Yarnemia

 ( Ediacaran Life ) 

Yarnemia ascidiformis is a fossil tentatively classified as a tunicate. While Y. ascidiformis looks similar to tunicates, the oldest unequivocal tunicate, ShankouclavaChen, Jun-Yuan, et al. "The first tunicate from the Early Cambrian of South China." Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 100.14 (2003): 8314-8318. dates to the Cambrian period, while Y. ascidiformis is Ediacaran in age. University of California Museum of Paleontology Berkeley

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Discovery and name The holotype fossil of Yarnemia was found from the Ustʹ Pinega Formation between 1976 and 1978, and described in 1984.

The generic name Yarnemia comes from the village of Yarnema near which the first specimens were found. The specific epithet, ascidiformis, refers to the likeness to ascidians.

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Description Yarnemia ascidiformis is a possible tunicate, growing up to in length, with the standard oblong body and two openings, or siphons, on the top of the body to allow water to flow through them.

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See also Other Ediacaran biota tentatively identified as tunicates include

• Ausia fenestrata
• Burykhia hunti

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