''Mezenia'' is a genus of macroalgae described by
Boris Sokolov in 1976. ''Mezenia'' lived in Eurasia during the
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 ...
between 560 and 551 Ma.
Description
''Mezenia kossovoyi'', the only described species, was described by Boris Sokolov in 1976.
The original ''Mezenia'' specimen was described as sausage shaped, and 5–6 mm wide.
Subsequent specimens were described as smooth, 6mm wide ribbons.
Most specimens are incomplete, missing one end.
Distribution
''Mezenia kossovoyi'' specimens are found in the
Khatyspyt Formation
The Khatyspyt Formation is a Neoproterozoic formation exposed in the Olenëk Uplift of north central Siberia,
which contains the only known instance of the Ediacara biota
The Ediacaran (; formerly Vendian) biota is a taxonomic period c ...
, the Perevalok Formation, and the Lyamatsa Formation, all of which are in Russia. The Khatyspyt Formation is in northern Siberia, the Perevalok Formation is on the western slope of the Central Ural Mountains, and the Lyamatsa Formation is in the White Sea area.
Taphonomy
''Mezenia kossovoyi'' has been preserved as carbonaceous compressions in mudstone.
Specimens from the Lyamatsa formation had longitudinal and transverse wrinkles created during burial on their otherwise smooth surfaces.
See also
*
List of Ediacaran genera
The existence of life, especially that of animals, before the Cambrian had long been the subject of debate in paleontology. The apparent suddenness of the Cambrian explosion had no firm explanation, and Charles Darwin himself recognized the chal ...
References
{{Taxonbar, from=Q49000206
Ediacaran life
Ediacaran Asia