Vaveliksia
| Vaveliksia Temporal range: Ediacaran
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| Artist's reconstruction of V. velikanovi and V. vana. | |
Scientific classification 
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| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Porifera (?) |
| Family: | †Olgunidae |
| Genus: | †Vaveliksia Fedonkin, 1983 |
| Species | |
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Vaveliksia is an extinct genus of Ediacaran Sponge-like organism with a long, tubular-shaped body from the formations within Northwestern Russia, Ukraine, and possibly Australia.
Discovery and naming
[edit]Vaveliksia velikanovi fossils were found in the Lomozov Beds of the Mogilev Formation in the Dniester River Basin, and in Bernashevka Beds, Yaryshev Formation, in the quarry near Ozaryntsi Village, Podolia, Ukraine, and formally described in 1983.[1] V. vana fossils are known from the Yorga Formation on the Zimnii Bereg (Winter Coast) of the White Sea, Arkhangelsk Region, Russia, and formally described in 2004.[2]
There is single reference to V. vana from the Ediacaran deposites in the South Australia, but photographs or description of these fossils were not presented.[3]
The generic epithet Vaveliksia and specific epithet of the type species V. velikanovi honour the Ukrainian geologist, Vyacheslav A. Velikanov. The specific epithet of V. vana derives directly from the Latin word vana, to mean "incorporeal".[2]
Description
[edit]
The typical Vaveliksia had a frankfurter-like appearance, with one end attached to the substrate by a disk-like holdfast. The body wall was very thin, and perforated. At the top was a hole, which may be an osculum, if they were indeed true sponges. In V. velikanovi, found only in Precambrian strata of the Dneister, the top has a crown of wrinkles which was originally interpreted as tentacles (the first fossils were originally thought to be of a polyp-like organism), and the holdfast is relatively flat and disk-like. V. vana, found at the White Sea shores and in Australia, is thinner in diameter, has an unwrinkled top, and the holdfast is much more convex or dome-like. Some specimens of V. vana also had arms.[4]
V. velikanovi fossils range 3–8 cm in length and up to 3 cm in width. The attachment disks range 0.8–2 centimeters in diameter.[1]
V. vana range 3.5–8.6 cm in length and up to 2 cm in width. The attachment disks range 0.7–1.5 cm in diameter.[2]
Affinities
[edit]A recent paper has tentatively supported the placement of Vaveliksia within Porifera, and also placed it within the newly erected family, Olgunidae, alongside Funisia and Olgunia, which bare notable similarities with each other from being colonial, having tubular or sac-like bodies rising above the surface of the seafloor, and small attachment disks.[5]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ a b Fedonkin, M. A. (1983). "Non-skeletal fauna of Podolia, Dniester River valley". In Velikanov, V. A.; Asseeva, E. A.; Fedonkin, M. A. (eds.). The Vendian of the Ukraine (in Russian). Kiev: Naukova Dumka. pp. 128–139.
- ^ a b c Ivantsov, A.Y.; Malakhovskaya, Y.E.; Serezhnikova, E.A. (2004). "Some Problematic Fossils from the Vendian of the Southeastern White Sea Region" (PDF). Paleontological Journal. 38 (1): 1–9. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-03-08.
- ^ Fedonkin M. A.; Gehling J. G.; Grey K.; Narbonne G. M. & Vickers-Rich P. (2007). The Rise of Animals. Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 326. ISBN 978-0-8018-8679-9.
- ^ Fedonkin, Mikhail A.; Gehling, James G.; Grey, Kathleen; Narbonne, Guy M.; Vickers-Rich, Patricia (Mar 16, 2007). The Rise of Animals: Evolution and Diversification of the Kingdom Animalia. JHU Press. ISBN 9780801886799. Retrieved May 11, 2022 – via Google Books.
- ^ Luzhnaya, E. A. (April 2025). "New Vendian Metazoa with Colonial Organization". Paleontological Journal. 59 (2): 113–118. doi:10.1134/S0031030125600027.
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