Ediacaran

British  

/ ˌiːdiːˈækərən /

adjective

1. of, denoting, or formed in the last 50 million years of the Neoproterozoic era, during which a new texturally and chemically distinctive carbonate layer appeared, indicating climatic change

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noun

1. the Ediacaran period or rock system

Ediacaran Scientific  

/ ē′dē-ä′kə-rən /

1. Relating to a group of fossilized organisms that are the earliest known remains of multicellular life. They are soft-bodied marine life forms that date from between 560 and 545 million years ago, during the late Precambrian Eon.

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Etymology

Origin of Ediacaran

C20: named after the Ediacara Hills in the Flinders mountain range in South Australia

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Example Sentences

See Examples For:

Ediacaran

One important site is the Weng'an Biota in China, a roughly 590 million year old fossil deposit preserved in rocks of Ediacaran age.

From Science Daily ● Oct. 7, 2026

"This is really exciting. Given our understanding of the regional geology in northwestern Canada, there is great potential here to revisit our understanding of Ediacaran Earth history."

From Science Daily ● Aug. 6, 2026

"Life was pretty nice during the Ediacaran, so the need for sex was rather limited," said lead author Dr. Emily Mitchell from Cambridge's Department of Zoology.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026

Although animals first appeared during the Ediacaran period, their diversity remained relatively limited for a surprisingly long time before a later burst of evolutionary innovation dramatically expanded life on Earth.

From Science Daily ● Jun. 10, 2026

Becker-Kerber, who is now conducting postdoctoral research at Harvard University, explains that if the marks had truly been left by animals, they would represent evidence of meiofauna during the Ediacaran period.

From Science Daily ● May 12, 2026

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