The sedimentary structures and fossils in the Ediacaran records: Current research overview

Analyses of new data presented in scientific publications on the studies results of the Ediacaran strata in Ukraine and worldwide in terms of sedimentation conditions, sedimentation features and biogenic fossils have been carried out. The article contains materials on the summarising of the data on the results of recent research on stratotype Ediacaran sections in South Australia (Ediacaran Hills), the southeastern part of Newfoundland (Avalon Peninsula) and the White Sea coast. The advanced precision research methods used to develop issues of stratigraphy, sedimentology, geochemistry, paleontology, etc. have been highlighted. The main stages of sedimentation and evolutionary processes in the Ediacaran ecosystem of Volyno-Podillia have been shown and the influence of facial conditions on the taxonomic composition of biotic associations, spatial heterogeneity of communities and morphological features of fossils have been studied. The presence of some Avalonian, Ediacaran – White Sea and Namibian biota representatives has been revealed in the Podillia Ediacaran strata. The analysis of the taxonomic diversity of the studied biotic associations and the ‘absolute’ age data of the maximum prosperity of the Ediacaran biota (established in the Lomoziv and Yampil beds) allows to consider the Podilia biota of the Mohyliv Formation to be younger than the Avalonian association, but slightly older than the White Sea and South Australian ones.