the end of the Cryogenian global glaciation known as the Snowball Earth.
Ediacaran vs. Vendian
The Ediacaran Period overlaps but is shorter than the Vendian Period (650 to 543 million years ago), a name that was earlier, in 1952, proposed by Russian geologist and paleontologist Boris Sokolov.
Lead paragraph
The relatively sudden evolutionary radiation event, known as the Avalon Explosion, is represented by now-extinct, relatively simple soft-bodied animal phyla such as Proarticulata (bilaterians with simple articulation, e.g.
View the Source Doushantuo Formation (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Doushantuo Formation, Lead paragraph
The formation, whose deposits date back to the Early and Middle Ediacaran, is of particular interest because it covers the poorly understood interval of time between the end of the Cryogenian geological period and the more familiar fauna of the Late Ediacaran Avalon explosion, as well as due to its microfossils' potential utility as biostratigraphical markers.
Associated With: Doushantuo Formation, Lead, age Ediacaran
The formation, whose deposits date back to the Early and Middle Ediacaran, is of particular interest because it covers the poorly understood interval of time between the end of the Cryogenian geological period and the more familiar fauna of the Late Ediacaran Avalon explosion, as well as due to its microfossils' potential utility as biostratigraphical markers.
View the SourceNama Group (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Nama Group, Lead paragraph
The Nama Group is a 125,000 square kilometres (48,000 sq mi) megaregional Ediacaran group of stratigraphic sequences deposited in the Nama foreland basin in central and southern Namibia.
Associated With: Nama Group, Lead, age Ediacaran
The Nama Group is a 125,000 square kilometres (48,000 sq mi) megaregional Ediacaran group of stratigraphic sequences deposited in the Nama foreland basin in central and southern Namibia.
View the SourceEdiacara Hills (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Ediacara Hills, Lead, age EdiacaranQuote, Associated With: Ediacara Hills, Lead, age Ediacaran
These fossil beds contain some of the oldest known multicellular lifeforms, the importance of which has led to the naming of the Ediacaran geological period.
Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Mistaken Point, Lead, age EdiacaranQuote, Associated With: Mistaken Point, Lead, age Ediacaran
The reserve is home to the namesake Mistaken Point Formation, which contains one of the most diverse and well-preserved collections of Precambrian fossils in the world. Ediacaran fossils discovered at the site constitute the oldest known remnants of multicellular life on Earth.
Scandinavian Mountains (Wikipedia)
Associated With: Scandinavian Mountains, Article text, age EdiacaranQuote, Associated With: Scandinavian Mountains, Article text, age Ediacaran
The lower unit is made up Ediacaran (Vendian), Cambrian, Ordovician and Silurian-aged sedimentary rocks.
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