Solza (animal)

Solza
	Solza margarita
Temporal occurrence
	Ediacarium
	555 million years
Locations
	Russia;
Systematics
	Multicellular animals (Metazoa)
	Solza
Scientific name
	Solza
	Ivantsov , 2004
species
	Solza margarita;

Solza is an extinct animal genus of the Ediacarium of uncertain classification that lived about 555 million years ago.

etymology

The generic name Solza refers to the Solsa River , a tributary of the Dwinabusen ( White Sea ) on the Onega Peninsula in northern Russia . The species name margarita comes from the ancient Greek μαργαριτηζ (margarites) meaning pearl .

Initial description

Solza margarita was first scientifically described in 2004 by Andrei Jurjewitsch Iwanzow .

Occurrence

The holotype of Solza comes from the eponymous river. The fossil occurs here in both the Verkhovka Formation and the younger Erga Formation . There are also known finds from the winter coast (Simni Bereg, Arkhangelsk Oblast ).

description

Solza has a flattened cone shape that is inclined to one side. The cone base has an egg-shaped plan. The body dimensions can vary in length between 7.2 and 10.5 millimeters and in width between 5.3 and 8 millimeters. Most fossils, while somewhat distorted, still retain the basic egg shape - suggesting some rigidity in the fossil.

The surface of the fossil is traversed by a network of furrows, which is relatively wide-meshed at the tip of the cone, but narrows and branches towards the edges.

The furrows on the surface are explained differently:

One interpretation sees them as internal channels of the living organism, which emerge in narrow pores to the surface. These channels may be related to food intake and may represent a filtration system used to hold back microorganisms suspended in the water stream. Only after the organism has died, the furrows are said to have formed over the canals.

The furrows are also interpreted as textures located on the outer skin of the living organism, which resemble non-mineralized, kneecap-like shell structures, as can also be seen in Kimberella . Recent studies largely follow this point of view.

Way of life

Fossil finds show that Solza was a benthic inhabitant with bilateral symmetry, who ate on the substrate but was still free to move.

Individual evidence

^ ^A ^b Ivantsov, AY: Paleontological Data on the Possibility of Precambrian Existence of Mollusks . Ed .: Averkii Fyodorov and Havrila Yakovlev. Mollusks: Morphology, Behavior and Ecology. Nova Science Pub Incorporated, 2012, ISBN 978-1-62100-987-0 , pp. 153-179 .
↑ Ivantsov, AY, Malakhovskaya, YE and Serezhnikova, EA: Some Problematic Fossils from the Vendian of the Southeastern White Sea Region . In: Paleontological Journal . tape 38 (1) , 2004, p. 1-9 .
^ Andrey Y. Ivantsov: Paleontological evidence for the supposed precambrian occurrence of mollusks . In: Paleontological Journal . tape 40 (12) , 2010, pp. 1552-1559 , doi : 10.1134 / S0031030110120105 .
↑ Ivantsov, AY and Leonov, MV: The imprints of Vendian animals - unique paleontological objects of the Arkhangelsk region (in Russian) . Arkhangelsk 2009, ISBN 978-5-903625-04-8 , pp. 91 .

[Ivantsov-1] A ^b Ivantsov, AY: Paleontological Data on the Possibility of Precambrian Existence of Mollusks . Ed .: Averkii Fyodorov and Havrila Yakovlev. Mollusks: Morphology, Behavior and Ecology. Nova Science Pub Incorporated, 2012, ISBN 978-1-62100-987-0 , pp. 153-179 .

[2] Ivantsov, AY, Malakhovskaya, YE and Serezhnikova, EA: Some Problematic Fossils from the Vendian of the Southeastern White Sea Region . In: Paleontological Journal . tape 38 (1) , 2004, p. 1-9 .

[3] Andrey Y. Ivantsov: Paleontological evidence for the supposed precambrian occurrence of mollusks . In: Paleontological Journal . tape 40 (12) , 2010, pp. 1552-1559 , doi : 10.1134 / S0031030110120105 .

[4] Ivantsov, AY and Leonov, MV: The imprints of Vendian animals - unique paleontological objects of the Arkhangelsk region (in Russian) . Arkhangelsk 2009, ISBN 978-5-903625-04-8 , pp. 91 .