Guide to informal names used in the study of global Vendian biodiversity and biogeography

The soft-bodied organisms of the Vendian have still not been fully studied. A number of fossil forms have never been named but have been figured in the literature and appear to represent distinctive forms, commensurate with known form genera. In some cases, as in the case of the unusual biota from Newfoundland, these forms have been discussed extensively without being formally described. I wished to include them in my biogeographic analysis of the Vendian, as some of them are important components of their biotas. I had to draw up informal names for these organisms; to allow other scientists to find out exactly which organisms I meant, I have created this list. References are all given in full in the accompanying bibliography.

"comb"

#8 in matrix.

Locality: Newfoundland

Description: Straight narrow cylinder with several equally spaced branches arising along one side of the main branch at about 90 degrees to it. Taxonomic affiliation unknown, possibly colonial cnidarian.

Documentation: Anderson and Conway Morris, 1982: plate 1, figures 1, 2. Mentioned but not adequately figured in Misra, 1969.

"waterlily"

#9 in matrix.

Locality: Newfoundland, Charnwood Forest

Description: Broad frondlike fossil with no obvious midline or holdfast; resembles a waterlily leaf in shape. Taxonomic affinity unknown.

Documentation: Originally published in Misra, 1969: plate 6 (S.B. Misra refers to this as the "dendrite-like organism") See also Anderson and Conway Morris, 1982: plate 1, figures 3-4 (they refer to it as a "bush-like form"); Jenkins, 1992: figure 4 (E); Seilacher, 1992: figure 1.

"spindle"

#10 in matrix.

Locality: Newfoundland, Charnwood Forest

Description: Elongated, spindle-shaped frondlike fossil, apparently composed of several layers of finer overlapping fronds. Taxonomic affinity possibly with octocorals.

Documentation: Originally figured in Misra, 1969: plates 1-8. See also Anderson and Conway Morris, 1982: plate 1, figures 5-9; Jenkins, 1992: figure 4 (B); Seilacher, 1992: figure 1.

"spindleholdfast"

#11 in matrix

Locality: Newfoundland

Decsription: Similar to the "spindle" above, but there appears to be a saclike holdfast organ emerging from the midline of the organism. There is no obvious stalk. Taxonomic affinity uncertain, possibly with octocorals.

Documentation: Seilacher, 1992: figure 1. (N.B.: This is a line drawing; no actual specimens appear to be figured.)

"segmented"

#12 in matrix.

Locality: Namibia; southwestern United States

Description: Segmented, frondlike fossil somewhat resembling Pteridinium, but with prominent segmented stalklike structure along midline. Grotzinger et al. (1995) suggest that it may be either close to Nasepia or a dickinsoniid; Runnegar (pers. comm. 1996) identifies it with Nasepia, but I prefer to wait before making a definitive identification. Since both Nasepia and the "segmented" form are restricted to Namibia, this makes no difference to the results presented here.

Documentation: Grotzinger et al., 1995, fig. 2C; G. Narbonne, personal communication, 1995 (Namibia); personal observations, 1997 (USA).

"sieve"

#13 in matrix.

Locality: White Sea

Description: Flat, triangular form with equally spaced subquadrate holes.

Documentation: Personal observations, collections of Paleontological Institute, Moscow, 1993, 1994.

"diamondfrond"

#14 in matrix.

Locality: Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

Description: Frondlike fossil with long stalk passing into nondescript frond with diamond- or spindle-like shape. Taxonomic affinity possibly with pennatulaceans.

Documentation: Jenkins, 1984: plate 1, fig. 1

"bulbousfrond"

#15 in matrix.

Locality: Flinders Ranges, South Australia.

Description: Unusual, unnamed frondlike form with thick stalk. Taxonomic affinity unknown.

Documentation: McMenamin, 1993: fig. 1(E).

"star"

#78 in matrix.

Locality: Newfoundland

Description: Round stellate organism. Taxonomic affinity unknown; may be trace fossil, but describers consider this unlikely.

Documentation: Anderson and Conway Morris, 1982: text-figures 3, 4.

"champagne"

#96 in matrix

Locality: White Sea.

Description: Radiating lines from a circular central region. Named by Russian colleagues for the burst of foam from an opened bottle of champagne (Russian: bryzgi shampan'skogo).

Documentation: Personal observations in field, Winter Coast of White Sea, Russia. Similar and possibly equivalent to fossil interpreted as a trace fossil by Gehling, 1991: plate 6, fig. 3. However, I currently interpret the Russian forms as body fossils.

"threebranched"

#101 in matrix

Locality: White Sea.

Description: Thick stalk with possible holdfast, branching into three branches. Taxonomic affinity unknown.

Documentation: Sokolov and Iwanowski, 1985: plate 5, figure 1.

"cups"

#105 in matrix.

Locality: Namibia.

Description: Small, mineralized fossils resembling a chalice or wineglass. Taxonomic affinity unknown.

Documentation: Langille, 1974; Grotzinger et al., 1995; fig. 2A.

"Vendospica diplograptiformis"

#106 in matrix.

Locality: North Carolina.

Description: Impressions or tool marks produced by an elongate, spinose organism resembling a colonial hydroid or graptolite. Binomial name given in illustration; name has not yet been validated by formal description and designation of a type.

Documentation: Seilacher, 1993; fig. 6.

"cones"

#107 in matrix.

Location: Southwestern United States (Death Valley, California)

Description: Cup-shaped to cone-shaped mineralized fossils.

Documentation: Langille, 1974

"smoothtubes"

#110 in matrix.

Location: Sonora region, Mexico

Description: Mineralized tubular fossils, distinguished from cloudinids by a smooth outer surface.