Noffkarkys

Noffkarkys ("net of Noffke") is a genus of problematic fossil first found in the Ediacaran (550 million years old) Grant Bluff Formation of Central Mount Stuart, Northern Territory, Australia, and another prostrate frond-like fossil. The genus was named in honor of Nora Noffke.



Description
Noffkarkys is an Ediacaran fossil frond with a fine pattern of rhombic quilts radiating from the base which does not include a rounded holdfast. Like other Ediacaran frond such as Trepassia which also lacks a holdfast, Noffkarkys may have lived prone on the substrate. The fine quilting extends deep into the matrix from the upper side as seen in petrographic thin sections.

Biological affinities
Noffkarkys is a problematic fossil like many Ediacaran genera, and is one of the few vendobionts that persisted into the Cambrian Affinities may be with sea pens or lichens.