Rangeomorph

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Rangeomorph Temporal range: 635–505 Ma PreꞒ Ꞓ O S D C P T J K Pg N Possibly one of the last representatives of the Ediacaran biota.
Charnia masoni, a rangeomorph
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	†Petalonamae
Clade:	†Rangeomorpha Hofmann et al., 2008
Subtaxa
†Avalofractus †Broccoliforma †Fractofusus †Frondophyllas †Hapsidophyllas †Hylaecullulus †Khatyspytia †Pambikalbae †Pectinifrons †Plumeropriscum †Primocandelabrum †Trepassia †Vinlandia †Rangeidae †Rangea †Charniidae †Beothukis †Bomakellia †Bradgatia †Charnia †Paracharnia †Culmofrons
Synonyms
Charniomorpha

The rangeomorphs are a form taxon of frondose Ediacaran fossils that are united by a similarity to Rangea. Some researchers, such as Pflug and Narbonne, suggest that a natural taxon Rangeomorpha may include all similar-looking fossils. Rangeomorphs appear to have had an effective reproductive strategy, based on analysis of the distribution pattern of Fractofusus, which consisted of sending out a waterborne asexual propagule to a distant area, and then spreading rapidly from there, just as plants today spread by stolons or runners.^[1][2]

Rangeomorphs are a key part of the Ediacaran biota, which survived about 30 million years, until the base of the Cambrian, which was 538.8 million years ago. They were especially abundant in the early Ediacaran Mistaken Point assemblage found in Newfoundland.^[3]