none 10.1144/SP286.21 Geological Society of London Geological Society of London 1881 30600928 65091 2024072310105300772 10.1144 2024-07-23T22:15:50Z 2007-12-13T11:54:24Z 39 Geological Society, London, Special Publications SP 0305-8719 2041-4927 12 13 2007 01 2007 286 1 B. A. MacGabhann Department of Earth and Ocean Sciences, National University of Ireland Galway, University Road, Galway, Ireland (e-mail: ) Abstract Discoidal fossils, despite being the oldest, youngest, and most common elements of the Ediacaran biota, have not received their fair share of attention. Taxonomy of discoidal fossils is currently dubious, and some forms have not been properly re-examined since the initial incorrect descriptions as medusae. Attachment discs of benthic stalked forms, which adhere to microbial mats at the sediment–water interface, are unequivocally present without stalks or other upper parts in most discoidal Ediacaran assemblages. However, many discoidal assemblages are likely to have represented a heterogeneous mixture of benthic discoidal organisms, including bacterial colonies, fungi, actinian-grade cnidarians, and perhaps poriferans. Such organisms probably account for the vast majority of fossils in the Fermeuse Formation of Newfoundland and similar assemblages from Norway, England, and Wales. Discs in the underlying complex Mistaken Point assemblages, however, likely mostly represent holdfasts. Other complex assemblages, such as those of South Australia and the White Sea of Russia, unequivocally contain more than one biological construction responsible for the discoidal structures, but holdfasts likely represent a significant proportion. 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