Microbially Related Structures in Siliciclastic Sediment Resembling Ediacaran Fossils: Examples from India, Ancient and Modern

Ediacaran fossils represent a distinct group of large and structurally complex, enigmatic, soft-bodied organisms dominating the end-Precambrian (Ediacaran) oceans, with an age range from 630 to 542 Ma (Martin et al., 2000; Knoll et al., 2004, 2006). Microbes constituted the Precambrian biosphere almost entirely, and formed mats on wet sediment surfaces in the absence of grazers and burrowers. Evidence for microbial mats in the rock record dates back to 3.5 Ga (Altermann et al., 2006; Altermann, 2008) and mats continue to exist today, although largely confined to stressful environments due to metazoan activities