Protomelission fossil map
Where fossils of Protomelission have been found, shown on the Earth as it looked about 500 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 500 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 | 521–508.2 million years ago (Stage 3 to Stage 4) |
| Periods | Cambrian |
| Named by | Brock and Cooper 1993 |
| Fossil records | 3 occurrences at 3 locations (PBDB) |
| Found in | Australia, China |
| Rock formations | Wirrealpa Limestone, Shuijingtuo |
About Protomelission
Protomelission is an extinct genus of bryozoan from the early Cambrian period of what is now Australia and China. The genus contains a single species, Protomelission gatehousei. Its known material comprises cataphract arrays of box-like chambers, forming a club-shaped thallus surrounding a hollow central cavity. Protomelission was initially described as the only bryozoan with no mineralized skeleton, which led to some researchers questioning the affinity of the taxon as a dasycladalean green alga, but subsequent discovery of phosphatized soft tissues in its modular skeleton suggested that it is certainly a bryozoan with mineralized skeleton.
Text in “About” is quoted from the Wikipedia article Protomelission (revision 1358492067), licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0; introduction excerpted verbatim, formatting removed. Ages, family, authority and fossil records: Paleobiology Database, accessed 23 October 2026. Ages are those of the rock layers the fossils were found in. Wikidata: Q117089942.
