{{Short description|Form genus for problematic fossils of Cambrian age in South Australia}} {{One source|date=June 2024}} {{Use dmy dates|date=June 2024}} {{Automatic taxobox | fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Middle Cambrian}} | image = Erytholus specimen.tif | image_caption = Crack-out specimen of ''Erytholus globosus'' from the Middle Cambrian, Moodlatana Formation, of the Flinders ranges, South Australia | taxon = Erytholus | authority = Retallack 2011 | subdivision_ranks = Species | subdivision = * ''Erytholus globosus'' }} thumb|left|200px|Specimen of ''Eryhtolus globosus'' in sandstone slab cut vertical to bedding thumb|left|200px|Sketches of specimens of ''Erytholus globosus'' from the Middle Cambrian, Moodlatana Formation of the Flinders Ranges, South Australia
'''''Erytholus''''' is a form genus for problematic alleged fossils of Cambrian age in South Australia. It has been of special interest because of its morphological similarity with the Ediacaran fossil ''Ventogyrus'', and may have been a late surviving vendobiont. It could be a slime mold.<ref name="Retallack2011">{{cite journal| journal=Palaeontology| title=Problematic megafossils in Cambrian paleosols of South Australia| author=Retallack, G.J.| volume=54| issue=6| year=2011| pages=1223–1242| doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2011.01099.x| bibcode=2011Palgy..54.1223R| s2cid=130692406| doi-access=free}}</ref> Other authors have doubted whether it represents a fossil<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Jago |first=James B. |last2=Gehling |first2=James G. |last3=Paterson |first3=John R. |last4=Brock |first4=Glenn A. |date=July 2012 |title=Comments on Retallack, G. J. 2011: Problematic megafossils in Cambrian Palaeosols of South Australia |url=https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01173.x |journal=Palaeontology |language=en |volume=55 |issue=4 |pages=913–917 |doi=10.1111/j.1475-4983.2012.01173.x |issn=0031-0239}}</ref>
== Description == ''Erytholus'' was claimed by its describer, Gregory Retallack, to be a globose, chambered fossil, with associated vertical tubular structures. Retallack considered its preservation in sandstone is similar to the Ediacaran type preservation of the vendobiont ''Ventogyrus''. It is found at depths of {{convert|20|-|30|cm}} within paleosols. Its affinities are uncertain, although it bears a general resemblance to truffles.<ref name="Retallack2011" /> In a rebuttal published in 2011, four other authors contested the idea that ''Erytholus'' was a fossil at all, stating that it was likely merely a "broken section of a poorly sorted ferruginous, muddy sandstone with deformed laminae".<ref name=":0" />
== References == {{Reflist}}
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Category:Cambrian fossil record Category:Controversial taxa
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