Rutgersella

Rutgersella truexi is a form species for problematic fossils of Early Silurian age in Pennsylvania. It has been of special interest because of its morphological similarity with the iconic Ediacaran fossil Dickinsonia, and may have been a late surviving vendobiont.[1]

Rutgersella
Temporal range:
Rutgersella truexi from the Early Silurian Shawangunk Formation of Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
incertae sedis
Genus:
†Rutgersella

Johnson and Fox 1968
Species
  • Rutgersella truexi

Description

Rutgersella truexi is a flat, segmented fossil, with both radial and bilateral symmetry like Dickinsonia, but with a shorter midline. The fossils are pyritized; some internal chambers are filled with chalcedony, so that they are preserved along with proposed "basal rhizines".

Controversially, according to Retallack, these observations suggest affinities with lichens, and perhaps the fungal phylum Glomeromycota,[1] a statement not currently supported by more verifiable palaeontologists.[2]

  • Petrographic thin section of Rutgersella truexi from Early Silurian Shawangunk Formation of Pennsylvania
    Petrographic thin section of Rutgersella truexi from Early Silurian Shawangunk Formation of Pennsylvania

References
  1. Retallack, G.J. (2015). "Reassessment of the problematic fossil Rutgersella as another post-Ediacaran vendobiont". Alcheringa. 39 (4): 573–588. doi:10.1080/03115518.2015.1069483. S2CID 54780312.
  2. Runnegar, B. (2021). "Following the logic behind biological interpretations of the Ediacaran biotas". Geological Magazine. 159 (4): 1–25. doi:10.1017/S0016756821000443. S2CID 237757573.
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