''Mamsetia manunis'' is an

extinct Extinction is the termination of an organism by the death of its Endling, last member. A taxon may become Functional extinction, functionally extinct before the death of its last member if it loses the capacity to Reproduction, reproduce and ...

cnidaria Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...

n from the late

Ediacaran The Ediacaran ( ) is a geological period of the Neoproterozoic geologic era, Era that spans 96 million years from the end of the Cryogenian Period at 635 Million years ago, Mya to the beginning of the Cambrian Period at 538.8 Mya. It is the last ...

. Estimated to be about 565 million years old, ''M. manunis'' is identified as a

n polyp, and represents some of the earliest known evidence for

muscle Muscle is a soft tissue, one of the four basic types of animal tissue. There are three types of muscle tissue in vertebrates: skeletal muscle, cardiac muscle, and smooth muscle. Muscle tissue gives skeletal muscles the ability to muscle contra ...

tissue in an animal. Its fossil was discovered in 2014 from

Newfoundland Newfoundland and Labrador is the easternmost province of Canada, in the country's Atlantic region. The province comprises the island of Newfoundland and the continental region of Labrador, having a total size of . As of 2025 the population ...

in eastern Canada, and was

formally described A species description is a formal scientific description of a newly encountered species, typically articulated through a scientific publication. Its purpose is to provide a clear description of a new species of organism and explain how it differ ...

in 2024 as a

staurozoa Staurozoa is a class of Medusozoa (or jellyfish). It has one extant order: Stauromedusae (stalked jellyfishes) with a total of 50 known species. A fossil group called Conulariida has been proposed as a second order, although this is highly spec ...

n based on examination of its overall morphology and structure.

Discovery and name

The now-

holotype A holotype (Latin: ''holotypus'') is a single physical example (or illustration) of an organism used when the species (or lower-ranked taxon) was formally described. It is either the single such physical example (or illustration) or one of s ...

fossil of ''Mamsetia'' was originally the

paratype In zoology and botany, a paratype is a specimen of an organism that helps define what the scientific name of a species and other taxon actually represents, but it is not the holotype (and in botany is also neither an isotype (biology), isotype ...

fossil for ''

Haootia ''Haootia quadriformis'' is an extinct animal belonging to the Ediacaran biota. Estimated to be about 560 million years old, ''H. quadriformis'' is identified as a cnidarian polyp, and represents the earliest known evidence for muscle tissue in ...

'' from the Trepassey Formation of Green Island,

Bonavista Peninsula The Bonavista Peninsula is a large peninsula on the east coast of the island of Newfoundland in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. It consists of 50 incorporated towns/unincorporated communities which have a population of 12,176 ...

in Newfoundland. However, with the publication of a new paper in 2024 placing ''Haootia'' as a staurozoan, it was discovered that the paratype had enough differences in its morphology to that of ''Haootia'' to erect a new genus. The generic name ''Mamsetia'' is derived from the

Beothuk The Beothuk ( or ; also spelled Beothuck) were a group of Indigenous peoples in Canada, Indigenous people of Canada who lived on the island of Newfoundland (island), Newfoundland. The Beothuk culture formed around 1500 CE. This may have been ...

word ''Mamset'', meaning "living". The specific name ''manunis'' is derived from the Beothuk word ''Manune or Manume'', meaning "pitcher/cup", relating to the cup-like shape of the body.

Description

''Mamsetia manunis'' is the second animal that has been discovered which consists of bundles of fibres that have been identified as muscles, similar to ''Haootia''. The entire body is in a broadly four-fold symmetrical arrangement, thus the overall body organisation and muscle fibres conforms to the key features of modern staurozoan

cnidarians Cnidaria ( ) is a phylum under kingdom Animalia containing over 11,000 species of aquatic invertebrates found both in fresh water, freshwater and marine environments (predominantly the latter), including jellyfish, hydroid (zoology), hydroids, ...

. The fibres, which are similar in pattern to parallelly arranged muscle fibres, extend laterally across the body, linking adjacent corners. The fibres extend beyond each corner to form 4 elongate branches, which divide into smaller dichotomous branches. Smaller branches also arise from the lateral margins of the quadrate body, and also form dichotomously branched fibres. Unlike ''Haootia'', which has 8 primary branches and an open calyx, ''Mamsetia'' only bears 4 primary branches and a closed calyx.

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q130519513 Monotypic prehistoric cnidarian genera Ediacaran life Ediacaran Newfoundland and Labrador Fossils of Canada Fossil taxa described in 2024 Paleontology in Newfoundland and Labrador Staurozoa

Discovery and name

Description

See also

References