Annulatubus
Annulatubus is a genus of the Ediacaran biota (635-542 Ma) found in Northwest Canada, and Northern Siberia. It has been found in both shallow water and deep-water assemblages no older than 560 Ma placing it within the youngest Ediacaran.
| Annulatubus | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia (?) |
| Genus: | †Annulatubus |
| Species: | †A. flexuosus |
| Binomial name | |
| †Annulatubus flexuosus | |
Morphology
Annulatubus, meaning ringed tube, possesses a long tube-like structure with uniformly spaced ridges. At lengths between 178mm, and 250mm, and widths between 15mm and 50mm it is significantly larger than most other tube-like fossils of the Ediacaran.
It is described as having a similar ringed tube structure to Sekwitibulus but differs in size and ridge shape. It is unknown if Annulatubus possessed a holdfast like other similar Ediacarans.[1]
Diversity
The only known species within the genus is Annulatubus flexuosus.[1]
Discovery
Annulatubus flexuosus was discovered in the Blueflower formation from the Mackenzie Mountains of Northwest Canada.[1] In 2008 a similar Ediacaran was discovered from the late Ediacaran Khatyspyt formation of Northern Siberia by Dmitriy V. Grazhdankin, Uwe Balthasar, Konstantin E. Nagovitsin, and Boris B. Kochnev. Carbone et al.[2] recognized the specimen that Grazhdankin et al. described as belonging to the Annulatubus genus but not enough material exists to recognize it as A. flexuosus or a new species.
Distribution
Annulatubus has been found in the sandstone beds of the Blueflower Formation in Northwest Canada and within the mudstones of the Khatyspyt Formation of Northern Siberia.[2]
Ecology
The lifestyle of Annulatubus is unknown other than it has been found in both shallow and deep-water deposits.[1]
References
- Carbone, Calla; Narbonne, Guy; Macdonald, Francis; boag, Thomas (2015). "New Ediacaran fossils from the uppermost Blueflower Formation, northwest Canada: disentangling biostratigraphy and paleoecology". Journal of Paleontology. 89 (2): 281–291. doi:10.1017/jpa.2014.25. S2CID 131344652.
- Grazhdankin, Dmitriy; Balthasar, Uwe; Nagovitsin, Konstantin; Kochnev, Boris (2008). "Carbonate-hosted Avalon-type fossils in arctic Siberia". Geology. 36 (10): 803–806. Bibcode:2008Geo....36..803G. doi:10.1130/G24946A.1.