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Long expected sponges from the Neoproterozoic Ediacara fauna of South Australia

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  20 May 2016

James G. Gehling  and
J. Keith Rigby
James G. Gehling
Affiliation:
Salisbury Campus, University of South Australia, Smith Road, Salisbury East, 5109, Australia
J. Keith Rigby
Affiliation:
Geology Department, 258 ESC, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah 84602
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Abstract

New fossils from the Neoproterozoic Ediacara fauna of South Australia are interpreted as the oldest known hexactinellid sponges. They occur within the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite (Pound Subgroup) from several locations in the Flinders Ranges. The new genus, Palaeophragmodictya, is characterized by disc-shaped impressions preserving characteristic spicular networks and is reconstructed as a convex sponge with a peripheral frill and an oscular disc at the apex.

Type
Research Article
Information
Journal of Paleontology , Volume 70 , Issue 2 , March 1996 , pp. 185 - 195
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

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