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Relating Ediacaran Fronds

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 March 2017

T. Alexander Dececchi ,
Guy M. Narbonne ,
Carolyn Greentree  and
Marc Laflamme
T. Alexander Dececchi
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. E-mail: td50@queensu.ca, narbonne@queensu.ca
Guy M. Narbonne
Affiliation:
Department of Geological Sciences and Geological Engineering, Queen’s University, Kingston, Ontario K7L 3N6, Canada. E-mail: td50@queensu.ca, narbonne@queensu.ca
Carolyn Greentree
Affiliation:
School of Earth, Atmosphere and Environment, Monash University, Clayton, Victoria 3800, Australia. E-mail: cgreeentr@yahoo.co.uk
Marc Laflamme
Affiliation:
Department of Chemical and Physical Sciences, University of TorontoMississauga, 3359 Mississauga Road, Mississauga, Ontario L5L 1C6, Canada. E-mail: marc.laflamme@utoronto.ca
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Abstract

Ediacaran fronds are key components of terminal-Proterozoic ecosystems. They represent one of the most widespread and common body forms ranging across all major Ediacaran fossil localities and time slices postdating the Gaskiers glaciation, but uncertainty over their phylogenetic affinities has led to uncertainty over issues of homology and functional morphology between and within organisms displaying this ecomorphology. Here we present the first large-scale, multigroup cladistic analysis of Ediacaran organisms, sampling 20 ingroup taxa with previously asserted affinities to the Arboreomorpha, Erniettomorpha, and Rangeomorpha. Using a newly derived morphological character matrix that incorporates multiple axes of potential phylogenetically informative data, including architectural, developmental, and structural qualities, we seek to illuminate the evolutionary history of these organisms. We find strong support for existing classification schema and devise apomorphy-based definitions for each of the three frondose clades examined here. Through a rigorous cladistic framework it is possible to discern the pattern of evolution within and between these clades, including the identification of homoplasies and functional constraints. This work both validates earlier studies of Ediacaran groups and accentuates instances in which previous assumptions of their natural history are uninformative.

Type
Paleobiology Letters - Rapid Communication
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 43 , Issue 2 , May 2017 , pp. 171 - 180
Copyright
Copyright © 2017 The Paleontological Society. All rights reserved 

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