The Enigmatic Fossil Hiemalora in the Ediacaran of the Digermulen Peninsula, Arctic Norway

Abstract: Hiemalora is a genus residing within the Ediacaran biota. There are just two species of Hiemalora; H. stellaris and H. pleiomorphus. Despite there being only being two species within this genus, there is a degree of morphological variability within each species which is highlighted by the description of specimens around the world. The distribution of Hiemalora is global with specimens observed in Newfoundland, England, the White Sea (Russia), Siberia, Australia and arctic Norway. There has been a great deal of evolution in the interpretation of Hiemalora since the original description of H. stellaris in 1980. This genus was first interpreted as a hydrozoan with a central polyp with radiating tentacles (Fedonkin. 1981). It is now thought to be associated with rangeomorphs as a holdfast-type basal attachment structure. It is most closely linked to the frondose taxon Primocandelabrum which is abundant in Mistaken Point, Newfoundland and Charnwood Forest, England.The Hiemalora fossils in this study are sampled from the Indreelva member on the Digermulen Peninsula, Finnmark, Norway during fieldwork in both 2015 and 2018 at two close although separate localities. The most abundant species in this study is H. stellaris which makes up the majority of the 9 samples. There is also the potential inclusion of a H. pleiomorphus specimen, which features a distinctly different morphology to the other Hiemalora samples. One specimen has been identified with what is possibly a Primocandelabrum frond attachment. It is almost certainly a rangeomorph although the affinity is up for debate. One of the main aims for this study is to, as accurately as possible, determine the taxonomic affinity for all the specimens. This is subsequently an aim to better understand the biota inhabiting the Ediacaran seafloor in Digermulen Peninsula and the palaeoenvironment. This study is the first incorporating Hiemalora concerning material from the Digermulen Peninsula since the work done since Farmer et al. in 1992 and the first study in this area solely focused on the genus. Due to this, the study is allowing for the comparison between modern interpretations of Hiemalora from other Ediacaran locations around the world. Due to the Digermulen Peninsula residing on Baltica during the Ediacaran, comparisons to Avalonian assemblages such as in Newfoundland and England may highlight polarising features or many similarities.