# Erytholus

> Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Erytholus
> Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Erytholus.md
> Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erytholus
> Source revision: 1324445236
> License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/)

{{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](/source/form_classification) for problematic alleged fossils of [Cambrian](/source/Cambrian) age in South Australia. It has been of special interest because of its morphological similarity with the Ediacaran fossil ''[Ventogyrus](/source/Ventogyrus)'', and may have been a late surviving [vendobiont](/source/vendobiont). It could be a [slime mold](/source/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](/source/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](/source/Ediacaran_type_preservation) of the vendobiont ''[Ventogyrus](/source/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](/source/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](/source/poorly_sorted) ferruginous, muddy sandstone with deformed [laminae](/source/Lamination_(geology))".<ref name=":0" />

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Taxonbar|from=Q48971317}}

Category:Cambrian fossil record
Category:Controversial taxa

{{Paleo-biota-stub}}

---
Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Erytholus](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erytholus) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erytholus?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.