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Kimberella
Kimberella
Photo: Kimberella, by the paleobear from Lontananza, Loreto, Peru / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).

Kimberella and Controversial Relationships — A Chronological Synopsis, Continued

One researchers has preferred to classify Kimberella among the Ediacaran "fossil problematica.” Read More ›
Kimberella quadrata
Kimberella quadrata
Photo: Dorsal mold of Kimberella quadrata from the Ediacaran of Russia,
showing the cuticular dorsal shield with tubercular nodes and the tapered oral end; by Aleksey Nagovitsyn: Wikimedia, GNU FDL).

Kimberella and Controversial Relationships — A Chronological Synopsis

It is remarkable, indeed, how detailed a medusoid morphology was projected onto Kimberella fossils and later recognized as pure fantasy. Read More ›
Kimberella quadrata
Kimberella quadrata
Image: Kimberella quadrata, by MUSE / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).

Kimberella — The Oldest Radula (Not)

There is a strange fact that shows that any interpretation of these trace fossils has to be taken with a grain of salt. Read More ›
Kimberella
Kimberella
Photo: Traces from Kimberella, by Aleksey Nagovitsyn (User:Alnagov) / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).

Kimberella — Locomotory Tracks

But what about tracks of the moving animal? There are indeed some fossils from the White Sea. Read More ›
Kimberella quadrata with associated scratch marks
Kimberella quadrata with associated scratch marks
Photo: Kimberella quadrata with associated scratch marks as putative feeding traces, by Masahiro miyasaka / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0).

Kimberella — Controversial Scratch Marks

A former teacher of mine was the late Adolf Seilacher, who was a leading authority on trace fossils and who for obvious reasons preferred to be called "Dolf." Read More ›
Kimberella
Kimberella
Photo: Kimberella, by the paleobear from Lontananza, Loreto, Peru / CC BY (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0).

Reconstructing Kimberella — The Disputed Anatomy in Detail

Fossils often leave much room for very different interpretations of relatively poor evidence. Read More ›
Kimberella quadrata
Kimberella quadrata
Photo: Kimberella quadrata, by Ghedoghedo / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).

Kimberella — Interpreting the Fossils

One of the few features that are uncontroversial is the body size: The fossils measure usually 1-5 cm in length. Read More ›
Kimberella
Kimberella
Masahiro miyasaka / CC Photo: Kimberella fossil, BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0)

Kimberella — Conflicting Evidence from Taphonomy

The fossilization of Kimberella specimens was most likely based on rapid burial with sand during storm events. Read More ›
Kimberella
Kimberella
Photo: Kimberella, by Ghedoghedo / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).

Conflicting Views about Kimberella’s Ecology

Based on the same fossil evidence, there is obviously much room for speculation and quite different opinions. Read More ›
Kimberella quadrata
Kimberella quadrata
Image: Kimberella quadrata, by MUSE / CC BY-SA (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0).

Kimberella — A Checkered History

John Kimber collected the first fossils of this organism and died tragically at age 38 during an expedition in South Australia in 1964. Read More ›

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