''Funisia'' is a genus of

animal Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage ...

containing the single species ''F. dorothea''. It is an extinct animal from the

Ediacaran biota The Ediacaran (; formerly Vendian) biota is a taxonomic period classification that consists of all life forms that were present on Earth during the Ediacaran Period (). These were composed of enigmatic tubular and frond-shaped, mostly sess ...

, discovered in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. It covers some of the most arid parts of the country. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest o ...

in 2008 by Mary L. Droser and James G. Gehling.

Description

''Funisia'', a sedentary animal resembling an upright worm, stood about tall. Source: University of California - Riverside via physorg.com Because individuals grew in dense collections of animals the same age, it is believed to have reproduced sexually, as well as reproduced by budding like modern sponges and corals. Although the evolution of sex took place before the origin of animals, and evidence of sexual reproduction is observed in

red algae Red algae, or Rhodophyta (, ; ), are one of the oldest groups of eukaryotic algae. The Rhodophyta also comprises one of the largest phyla of algae, containing over 7,000 currently recognized species with taxonomic revisions ongoing. The majority ...

, ''Funisia'' is one of the oldest known animals for which there is evidence of sexual reproduction. Its relationship to other animals is unknown, but it may belong within the

Porifera Sponges, the members of the phylum Porifera (; meaning 'pore bearer'), are a basal animal clade as a sister of the diploblasts. They are multicellular organisms that have bodies full of pores and channels allowing water to circulate through t ...

(sponges),

Cnidaria Cnidaria () is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic animals found both in freshwater and marine environments, predominantly the latter. Their distinguishing feature is cnidocytes, specialized cells that ...

, or it may have been a basal

metazoa Animals are multicellular, eukaryotic organisms in the biological kingdom Animalia. With few exceptions, animals consume organic material, breathe oxygen, are able to move, can reproduce sexually, and go through an ontogenetic stage in ...

n similarly to sponges. The genus and species were described in a 2008 paper.

Etymology

The generic name ''Funisia'' is after the Latin "rope", and is pronounced to rhyme with

Tunisia ) , image_map = Tunisia location (orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = Location of Tunisia in northern Africa , image_map2 = , capital = Tunis , largest_city = capital , ...

.Supporting online material
/ref> The name ''dorothea'' is in honour of Dorothy Droser, the mother of Mary L. Droser, one of the scientists who studied the organism.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q2084726 Ediacaran life Enigmatic prehistoric animal genera Prehistoric invertebrates of Australia

Description

Etymology

See also

References