The Ediacaran Fossil Dickinsonia

Dickinsonia is a genus of extinct fossil organisms found in the latter portion of the Ediacaran Period (635-543 Ma). Species in this genus belong to what is known as the 'Ediacaran Biota' - a diverse group of macroscopic, multicellular marine organisms that appear, and then disappear, in the fossil record right before the Cambrian radiation of animals. While their taxonomic affinity is uncertain, Dickinsonia and fossils of its kind represent a major transition in the history of life - from seas populated mainly by microscopic organisms to those populated by macroscopic ones as well.