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Vinlandia is an extinct genus from the Ediacaran biota. It is considered to be one of the oldest members of the Ediacaran biota, alongside Charnia and Trepassia. According to the known fossil record, Vinlandia first appeared approximately 570 million years ago. The exact dimensions of Vinlandia are unknown. However, as a rangeomorph, its height likely varied from a few centimeters to up to two meters tall. It lived in both shallow and abyssal marine environments. Vinlandia was likely soft-bodied due to evidence of bending and folding. There is also evidence that Vinlandia was an osmotroph.

Discovery and Classification
The holotype of Vinlandia was discovered in 2007 at the Drook Formation, Mistaken Point Ecological Reserve in Newfoundland, Canada. The name Vinlandia comes from the old Norse name for Newfoundland. It was originally classified as a species of Charnia, called Charnia antecedens. However, in 2012, it was reclassified into its own genus, Vinlandia, with a sole species, Vinlandia antecedens. In morphological terms, Vinlandia antecedens is most similar to its fellow rangeomorph, Charnia masoni. Vinlandia is assigned to Rangeomorpha, which consists of several Ediacaran frond-like organisms that resemble ferns, or the clade's eponym, Rangea. This group represents some of the earliest large organisms.

Morphology
Vinlandia has unipolar fronds, ovate or elliptical in shape; the primary branches are not consistent throughout their length. The frond is composed of 8-10 acutely angled primary branches that remain relatively constant in branching angle throughout the entire length of the branch. Vinlandia’s primary branches are rectangular or trapezoidal, starkly different from C. masoni’s curved primary branches. The primary branches are arranged alternatively along a furled central axis, forming a linear to zig-zag suture. Vinlandia, like Charnia, does not have a distinct stem. Vinlandia was stationary, likely attached to the sea floor. While there is evidence for a basal disc, it is rarely preserved. This could imply that Vinlandia was buried in the sediment rather than sitting on top of it.