Ecological interactions in Cloudina from the Ediacaran of Brazil: implications for the rise of animal biomineralization

At the Ediacaran/Cambrian boundary, ecosystems witnessed an unparalleled biological innovation: the appearance of shelled animals. Here, we report new paleoecological and paleobiological data on Cloudina, which was one of the most abundant shelled animals at the end of the Ediacaran. We report the close association of Cloudina tubes with microbial mat textures as well as organic-rich material, syndepositional calcite and goethite cement between their flanges, thus reinforcing the awareness of metazoan/microorganism interactions at the end of the Ediacaran. The preservation of in situ tubes suggests a great plasticity of substrate utilization, with evidence of different life modes and avoidance behavior. Geochemical analysis revealed walls composed of two secondary laminae and organic sheets. Some walls presented boreholes that are here described as predation marks. Taken together, these data add further information regarding the structuring of shelled animal communities in marine ecosystems.