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Funisia
Genus of animal discovered as an Australian fossil From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Funisisa is a genus of extinct, colonial sponge-like organisms from the late Ediacaran of South Australia. It is a monotypic genus, containing only Funisisa dorothea.
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Discovery and naming
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The fossil material of Funisia was found in the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite, Nilpena Ediacara National Park, South Australia in 2007, and formally described and named in 2008.[1]
The generic name Funisia is after the Latin "rope", and is pronounced to rhyme with Tunisia.[2] The name dorothea is in honour of Dorothy Droser, the mother of Mary L. Droser, one of the scientists who studied the organism.[3]
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Description
Funisia was a nonmotile organism resembling an upright worm[1] that stood about 0.3 m (1 ft 0 in) tall.[3][4][5] Because individuals grew in dense collections of animals the same age, it is believed to have reproduced sexually, as well as reproduced by budding like modern sponges and corals.[4] Although the evolution of sex took place before the origin of animals, and evidence of sexual reproduction is observed in red algae 1,200 million years ago,[6] Funisia is one of the oldest known animals for which there is evidence of sexual reproduction.[5]
A recent study has noted that branching is only observed in a single specimen, and may have been the result of nonlethal damage, and recovering from said damage.[7]
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Affinities
Its relationship to other animals is unknown, but it may belong within the Porifera (sponges), Cnidaria,[1] a basal metazoan similar to sponges[8] or an early varisarcan vendobiont.[9] A recent paper has tentatively supported the placement of Funisia within Porifera, and also placed it within the newly erected family, Olgunidae, alongside Vaveliksia 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.[10]
See also
References
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