Martyshyn A. Fossils of the Late Vendian (Ediacaran) biota of Podillia and their significance for the early evolution stages studies of the organic world.

This work is devoted to the study of insufficiently explored historical period of life on the Earth - the Late Precambrian. The Vendian stage of sedimentation is the final part of the Precambrian. These deposits contain the emergence of multicellular life evidence before the moment of the earth ecosystem radical restructuring which is called the «Cambrian explosion». The section of the Upper Vendian rocks is located on the southwestern slope of the Ukrainian Shield, which is an integral part of the Eastern European Platform. Sedimentary strata is considered to be sufficiently studied in terms of stratigraphy and sedimentology, but the data on paleontological characteristics do not meet current requirements. The geological structure, sedimentation conditions and paleontological remains of eleven outcrops of the Upper Vendian of the Podillia ledge have been researched. On the basis of a monographic study, 35 species of Vendian biota, previously unknown in Podillia, have been identified. Among them, 6 new species and 3 new genera of fossils have been described. Fossils previously described by other researchers have been reviewed and reinterpreted according to on the latest data on Late Vendian (Ediacaran) biota. The biostratigraphic characteristics of the vast majority of stratigraphic subdivisions of the reference section of the Vendian of Podillia ledge have been improved. For the first time, biostratigraphic complexes have been identified and compared with the biocenoses of Ediacaran in other regions of the planet. In particular, the commonality of biotic associations of Lomoziv and Yampil Members and the facial dependence of their taxonomic composition have been revealed. New data on the unique biotic association of the marking horizon of volcanic tuff-argillites of the Bronnycia Member and the global distribution of fragments of this biotic association have been presented. A rich algae-metazoic association was found in the Dzhurzhivka Member. The inconsistency of the conclusions of the predecessors on the ichnological characteristics of the deposits of Mohyliv-Podilskyi and Kanylivka Groups with the real data obtained by the author is shown. It has been proven that a significant number of fossils, described by previous researchers as tracefossils, give grounds to be interpreted as body fossils of problematic creatures. Some of the fossilized remains, formerly known as the fossils of soft-bodied organisms, are classified as sedimentary structures. It has been established that the fossilized remains of the Arumberia group, which have been the subject of debate for a considerable of time, are the body fossils of unknown creatures, possibly algae.