The earliest multicellular .22animals.22 Microbial mat

before , after cambrian substrate revolution

the ediacara biota earliest accepted evidence of multicellular animals . ediacaran strata elephant skin texture characteristic of microbial mats contain fossils, , ediacaran fossils hardly ever found in beds not contain these microbial mats. adolf seilacher categorized animals as: mat encrusters , permanently attached mat;

mat scratchers , grazed surface of mat without destroying it; mat stickers , suspension feeders partially embedded in mat; , undermat miners , burrowed underneath mat , fed on decomposing mat material.