''Bonata'' is a monotypic, disk-shaped

genus Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial n ...

of Ediacaran organism that were originally found in the

Ediacaran The Ediacaran Period ( ) is a geological period that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period 635 million years ago (Mya), to the beginning of the Cambrian Period 538.8 Mya. It marks the end of the Proterozoic Eon, and t ...

deposits of the

White Sea The White Sea (russian: Белое море, ''Béloye móre''; Karelian and fi, Vienanmeri, lit. Dvina Sea; yrk, Сэрако ямʼ, ''Serako yam'') is a southern inlet of the Barents Sea located on the northwest coast of Russia. It is s ...

area,

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

. It has been poorly studied because of the lack of fossil specimens found in the region since the 1980's. It contains a single species, ''Bonata septata''.

Description

''B. septata'' fossils are made out of round-ovate impressions made out of two concentric zones. The outer zone of the disk is flat and broad, rarely appearing with concentric ridges. The inner zone of the organism has more relief in it which is most likely the product of a small amount of thickness within the body. The inner zone is marked by 11-19 radial and wedge-shaped lobes which end with roundness. These lobes do not reach the centre of the organism. Each lobe has a diameter of 5 mm. The diameter of the body from the known fossils has been noted to be around 40 mm, with the central zone being around 8-10 mm in diameter.

Habitat

The animal was probably an

epifaunal Fauna is all of the animal life present in a particular region or time. The corresponding term for plants is ''flora'', and for fungi, it is ''funga''. Flora, fauna, funga and other forms of life are collectively referred to as ''biota''. Zoolo ...

one which mostly lived on low-level locations on the sea floor.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q111913206 Aquatic animals Ediacaran life White Sea fossils Fossil taxa described in 1980

Description

Habitat

See also

References