Kimberella fossil map
Where fossils of Kimberella have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 555 million years ago and on today’s map.
Dots are fossil collections recorded in the Paleobiology Database. The “then” view moves today’s fossil sites back to their positions 555 million years ago (the time slice nearest the median age of the fossils) using the Merdith et al. (2021) plate model; positions are approximate. Open on the timeline map →
| Group | Ediacaran & Cambrian life |
|---|---|
| Lived | 635–538.8 million years ago (Ediacaran) |
| Periods | Ediacaran |
| Named by | Glaessner 1959 |
| Fossil records | 30 occurrences at 20 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Russian Federation, Australia, Iran, India, Brazil, Canada, China |
| Rock formations | Rawnsley Quartzite, Verkhovka, Kushk, Zimnie Gory, Yorga, Mezen' |
About Kimberella
Kimberella is an extinct genus of marine bilaterian known only from rocks of the Ediacaran period. The slug-like organism fed by scratching the microbial surface on which it dwelt in a manner similar to the gastropods, although its affinity with this group is contentious.
Specimens were first found in Australia's Ediacara Hills, but recent research has concentrated on the numerous finds near the White Sea in Russia, which cover an interval of time from 555 to 558 million years ago. As with many fossils from this time, its evolutionary relationships to other organisms are hotly debated. Paleontologists initially classified Kimberella as a type of cubozoan, but, since 1997, features of its anatomy and its association with scratch marks resembling those made by a radula have been interpreted as signs that it may have been a mollusc. Although some paleontologists dispute its classification as a mollusc, it is generally accepted as being at least a bilaterian.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Kimberella (revision 1381307330), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 22 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in.
