How well do fossil assemblages of the Ediacara Biota tell time?

Patterns of origination, evolution, and extinction of early animal life on this planet are largely interpreted from the fossils of the Precambrian soft-bodied Ediacara Biota, spanning nearly 40 m.y. of the terminal Ediacaran period. Localities containing these fossils are loosely considered as part of either the Avalon, White Sea, or Nama Associations. These associations have been interpreted to have temporal, paleobiogeographic, preservational, and/or paleoenvironmental signifi -cance. Surprisingly, elements of all three associations occur within the Ediacara Member of the Rawnsley Quartzite of South Australia. An analysis of over 5000 specimens demonstrates that fossil distribution is strongly controlled by facies and taphonomy rather than time or biogeography and that individual taxa vary considerably in their environmental tolerance and taphonomic integrity. The recognition that these taxa represent organisms living in various distinct environments, both juxtaposed and shared, holds strong implications for our interpretation of the record of early animal life on this planet and questions the biostratigraphic utility of the three associations. Furthermore, although in situ soft-bodied preservation provides a unique perspective on composition of benthic fossil assemblages, the record should not be interpreted as a simple "snapshot". Fossil beds represent a range of preservational modifi cations varying from current winnowed census samples of benthic communities at different depths and ecological maturity, to entirely transported assemblages. Unless the appropriate environments and taphonomic conditions are present for certain taxa, the absence of a particular taxon may or may not indicate its extinction in space or time.