Beltanelliformis

Beltanelliformis is a genus of discoid fossil from the Ediacaran period, roughly 635 to 538.8 million years ago, containing two recognized species, B. brunsae and B. minutae. It is an enigmatic discoid organism typically found in clusters containing dozens of individuals, and depending on how it is preserved it has also been described under the names Nemiana, Beltanelloides, Hagenetta, and Namamedusium. Molecular fossils recovered from organically preserved specimens indicate a cyanobacterial affinity, suggesting Beltanelliformis represents large spherical colonies of cyanobacteria comparable to the modern genus Nostoc.