What is "rangeomorph"

n. Precambrian type of sessile organism resembling ferns, possibly descended from sponges; one of the oldest complex lifeforms found.

The rangeomorphs are a form taxon of frondose Ediacaran fossils that are united by a similarity to Rangea. Some researchers, such as Pflug and Narbonne, suggest that a natural taxon Rangeomorpha may include all similar-looking fossils. Although the evolution of sex took place before the origin of animals, and evidence of sexual reproduction is observed in red algae , news articles have suggested that rangeomorphs were among the first organisms to reproduce sexually.

Rangeomorphs are a key part of the Ediacaran biota which survived about 30 million years, until the base of the Cambrian . They were especially abundant in early Ediacaran Mistaken Point assemblage found in Newfoundland.