Biology (top left), on a slab of
Ediacaran rock containing
Charnia (lower right) and
Bradgatia (left)
Auroralumina has been described as the earliest known animal
predator: since its structure places it among the Cnidaria, which have stinging cells (
cnidocytes) on their tentacles, it is presumed that they used these to catch small
planktonic animals. The fossil consists of a pair of bifurcating tubes in which the animals lived, the earliest such structure to be recorded. It has been dated to 560 million years ago using
zircon crystals in the rock. The only species in the genus,
A. attenboroughii, is named for the English natural history presenter
David Attenborough, who went to school in
Leicestershire, where the fossil was found.
Phylogeny Phylogenetic analyses recover
Auroralumina as a stem-group
medusozoan. }} ==References==