South America figures as one of the most fruitful continents for paleontological research on the Ediacaran-Cambrian transition, with almost 100 years of studies on organisms preserved in carbonates and siliciclastic successions deposited during the birth of the Gondwana supercontinent. However, this scientific record is often scattered among local publications which is part of the reason for the unfamiliarity of geoscientists with the Ediacaran paleontology of this continent. To address this issue, this paper provides a comprehensive overview of Ediacaran paleontology in South America. It achieves this by conducting a thorough assessment of existing research alongside presenting ample new data concerning fossil discoveries. Following current efforts to add new pieces to the complex puzzle on metazoan evolution, this contribution resumes our understanding of the variety and diversity of Ediacaran assemblages in this part of the planet. Positioning South American successions in space and time and comparing them with occurrences worldwide helps us understand the different pulses of extinctions, and their forcings and consequences for life diversification during the Ediacaran. Lastly, by definitively adding the paleontological record of SW Gondwana to the global picture, we seek to contribute to current discussions on the subdivision of the Ediacaran, perhaps the most emblematic period in the geological record.

中文翻译：

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南美洲的埃迪卡拉纪古生物学记录


南美洲是埃迪卡拉纪-寒武纪过渡古生物学研究最富有成效的大陆之一，对冈瓦纳超大陆诞生期间沉积的碳酸盐岩和硅碎屑演替中保存的生物进行了近 100 年的研究。然而，这些科学记录经常分散在当地出版物中，这也是地球科学家对这片大陆的埃迪卡拉纪古生物学不熟悉的部分原因。为了解决这个问题，本文对南美洲的埃迪卡拉纪古生物学进行了全面的概述。它通过对现有研究进行全面评估，同时提供有关化石发现的大量新数据来实现这一目标。继目前努力为后生动物进化的复杂拼图添加新部分之后，这一贡献恢复了我们对地球这一地区埃迪卡拉纪组合的多样性和多样性的理解。在空间和时间上定位南美洲的演替，并将它们与世界各地的事件进行比较，有助于我们了解灭绝的不同脉搏，以及它们在埃迪卡拉纪期间对生命多样化的强迫和影响。最后，通过将冈瓦纳西南的古生物学记录明确添加到全球图片中，我们寻求为当前关于埃迪卡拉纪细分的讨论做出贡献，这可能是地质记录中最具代表性的时期。