Microfossils from cap dolomites of the Lower Vendian Churochnaya Formation in the Polyudov Range (North Urals): Paleoecological approach to interpretation of Late Proterozoic glaciations

Microfossils from silicified varieties of cap dolomites crowning the section of the tillite-bearing Lower Vendian (Ediacaran) Churochnaya Formation in the Polyudov Range (North Urals) are characterized. These microfossils are the first to be found from Vendian sections of the region and from all the terminal post-glacial sediments, one of the most significant global glaciation Marinoan of the African Glacial Era, when glaciers reached the equator. They are represented by remains of hormogonian and chrococcacean cyanobacteria as well as possible green filamentous algae. This microbiotic assemblage is of relatively low diversity, being composed of taxa with wide stratigraphic ranges characteristic of Proterozoic conservative microbiotas developed in shallow-water siliceous-carbonate facies. The lack of phytoplanktonic microfossils in this biota including Pertatataka-type acanthomorphic acritarchs or Ediacaran Complex Acanthomorph Palynoflora (ECAP) is also consistent with the conclusion on shallow-water deposition of the Churochnaya Formation. Moreover, most cyanobacteria representatives occurring in the latter are characteristic of shallow-water arid environments that confirm a theory of significant temperature increase during accumulation of the cap dolomites after termination of the above-mentioned glaciation. In addition to these microfossils, the cap dolomite member of the Churochnaya Formation contains filamentous and coccoidal pseudofossils formed under influence of post-sedimentary fluids. In their morphometric parameters, they resemble structures described from Archean sections as microfossil remains, which may be a key to interpreting their nature.