title: Early animals. Ediacaran metazoan reefs from the Nama Group, Namibia.
abstract: Reef-building in metazoans represents an important ecological innovation whereby individuals collectively enhance feeding efficiency and gain protection from competitors and predation. The appearance of metazoan reefs in the fossil record therefore indicates an adaptive response to complex ecological pressures. In the Nama Group, Namibia, we found evidence of reef-building by the earliest known skeletal metazoan, the globally distributed Cloudina, ~548 million years ago. These Cloudina reefs formed open frameworks without a microbial component but with mutual attachment and cementation between individuals. Orientated growth implies a passive suspension-feeding habit into nutrient-rich currents. The characteristics of Cloudina support the view that metazoan reef-building was promoted by the rise of substrate competitors and predators.
authors: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK. a.m.penny@ed.ac.uk.
authors: A M
authors: AM
authors: Penny
authors: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Wood
authors: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
authors: A
authors: A
authors: Curtis
authors: School of GeoSciences, University of Edinburgh, West Mains Road, Edinburgh EH9 3JW, UK.
authors: F
authors: F
authors: Bowyer
authors: Department of Earth Sciences, University College London, Gower Street, London WC1E 6BT, UK.
authors: R
authors: R
authors: Tostevin
authors: Geological Survey of Namibia, Private Bag 13297, Windhoek, Namibia.
authors: K-H
authors: KH
authors: Hoffman
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002254:Carbonates; D017753:Ecosystem; D005580:Fossils; D007448:Invertebrates / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D009276:Namibia; D011235:Predatory Behavior
chemical_list: D002254:Carbonates