EDIACARA FAUNA

assemblage of relatively advanced multicellular Precambrian animals found as fossils in the Pound Quartzite of the Ediacara Hills, north of Adelaide, South Australia (the Precambrian began about 3.8 billion years ago and ended 540 million years ago). The discovery of the Ediacara fauna provided a glimpse into the early development of multicellular organisms and demonstrated that a far more complex level of evolution had been achieved in the Precambrian than had previously been thought. Similarly, the assemblage demonstrates that a complex, interacting biologic community existed during at least part of the Precambrian. The complexity of the organisms and of the community implies a still-longer history of development and evolution. More than 600 specimens have been collected, including soft corals, jellyfishes, various sorts of worms, and forms of unknown affinities.