Redkinian Biota of Macroscopic Fossils from the Northwestern East European Platform (South Ladoga Region)

The stratigraphic distribution of microfossils and macroscopic fossil biota in Vendian deposits of the South Ladoga region (northwestern East European Platform) is analyzed. In the sequence of the Shotkusa-1 well, three taxonomically heterogeneous microfossil assemblages are distinguished: two of them refer to the Redkinian age (Starorusskaya Fm.) and one to the Kotlinian age (Vasileostrovskaya Fm.). Deposits of the Starorusskaya Fm. contain Redkinian biota of macroscopic fossils, of which the most characteristic representatives are Chuaria circularis, Doushantuophyton lineare, Morania zinkovi, Orbisiana simplex, and Redkinia spinosa. These new findings expand the paleontological characteristics of Upper Vendian deposits, also providing additional criteria for distinguishing the Redkinian horizon in the northwestern East European Platform.