The Conception and St. John’s Groups of southeastern Newfoundland contain some of the oldest known fossils of the Ediacaran macrobiota. The Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve UNESCO World Heritage Site is an internationally recognized locality for such fossils and hosts early evidence for both total group metazoan body fossils and metazoan-style locomotion. The Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve sedimentary succession includes ∼1500 m of fossil-bearing strata containing numerous dateable volcanogenic horizons, and therefore offers a crucial window into the rise and diversification of early animals. Here we present six stratigraphically coherent radioisotopic ages derived from zircons from volcanic tuffites of the Conception and St. John’s Groups at Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve. The oldest architecturally complex macrofossils, from the upper Drook Formation, have an age of 574.17 ± 0.66 Ma (including tracer calibration and decay constant uncertainties). The youngest rangeomorph fossils from Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve, in the Fermeuse Formation, have a maximum age of 564.13 ± 0.65 Ma. Fossils of the famous “E” Surface are confirmed to be 565.00 ± 0.64 Ma, while exceptionally preserved specimens on the “Brasier” Surface in the Briscal Formation are dated at 567.63 ± 0.66 Ma. We use our new ages to construct an age-depth model for the sedimentary succession, constrain sedimentary accumulation rates, and convert stratigraphic fossil ranges into the time domain to facilitate integration with time-calibrated data from other successions. Combining this age model with compiled stratigraphic ranges for all named macrofossils within the Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve succession, spanning 76 discrete fossil-bearing horizons, enables recognition and interrogation of potential evolutionary signals. Peak taxonomic diversity is recognized within the Mistaken Point and Trepassey Formations, and uniterminal rangeomorphs with undisplayed branching architecture appear several million years before multiterminal, displayed forms. Together, our combined stratigraphic, paleontological, and geochronological approach offers a holistic, time-calibrated record of evolution during the mid–late Ediacaran Period and a framework within which to consider other geochemical, environmental, and evolutionary data sets.

中文翻译：

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Ediacaran Macrobiota上升的年代地层学框架：来自纽芬兰错误点生态保护区的新限制

纽芬兰东南部的构想群和圣约翰群包含一些最古老的埃迪卡拉安大型生物化石。误点生态保护区联合国教科文组织世界遗产是此类化石在国际上公认的地区，并为整体后生动物化石和后生动物运动提供了早期证据。错误点生态保护区的沉积演替包括约1500 m的含化石的地层，其中包含许多可追溯的火山成因层，因此为了解早期动物的生长和多样性提供了重要的窗口。在这里，我们介绍了六大地层学上一致的放射性同位素年龄，这些年龄来自Mistaken Point生态保护区的构想和圣约翰群的火山凝灰岩中的锆石。最古老的建筑复杂的大化石，来自上德鲁克组的年龄为574.17±0.66 Ma（包括示踪剂校准和衰减常数不确定性）。来自Fermeuse组的Mistaken Point生态保护区中最年轻的Rangeomorph化石，最大年龄为564.13±0.65 Ma。著名的“ E”面化石被确认为565.00±0.64 Ma，而在Briscal地层中“ Brasier”面的特殊保存的标本日期为567.63±0.66 Ma。我们使用新纪元为沉积演替构建年龄深度模型，限制沉积物堆积速率，并将地层化石范围转换为时域，以利于与来自其他演替的经过时间校准的数据进行整合。将此年龄模型与Mistaken Point生态保护区演替中所有命名的大化石的已编译地层范围相结合，跨越76个离散的含化石层，可以识别和询问潜在的演化信号。在差错点和特里帕西地层中确认到了最高的分类学多样性，未显示分支结构的单末端rangeomorphs在多末端显示形态之前出现了几百万年。我们的地层学，古生物学和地质年代学相结合，共同提供了一个完整的，经过时间校准的Ediacaran中期中期的演化记录，以及一个考虑其他地球化学，环境和演化数据集的框架。可以识别和询问潜在的进化信号。在差错点和特里帕西地层中确认到了最高的分类学多样性，未显示分支结构的单末端rangeomorphs在多末端显示形态之前出现了几百万年。我们的地层学，古生物学和地质年代学相结合，共同提供了一个完整的，经过时间校准的Ediacaran中期中期的演化记录，以及一个考虑其他地球化学，环境和演化数据集的框架。可以识别和询问潜在的进化信号。在差错点和特里帕西地层中确认到了最高的分类学多样性，未显示分支结构的单末端rangeomorphs在多末端显示形态之前出现了几百万年。我们的地层学，古生物学和地质年代学相结合，共同提供了一个完整的，经过时间校准的Ediacaran中期中期的演化记录，以及一个考虑其他地球化学，环境和演化数据集的框架。