Tribrachidium heraldicum is an enigmatic organism that inhabited the seas in the Upper Proterozoic, between 575 and 541 million years ago, belonging to the famous Ediacara fauna of the Rawnsley Quartzite, in the Flinders Ranges (South Australia). The remains have also been found in Canada and Russia. This particular organism lived on the bottom of the sea, able to adapt to a great variety of environments. The morphology is very particular as the shape resembles that of a flat disc, with a diameter that reached scarce 5 cm. It was an animal that possessed a symmetry thanks to the presence of three curved and hollow arms (hence the name of this species), which branched off from the center of the body. Most likely, these arms could swell or deflate thanks to the ability to direct the flow of water towards the apex of the body by generating low-speed vortices, which allowed the Tribrachidium to be considered a passive suspensivore animal. Both for the mechanics of feeding and for the ability to "control" the water, it has been associated with echinoderms or cnidarians, but its difficult interpretation makes this animal, still today, enigmatic. The model is 3D resin printed
Imran A. Rahman, Simon AF Darroch, Rachel A. Racicoth, Marc Laflamme
Suspension feeding in the enigmatic Ediacaran organism Tribrachidium demonstrates complexity of Neoproterozoic ecosystems SCIENCE ADVANCES 27 NOV 2015 : E1500800
Christine MS Hall, Mary L. Droser, James G. Gehling, Mary E. Dzaugis,
Paleoecology of the enigmatic Tribrachidium: New data from the Ediacaran of South Australia,
Precambrian Research, Volume 269, 2015, Pages 183-194, ISSN 0301-9268
CONTACT US FOR THE COLORED VERSION
Tribrachidium heraldicum resin model for museum exhibition
size: 6cm or 15cm
paleontological project: Gianpaolo Di Silvestro
3D Artist: Alessio Schirinzi