title: Insights into the skeletonization, lifestyle, and affinity of the unusual Ediacaran fossil Corumbella.
abstract: The Ediacaran fossil Corumbella is important because it is hypothesized to be a scyphozoan cnidarian, and thus might be one of the rare examples of bona fide Neoproterozoic animals. Unfortunately, its mode of life, style of skeletonization, and taxonomic affinity have been very controversial. Here, we use X-ray micro-CT, SEM, and taphonomic analysis to compare preservational modes of Corumbella, in order to better understand the symmetry, mode of construction, preservational style, and taxonomy of this group. Results suggest that articulated and disarticulated specimens of Corumbella from the Ediacaran of Brazil, Paraguay, and the United States, although sometimes preserved very differently, represent the same taxon--Corumbella werneri. Corumbellids had a thick but flexible theca and probably lived with their basalmost part anchored in the sediment, much like Conotubus. When considered together, these results suggest that Corumbella was one of the first animals to build a skeleton, employing a lamellar microfabric similar to conulariids.
authors.affiliation: Department of Biology, Federal University of São Carlos, Sorocaba, Sao Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Mírian L A Forancelli
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Pacheco
authors.affiliation: Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Douglas
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Galante
authors.affiliation: Brazilian Synchrotron Light Laboratory, Campinas, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Fabio
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Rodrigues
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Juliana de M
authors.initials: Jde M
authors.lastname: Leme
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Institute for Medical Engineering, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Pidassa
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Bidola
authors.affiliation: Department of Earth Sciences, Denver Museum of Nature & Science, Denver, United States of America.
authors.forename: Whitey
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Hagadorn
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Institute for Medical Engineering, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Marco
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Stockmar
authors.affiliation: Institute of Materials Research, Helmholtz-Zentrum Geesthacht, Geesthacht, Germany.
authors.forename: Julia
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Herzen
authors.affiliation: Institute of Geosciences, Federal University of Pará, Belém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Isaac D
authors.initials: ID
authors.lastname: Rudnitzki
authors.affiliation: Department of Physics and Institute for Medical Engineering, Technische Universität München, Garching, Germany.
authors.forename: Franz
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Pfeiffer
authors.affiliation: Institute of Biosciences and Center for Marine Biology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Antonio C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Marques
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001938:Brazil; D005580:Fossils; D049851:Gastropoda / Q000033:anatomy & histology / Q000145:classification; D005843:Geography; D010163:Paleontology; D012863:Skeleton; D055114:X-Ray Microtomography
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