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Discovery of Animal Eggs and Embryos from the Ediacaran (Terminal Proterozoic) Chambaghat Formation, Krol Group, Himachal Lesser Himalaya
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The globular to suboval microfossils with distinctively ornamented outer coverings interpreted as animal eggs and embryos have been discovered from the black phosphatic chert lentils of the Ediacaran (Terminal Proterozoic) Chambaghat Formation (Krol sandstone), Krol Group, Himachal Lesser Himalaya, India. Similar animal eggs and embryos have earlier been recorded only from the phosphorites of the uppermost Neoproterozoic Doushantuo Formation (Ca. 570±20 Ma) exposed at Weng'an, South China. Present record of eggs and embryos is comparable with extant eggs and embryos of cnidarians and bilaterians like molluscs, annelids and arthropods. The eggs and embryos from the Terminal Proterozoic rocks of India are the only one recorded from the equivalent stratigraphic horizon outside China. This discovery of eggs and embryos adds to the understanding the evolutionary trends in the Proterozoic metazoan life.
Keywords
Eggs, Embryos, Ediacaran, Proterozoic, Krol Group, Himachal Lesser Himalaya.
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