Ediacaran macrofossils prior to the ~580 Ma Gaskiers glaciation in Newfoundland, Canada

Abstract

Macrofossils of the inferred protist-grade organism Palaeopascichnus linearis occur stratigraphically beneath glacial diamictites of the ~580 Ma, Gaskiers-equivalent, Trinity ‘facies’ of the Rocky Harbour Formation on the Bonavista Peninsula of Newfoundland, Canada. These fossils significantly pre-date previously reported macrofossils from Avalonia, and extend the taphonomic window for moldic preservation of macroscopic organisms beyond the Gaskiers glacial event into the middle Ediacaran Period. This finding confirms the long stratigraphic range of palaeopascichnid fossils worldwide, and informs discussions surrounding both the age of poorly time-constrained stratigraphic units in Norway and Australia, and formal sub-division of the Ediacaran System.