Vendian Animals: Cyclomedusa
from the White Sea Region of Russia
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Cyclomedusa is probably the most common and widespread Vendian fossil. It also has one of the largest size ranges, ranging from a few millimeters to about a meter in diameter. Formerly thought to represent a planktonic (floating) jellyfish of some sort, Cyclomedusa is now considered by some to have been a benthic (bottom-dwelling) polyp, somewhat like a sea anemone. It reproduced by division in two or by budding. This specimen is about 5 cm across and comes from the Winter Coast of the White Sea.
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