Precambrian (Vendian) Ediacaran biota based on fossils from the Ediacara Hills of South Australia. Toward the end of the Precambrian era between 560 and 580 million years ago, the seas were inhabited by soft-bodied animals and algae. In South Australia some of these organisms left their impressions in the sand which was later compressed into sandstone. Similar associations of Ediacaran fossils have been found in Vendian rocks on every continent except Antarctica. Prominent in the diorama are jellyfish (Ediacaria flindersi, "fried egg-shaped"; Mawsonites spriggi, blue fluted in center; Kimberella quadrata, bullet-shaped in center); sea pens (Charniodiscus arboreus, pink paddles; Charniodiscus oppositus, orange paddles); flat worms (Dickensonia costata, ovals on substrate); and algae (dark green fingers and filamentous tufts).