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Nemiana is a discoid rounded fossil typically found on the undersides of sandstone beds often in tight clusters of individuals, sometimes covering essentially the entire bedding surface. These circular fossils have been interpreted as cnidarians, algae, fungi, sponges, or cyanobacteria (Kolesnikov, 2022) and have been associated with a benthonic lifestyle (Leonov, 2007). A similar form, Beltanelliformis, was associated with paleomolecules from cyanobacteria, and was interpreted as the remains of bacterial colonies organized in macroscopic spherical envelopes (Bobrovskiy et al., 2018). This interpretation was applied to Nemiana as well (Ivantsov, 2014), but opposed by Paliy et al. (2021), who favored the interpretation as cnidarian-like animals. Specimens of Nemiana have been reported mostly from Russia and Ukraine. This particular specimen is from the White Sea region in Russia.

References:

Kolesnikov, A., 2022. Beltanelliformis konovalovi sp. nov. from the Terminal Neoproterozoic of Central Urals: Taphonomic and ecological implications, Frontiers in Earth Science, 10. doi:10.3389/feart.2022.875001.

Leonov, M.V., 2007. Comparative taphonomy of Vendian genera Beltanelloides and Nemiana: Taxonomy and lifestyle, Geological Society, London, Special Publications, 286(1), pp. 259–267. doi:10.1144/SP286.18.

St. John, J., No date. Nemiana simplex, Jsjgeology.net. Available at: http://www.jsjgeology.net/Nemiana-simplex.htm (Accessed: August 2024).