Ediacaran metazoan reefs from the Nama Group, Namibia

Abstract

Building coral reefs in ancient times 540 million years ago, in the dawn before the Cambrian explosion, evolution was setting the stage for the global rise of animals. Before they took over the seas, the earliest animals developed strategies to defend themselves against predators. These strategies, which remain common today, include forming skeletons and building reefs. Penny et al. discovered a massive fossil reef deposit in Namibia made up of tiny coneshaped early animals known as Cloudina. The reef, which is 20 million years older than other ancient reefs, was probably formed as the Cloudina adapted to benefit from reefs, which protect the animals and allow them to feed more efficiently. Science , this issue p. 1504