Rutgersella
{{Short description|Fossil classification}}
{{Automatic taxobox
| fossil_range = {{fossilrange|Early Silurian}}
| image = Rutgersella truexi.tif
| image_caption = Rutgersella truexi from the Early Silurian Shawangunk Formation of Delaware Water Gap, Pennsylvania
| taxon = Rutgersella
| authority = Johnson and Fox 1968{{cite journal|last1=Johnson|first1=H.|last2=Fox|first2=S. K., Jr.|year=1968|title=Dipleurozoa from Lower Silurian of North America|journal=Science|volume=162|issue=3849|pages=119–120|doi=10.1126/science.162.3849.119}}
| subdivision_ranks = Species
| subdivision = * Rutgersella truexi
}}
Rutgersella truexi is a form species for problematic fossils of Early Silurian age in Pennsylvania. It has been of special interest because of its morphological similarity with the iconic Ediacaran fossil Dickinsonia, and may have been a late surviving vendobiont.{{cite journal| journal=Alcheringa| title=Reassessment of the problematic fossil Rutgersella as another post-Ediacaran vendobiont| author=Retallack, G.J.| volume=39| issue=4| pages=573–588|year=2015| doi=10.1080/03115518.2015.1069483| s2cid=54780312}}
Description
Rutgersella truexi is a flat, segmented fossil, with both radial and bilateral symmetry like Dickinsonia, but with a shorter midline. The fossils are pyritized; some internal chambers are filled with chalcedony, so that they are preserved along with proposed "basal rhizines".
Controversially, according to Retallack, these observations suggest affinities with lichens, and perhaps the fungal phylum Glomeromycota, a statement not currently supported by more verifiable palaeontologists.{{cite journal| journal=Geological Magazine| title=Following the logic behind biological interpretations of the Ediacaran biotas| author=Runnegar, B.| volume=159| issue=4| pages=1–25| year=2021| doi=10.1017/S0016756821000443| s2cid=237757573| doi-access=free}}
Gallery
File:Rutgersella thin section.tif|Petrographic thin section of Rutgersella truexi from Early Silurian Shawangunk Formation of Pennsylvania