Proarticulata

Common card · No. 422419

Proarticulata is a phylum of extinct, near-bilaterally symmetrical animals known from fossils found mainly in the Ediacaran (Vendian) marine deposits, with some few possible related specimen found through Cambrian until late Devonian, and dates to approximately 567 to 550 million years ago. The name comes from the Greek προ (pro-) = "before" and Articulata, i.e. prior to animals with true segmentation such as annelids and arthropods. This phylum was established by Mikhail A. Fedonkin in 1985 for such animals as Dickinsonia, Vendia, Cephalonega, Praecambridium and currently many other Proarticulata are described (see list). Due to their simplistic morphology, their affinities and mode of life are subject to debate. They are almost universally considered to be metazoans, and due to possessing a clear central axis have been suggested to be stem-bilaterians. In the traditional interpretation, the proarticulatan body is divided into transverse articulation (division) into isomers as distinct...

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