''Protonympha'' is a form genus for problematic fossils of Devonian age in New York. It has been of special interest because of its morphological similarity with the iconic Ediacaran fossil ''

Spriggina ''Spriggina'' is a genus of early bilaterian animals whose relationship to living animals is unclear. Fossils of ''Spriggina'' are known from the late Ediacaran period in what is now South Australia. ''Spriggina floundersi'' is the official fo ...

'', and may have been a late surviving

vendobiont Vendobionts or Vendozoans (Vendobionta) are a proposed very high-level, extinct clade of benthic organisms that made up of the majority of the organisms that were part of the Ediacaran biota. It is a hypothetical group and at the same time, i ...

Description

''Protonympha'' is a flat, quilted fossil, which has previously been compared with the arm of a starfish or an annelid worm, but lacks a segmented carapace or stereom. Its preservation in sandstone is similar to Ediacaran type preservations.J. J. Sepkoski. 2002. A compendium of fossil marine animal genera. Bulletins of American Paleontology 363:1-560 A less-accepted hypothesis claims the organisms were terrestrial fossils like lichen, with hypothetically interpreted

rhizoid Rhizoids are protuberances that extend from the lower epidermal cells of bryophytes and algae. They are similar in structure and function to the root hairs of vascular land plants. Similar structures are formed by some fungi. Rhizoids may be uni ...

-like extensions as possible evidence it may have lived on land or in shallow pools.

References

Devonian animals Controversial taxa Enigmatic prehistoric animal genera {{Paleo-biota-stub