Abstract
The Ediacara biota represents Earth’s earliest complex macroscopic organisms, but their biology and ecology remain poorly understood. Here we report Dengyingia pennata gen. et sp. nov., an exceptionally preserved frondose fossil from the late Ediacaran ( ~550–543 Ma) Shibantan limestone of South China. Dengyingia possesses a unique body plan: a bifoliate petalodium of unconstrained, flexible primary branches with pronounced two-sided differentiation—a smooth obverse surface and a reverse surface covered by secondary and tertiary modules. This innovation represents a key morphological advance among Ediacaran fronds. Its architecture, basal growth pattern, and suspension-feeding strategy align with those of modern sea pens (pennatulacean cnidarians), reflecting adaptations for dynamic filter-feeding in currents. Dengyingia bridges the ecological gap between the Ediacara biota and Phanerozoic suspension-feeding animals, demonstrating that complex, animal-like ecological strategies emerged before the Cambrian explosion. These findings expand Ediacaran diversity and provide insights into early animal functional differentiation.
Funding
This work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (42130207 to Z.C., 42272005 to K.P., and 42472046 to B.W.); the National Key R&D Program of China (2022YFF0802700 to K.P.); the Youth Innovation Promotion Association of CAS (2021307 to K.P.); and the Excavation Project of the Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, CAS (NGBS202500 to K.P.).
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Chen, Z., Liu, Y., Wu, C. et al. Morpho-functional innovations in Shibantan fossils fuel Ediacaran frond debates.
Commun Biol (2026). https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10892-8
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s42003-026-10892-8
Source: Ecology - nature.com
