Science. 1982 Aug 27;217(4562):783-92. doi: 10.1126/science.217.4562.783.
The Ediacarian, here defined as the initial period and system of the Phanerozoic Eon, is characterized by the oldest known multicellular animal life. The distinctive biotal assemblage comprises naked Metazoa, represented in the type region by 26 species in 18 genera and 4 or more phyla, plus simple metazoan surface tracks. Elements of this unique biota appeared worldwide at low paleolatitudes, following terminal Proterozoic glaciation. Ediacarian history lasted from about 670 million to 550 million years ago. This interval, plus Early Cambrian, was the time during which metazoan life diversified into nearly all of the major phyla and most of the invertebrate classes and orders subsequently known.
埃迪卡拉纪，在此被定义为显生宙的初始时期和系统，其特征是最古老的已知多细胞动物生命。独特的生物群落包括裸露的后生动物，在典型区域中，有 18 属 26 种，代表了 4 个或更多的门，加上简单的后生动物表面痕迹。这个独特生物群的元素在经历了元古代末期的冰川作用之后，出现在全球低纬度地区。埃迪卡拉纪的历史从大约 6.7 亿年前持续到 5.5 亿年前。这个时期，加上早寒武纪，是后生动物生命多样化的时期，几乎所有的主要门以及后来已知的大多数无脊椎动物纲和目都在这个时期出现。
