Vendia
Encyclopedia
Vendia is an oval-shaped, Ediacaran
fossil
from 4.5 to 12.5 mm long. Its body is completely segmented into isomers, which are arranged alternately in two rows longitudinal to the axis of the body. The larger isomers cover the smaller ones externally but the posterior ends of all the isomers remain free. The transverse elements decrease in size from anterior to posterior and are all inclined in the same direction.
The fossil bears a depression along a body that is interpreted as a digestive-distributive system that consists of a simple axial tube and short lateral appendages located along the borders between the isomers. Except for the first isomer of Vendia rachiata, all the isomers have one lateral appendage.
The first Vendia sokolovi fossil was found in a core from a Yarensk borehole in the south of Arkhangelsk Oblast
of Russia
in beginning of the 1960s and was described by Boris Keller in 1969.
Three Vendia species have been described with the following differentiating characteristics:
Vendia and Paravendia with Podolomirus and Karakhtia are members of the Family
Vendiidae, Class
Vendiamorpha
of the extinct Ediacaran (Vendian) animals Phylum
Proarticulata
.
Ediacaran
The Ediacaran Period , named after the Ediacara Hills of South Australia, is the last geological period of the Neoproterozoic Era and of the Proterozoic Eon, immediately preceding the Cambrian Period, the first period of the Paleozoic Era and of the Phanerozoic Eon...
fossil
Fossil
Fossils are the preserved remains or traces of animals , plants, and other organisms from the remote past...
from 4.5 to 12.5 mm long. Its body is completely segmented into isomers, which are arranged alternately in two rows longitudinal to the axis of the body. The larger isomers cover the smaller ones externally but the posterior ends of all the isomers remain free. The transverse elements decrease in size from anterior to posterior and are all inclined in the same direction.
The fossil bears a depression along a body that is interpreted as a digestive-distributive system that consists of a simple axial tube and short lateral appendages located along the borders between the isomers. Except for the first isomer of Vendia rachiata, all the isomers have one lateral appendage.
The first Vendia sokolovi fossil was found in a core from a Yarensk borehole in the south of Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast
Arkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
in beginning of the 1960s and was described by Boris Keller in 1969.
Three Vendia species have been described with the following differentiating characteristics:
- V. sokolovi, represented by only one specimen 11 mm long, has 7 segments per side.
- V. rachiata differs from V. sokolovi in the smaller number of isomers. The 12.5 mm long specimen has 5 isomers in one row, and in the length of isomers quickly decreasing posteriorly, and in the short lateral appendages of the axial depression. This species has been found only in the Solza River locality, Onega PeninsulaOnega PeninsulaThe Onega Peninsula is located in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. It protrudes into the White Sea, with Onega Bay to the south-west, and Dvina Bay to the north-east. The length of the peninsula is about , and the width varies between and .-Geography:...
of the White SeaWhite SeaThe White Sea is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is surrounded by Karelia to the west, the Kola Peninsula to the north, and the Kanin Peninsula to the northeast. The whole of the White Sea is under Russian sovereignty and considered to be part of...
area, Arkhangelsk OblastArkhangelsk OblastArkhangelsk Oblast is a federal subject of Russia . It includes the Arctic archipelagos of Franz Josef Land and Novaya Zemlya, as well as the Solovetsky Islands in the White Sea....
. - The species V. janae is assigned to the separate genus Paravendia. It differs from the genus Vendia in the shape and relative position of the isomers that curve around and meet at the tail point, and larger isomers completely cover smaller ones. It is from Zimnie Gory locality, White Sea.
Vendia and Paravendia with Podolomirus and Karakhtia are members of the Family
Family
In human context, a family is a group of people affiliated by consanguinity, affinity, or co-residence. In most societies it is the principal institution for the socialization of children...
Vendiidae, Class
Class (biology)
In biological classification, class is* a taxonomic rank. Other well-known ranks are life, domain, kingdom, phylum, order, family, genus, and species, with class fitting between phylum and order...
Vendiamorpha
Vendiamorpha
Vendiamorpha is a class of extinct animals within the Ediacaran phylum Proarticulata.The typical vendiamorph had an oval-shaped or round-shaped body divided completely into segmented isomers, that are arranged alternately in two rows with reference to the longitudinal axis of body. This phenomenon...
of the extinct Ediacaran (Vendian) animals Phylum
Phylum
In biology, a phylum The term was coined by Georges Cuvier from Greek φῦλον phylon, "race, stock," related to φυλή phyle, "tribe, clan." is a taxonomic rank below kingdom and above class. "Phylum" is equivalent to the botanical term division....
Proarticulata
Proarticulata
Proarticulata is a proposed extinct phylum of very early bilateral animals known from fossils found in the Ediacaran fauna. Mikhail A. Fedonkin describes animals in Proarticulata as having a "shield-like" shape, an unmineralized, thin, flexible carapace and a thick, segmented body...
.