Dickinsonia

Dickinsonia is an extinct, flattened, segmented organism known from Ediacaran fossils more than 550 million years old. Its biological affinities remain debated, though chemical evidence supports an animal interpretation.

Ediacaran biota: The diverse assemblage of mostly soft-bodied organisms that lived during the Ediacaran Period. Dickinsonia is among the most recognizable forms in this pre-Cambrian assemblage.
Dickinsonia costata: A species of Dickinsonia distinguished by its oval outline and repeated transverse body units. This commonly discussed species illustrates the genus’s characteristic segmented form.
Animal: A multicellular eukaryote that develops from an embryo and obtains energy by consuming organic matter. The animal interpretation of Dickinsonia is supported by molecular fossils but remains debated.
Reginald Sprigg: An Australian geologist who discovered and described the Ediacara fossils in the 1940s. Sprigg’s discoveries brought Dickinsonia and related fossils to scientific attention.
Ediacaran Period: The final geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era, spanning about 635 to 538.8 million years ago. The fossil record places Dickinsonia in this period, before the Cambrian diversification.
Ediacaran trace fossils: Preserved marks made by organisms moving or feeding on Ediacaran seafloors. Some traces associated with Dickinsonia have been interpreted as evidence of movement and feeding.
Eukaryote: An organism whose cells contain nuclei and membrane-bound organelles. Competing classifications place Dickinsonia among different branches of eukaryotic life.
Ediacara Hills: A range of hills in South Australia where fossils of Ediacaran organisms were first recognized. The fossil-bearing region helped establish Dickinsonia as part of an ancient biota.
Fossilization: The processes by which remains or traces of organisms become preserved in geological materials. Rapid burial helped preserve Dickinsonia’s broad body outlines in sediment.
Seafloor grazing: Feeding by consuming microbial films or other food spread across the seabed. Dickinsonia may have absorbed nutrients while moving across microbial mats.

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KimberellaCompared with: Its repeated body units contrast with Kimberella’s more clearly differentiated front and back.