Wikipedia
Charniodiscus is an Ediacaran fossil that in life was probably a stationary filter feeder that lived anchored to a sandy sea bed. The organism had a holdfast, stalk and frond. The holdfast was bulbous shaped, and the stalk was flexible. The frond was segmented and had a pointed tip. There were two growth forms: one with a short stem and fat frond, and another with a long stalk, elevating a smaller frond about above the holdfast. While the organism superficially resembles the sea pens ( cnidaria), it is probably not a crown-group animal.
Charniodiscus was first found in Charnwood Forest in England, and named by Trevor D. Ford in 1958. The name is derived from the fact that Ford only described a holdfast consisting of a double concentic circle, his species being named Charniodiscus concentricus. Later it was discovered that a frond (Charnia masoni) was part of a closely related organism. Charnia differs in the branching structure in the frond.
Charniodiscus specimens are known from across the globe dating to around .
Species are distinguished by the number of segments, whether or not there is a distal spine, and the shape ratio.