Main Page | See live article | Alphabetical index

Ausia

Ausia A curious precambrian fossil -- basically a hollow cylinder taping to a cone on one end. The surface is covered with circular rows of depressions ("windows") that taper into ovals toward the conical point. Ausia Fenestrata, named for the town of Aus in Namibia, is the only Vendian animal with pores although there is some question whether the depressions completely penetrate the animal's wall. It may be a primitive sponge.