Protonympha

Protonympha is a form genus for problematic fossils of Devonian age in New York. It has been of special interest because of its morphological similarity with the iconic Ediacaran fossil Spriggina, and may have been a late surviving vendobiont.[1]

Protonympha
Temporal range: Devonian
Holotype specimen of Protonympha salicifolia from the Late Devonian (Frasnian) Gardeau Sandstone near Naples, New York
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
incertae sedis
Genus:
†Protonympha

Clarke 1903
Species
  • Protonympha transversa
  • Protonympha salicifolia
Holotype specimen of Protonympha transversa from the Middle Devonian (Givetian) Moscow Formation near Summit, New York

Description

Protonympha is a flat, quilted fossil, which in the past has been compared with the arm of a starfish or an annelid worm, but lacks a segmented carapace or stereom. Its preservation in sandstone is like Ediacaran type preservation. It is not found with marine fossils, but only with plant fossils and freshwater fish, and its rhizoid-like extensions are evidence it lived on land.[1]

References
  1. Retallack, G.J. (2018). "Reassessment of the Devonian Problematicum Protonympha as another post-Ediacaran vendobiont". Lethaia. 50 (3): 406–423. doi:10.1111/let.12253.


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