''Sinotubulites'' is a
genus of small, tube-shaped shelly fossils from 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 th ...
period. It is often found in association with ''
Cloudina''.
Its tube has a "tube-in-tube" structure composed of several thin layers. It bears prominent longitudinal sculptures and / or irregular rings, which were formed by the wrinkles of tube layers, and weaken gradually towards the inner layers.
The organism probably had a sessile life-style, lying on the sea floor.
''Sinotubulites'' and ''Cloudina'' (discovered in 1972) are currently the two earliest known fossils of organisms that mineralized shells when alive, and are often found in the same fossil beds. It is remarkable that ''Cloudina'' specimens often have tiny holes bored in them, which are attributed to predators, while no such borings have been found in ''Sinotubulites''. This suggests that ''Sinotubulites'' had evolved features that made it a much less attractive target than ''Cloudina''. As a result, both organisms are important in analyses of the
Cambrian explosion
The Cambrian explosion, Cambrian radiation, Cambrian diversification, or the Biological Big Bang refers to an interval of time approximately in the Cambrian Period when practically all major animal phyla started appearing in the fossil recor ...
, as predation and the appearance of mineralised components are often cited as possible causes of the "explosion".
See also
* ''
Corumbella
''Corumbella'' is an extinct genus of terminal- Ediacaran cnidarians. It is the only genus in the monotypic family Corumbellidae, and is represented by a single species ''Corumbella werneri''. It possessed a carapace made up of thick polygonal r ...
''
* ''
Saarina
''Saarina'' are tube fossils from the Ediacaran (Vendian) and Early Cambrian marine deposits of European Russia. These fossils are comparable to the dwelling tubes of worms or cnidarians.
Occurrence
Fossils of the type species, ''S. tenera'', w ...
''
* ''
Somatohelix
''Somatohelix'' is a genus of curvilinear, spiralling tubular fossil, 2–7 mm wide and 3–14 cm long, from the Ediacaran deposites of the South Australia that was originally interpreted as a trace fossil; a larger amount of better-pr ...
''
*
List of Ediacaran genera
References
Prehistoric marine animals
Ediacaran life
Fossils of China
Fossils of Mexico
Enigmatic prehistoric animal genera
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