References / paperThe Late Precambrian fossil Kimberella is a mollusc-like bilaterian organism
Fedonkin, M.A.; Waggoner, B.M.
Year1997
Source roleprimary-study
DOI / ID10.1038/42242
Fitness and scope
morphology · taxonomy · range · biogeography · ecology
More than 35 White Sea specimens document a bilaterally symmetrical benthic organism with a non-mineralized dorsal cover; molluscan affinity is an interpretation rather than an observed crown assignment.
Claim ledger
morphology · mediumMore than 35 White Sea Kimberella specimens document a bilaterally symmetrical benthic body with a broad foot-like region and a non-mineralized dorsal cover; resemblance to molluscs is a bounded interpretation, not crown membership or a preserved radula.
claim:event:kimberella-white-sea-morphologytaxonomy · mediumKimberella quadrata shows mollusc-like characters in the White Sea sample, but the profile does not assign crown-Mollusca membership or direct ancestry.
claim:taxon:kimberella:taxonomybiogeography · mediumThe profile is restricted to the cited White Sea assemblage and does not treat it as the complete distribution of Kimberella.
claim:taxon:kimberella:biogeographyecology · mediumA mobile benthic feeding mode is inferred from body form and associated surfaces; diet and a radular feeding mechanism are not directly preserved.
claim:taxon:kimberella:ecologymorphology · mediumMore than 35 specimens document a bilateral body, broad foot-like region and non-mineralized dorsal cover.
claim:taxon:kimberella:morphologyfossil-range · mediumThe 558–555 Ma envelope represents the cited White Sea sample, not a global species duration or molluscan first appearance.
claim:taxon:kimberella:fossil-rangemorphology · mediumThe 558–0 Ma Mollusca display is a navigation envelope anchored at its old end by White Sea Kimberella morphology and at its young end by living molluscs; it is not a crown-Mollusca origin, a continuous fossil record or a direct-ancestor claim.
claim:taxon:molluscataxonomy · contestedThe molluscan-origin dossier is a navigation route through contested Kimberella affinity and the Orthrozanclus character mosaic; it does not define crown Mollusca, a direct ancestor chain or a global origin date.
claim:taxon:molluscan-origin-dossiers