Dickinsonia is an ancient ovoid fossil with somewhat radial tubes from a (sometimes missing) central ridge. The ends are different, with close spaced tubes on one end and larger, more widely spaced tubes on the other. However, it is unclear whether there is an actual head and tail. The Ediacaran Period (from the Ediacara Hills of South Australia) is the last geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era, just before the Cambrian. ... Image File history File links Metadata Size of this preview: 573 × 600 pixelsFull resolution (600 × 628 pixel, file size: 555 KB, MIME type: image/jpeg) A trio of the bizarre Vendazoan, Dickinsonia costata, of Precambrian Australia (C) Stanton F. Fink File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del... The conservation status of a species is an indicator of the likelihood of that species continuing to survive either in the present day or the future. ... FOSSIL is a standard for allowing serial communication for telecommunications programs under DOS. FOSSIL is an acronym for Fido Opus Seadog Standard Interface Layer. ... Scientific classification or biological classification is a method by which biologists group and categorize species of organisms. ... Incertae sedis—of uncertain position (seat)—is a term used to define a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. ... The Vendian biota (also known as Vendian forms, Vendian fauna(s), and Vendazoa) are a group of ancient lifeforms that are found in rocks a bit older than the Cambrian faunas that represent the oldest fossils of classical paleontology. ... Proarticulata is a proposed extinct phylum of very early bilateral animals known from fossils found in the Ediacaran (Vendian) fauna. ... Genera Dickinsonia Yorgia The Dickinsoniidea are an enigmatic group of Ediacaran fossils with an airbed-like quilted morphology, sometimes found in association with bizarre trace fossils. ... For other uses of the word head, see head (disambiguation). ... A scorpion tail The tail is the section at the rear end of an animals body; in general, the term refers to a distinct, flexible appendage to the torso. ...

Dickinsonia somewhat resembles the Polychaete worm Spinther. It is thought by some possibly to be an annelid worm. It has also been described as a jellyfish, coral, sea anemone, and a lichen^[2]. Four species are known; Dickinsonia costata, Dickinsonia lissa, Dickinsonia tenuis, and Dickinsonia rex, the last of which can be as large as 43 cm. Subclasses Palpata Scoleoida Tomopteris from plankton The Polychaeta or polychaetes are a class of annelid worms, generally marine. ... Classes and subclasses Class Polychaeta (paraphyletic?) Class Clitellata    Oligochaeta - Earthworms and others    Acanthobdellida    Branchiobdellida    Hirudinea - Leeches Class Myzostomida Class Archiannelida (polyphyletic) Class Echiura *Some authors consider the subclasses under Clitellata to be classes The annelids, collectively called Annelida, are a large phylum of animals, comprising the segmented worms, with about... Orders Stauromedusae Coronatae Semaeostomeae Rhizostomae Jellyfish are marine invertebrates belonging to the Scyphozoan class. ... Extant Subclasses and Orders Alcyonaria    Alcyonacea    Helioporacea Zoantharia    Antipatharia    Corallimorpharia    Scleractinia    Zoanthidea [1][2]  See Anthozoa for details For other uses, see Coral (disambiguation). ... Families Many, see text. ... Lichenes from Ernst Haeckels Artforms of Nature, 1904 Lichens are symbiotic associations of a fungus (the mycobiont) with a photosynthetic partner (the photobiont also known as the phycobiont) that can produce food for the lichen from sunlight. ...

Fossil of Dickinsonia

The segments of Dickinsonia have been described as chambers filled with a liquid at higher than ambient pressure, analogous to a quilted air mattress. Features in a few specimens have been interpreted as evidence of logitudal muscle fibers, and a medial gut. Brian Morton argues that Dickonsonia is close to the ancestry of the chordates.^[3] Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ... Image File history File linksMetadata Size of this preview: 800 × 600 pixel Image in higher resolution (2272 × 1704 pixel, file size: 1. ... An air mattress is an inflatable mattress, usually made of some sort of plastic. ... For the Physics term GUT, please refer to Grand unification theory The gastrointestinal or digestive tract, also referred to as the GI tract or the alimentary canal or the gut, is the system of organs within multicellular animals which takes in food, digests it to extract energy and nutrients, and... Typical Classes See below Chordates (phylum Chordata) are a group of animals that includes the vertebrates, together with several closely related invertebrates. ...

Dickinsonia is known from Ediacaran beds in both the Alice Springs and Ediacara regions of Australia, as well as Rajastan, Podolia, and the White Sea region of Russia, and has a dated range of 560-541 Myr.^[4] Dickinsonia is generally regarded as a member of the Vendazoa — a group of somewhat obscure organisms that thrived just before most of the modern multicellular animal phyla appeared. It is unclear if the Vendazoa are plants, animals, or something else entirely. Other vendazoa such as Yorgia and Marywadea somewhat resemble Dickinsonia and may be related. However its roughly bilateral symmetry suggests that it may be a Bilaterian ancestor. The Ediacaran Period (from the Ediacara Hills of South Australia) is the last geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era, just before the Cambrian. ... Alice Springs on a large scale map Alice Springs is a large town in the Northern Territory of Australia located at 23°42′ S 133°52′ E. Its population of 28,178 (2001 Census) makes it the second-largest settlement in the Territory (the only other towns of... The Ediacaran period is the last geologic period of the Neoproterozoic age, just before the Cambrian. ... Rajasthan (राजस्थान) is the geographically largest state in northwestern India. ... Historical arms of Podilia The region of Podolia (also spelt Podilia or Podillya) is a historical region in the west-central and south-west portions of present-day Ukraine, corresponding to Khmelnytskyi Oblast and Vinnytsia Oblast. ... Map of the White Sea Two satellite photos of the White Sea The White Sea (Russian: ) is an inlet of the Barents Sea on the North Western coast of Russia. ... Dickinsonia costata, an Ediacaran organism of unknown affinity, with a quilted appearance. ... Yorgia waggoneri is a fossil from the Ediacaran period. ... Marywadea is an Ediacaran fossil. ... Illustration of the different types of symmetry of Life Forms On Earth. ...

Dickinsonia was originally discovered by Reg Sprigg along with other Ediacaran biota.^[5] It was named after Ben Dickinson who was then the South Australian director of Mines, for whom Sprigg worked. Reginald Sprigg, A.O. D.Sc. ... Dickinsonia costata, an Ediacaran organism of unknown affinity, with a quilted appearance. ...

Australia Post issued a fifty cent stamp featuring Dickinsonia on 21 April 2005 in a series entitled Creatures of the slime. Australia Post is the government-owned postal service of Australia. ... is the 111th day of the year (112th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. ... Year 2005 (MMV) was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar. ...

References

External links

• A picture of Dickinsonia can be found at http://www.yale.edu/ypmip/taxon/vendo/35467.html