The data are from X-ray tomographic analyses of tubular fossils. All scans were carried out using Synchrotron Radiation X-ray Tomographic Microscopy (SRXTM) except for specimen SMNH X 5324 which was also analysed using Ptychographic X-ray Computed Tomography (PXCT). The methods are described in the paper. The data consist of a stacked series of .tif files that represent maps of X-ray attenuation. The individual slices can be viewed with standard graphics software. The datasets can be studied in 3D using tomographic reconstruction software such as Avizo (www.vsg3d.com/), Spiers (www.spiers-software.org/), VG Studio Max (www.volumegraphics.com) etc. The voxel size, which is needed for scale calculations, varies between datasets and is given below. Some datasets consist of two 'blocks' of data, with slices named [specimen name]_B1 and [specimen name]_B2. These are placed in the same folder and follow on directly from one another. They can be opened together as a single dataset. The files relate to the following publication: Cunningham, J. A., Vargas, K., Liu, P., Belivanova, V., Marone, F., Martinez-Perez, C., Guizar-Sicairos, M., Holler, M., Bengtson, S. & Donoghue, P. C. J. 2015. Critical appraisal of tubular putative eumetazoans from the Ediacaran Weng'an Doushantuo biota. Proceedings of the Royal Society Series B: Biological Sciences.

Reflectance Transformation Imaging files for the type specimen GSM105875 [IGSN:UKBGSGSM105875] and two paratypes GSM106040 [IGSN:UKBGSGSM106040] , GSM106112 [IGSN:UKBGSGSM106112] of Hylaecullulus fordi, a new species of rangeomorph from the Bradgate Formation (Ediacaran) of Charnwood Forest, UK. Supporting information for Kenchington, Dunn and Wilby - Modularity and overcompensatory growth in rangeomorphs (late Ediacaran, approx. 580-541 Ma): adaptations for coping with environmental pressures. Current Biology.

3D models of Ediacaran organisms generated using NURBS modelling for use in computer simulations of fluid flow. Models built between 2021 and 2023 using the computer-aided design program Rhinoceros 3D. File names refer to different fossil taxa and surfaces. STP files can be opened with most CAD software, including freely available programs such as Autodesk Fusion 360 and FreeCAD.

3D laser surface scan of a fossil held within the BGS Type and Stratigraphical Reference Collection. Sample number: BGS GSM 37292 Species: Metrolytoceras metretum (Ammonite) Age: Inferior Oolite Group, Jurassic Location: near Sherborne, Dorset

Table S1.xlsx is Table S1, which contains 2D measurements of cell clusters used in Fig. 5 (this is also available from the publisher's website). The folders SMNH X 4447, SMNH X 5331 and SMNH X 5357 contain data from X-ray tomographic analyses of fossils figured in the paper: For SMNH X 5331 (the conical fossil that is the focus of the paper) there are two zip archives: 1. Slice data and Avizo files, containing: - Slice data: the raw scan data (.tif image stack) - Label files for cell clusters and individual cells: Avizo projects (.hx) containing the labels and the files required to open the project file. The cluster labels are based on a downsampled version of the data which is included here as slice data (.tif image stack). Voxel sizes for this file are 0.325 x 1.3 x 0.325 micrometers. 2. Working files, containing: - Surface models: .ply files for clusters and individual cells. - Segmented stacks: the label files as .tif stacks (voxel sizes as per slice data: 0.325 x 0.325 x 0.325 micrometres (cell labels); 0.325 x 1.3 x 0.325 micrometers (cluster labels)). SMNH X 4447 and SMNH X 5357 (two specimens figured for comparison) there is: - Slice data: zip archives of the raw scan data (.tif image stack). The individual slices (.tif images) can be viewed with standard graphics software, and the datasets can be studied in 3D using tomographic reconstruction software such as Avizo (www.vsg3d.com/), Spiers (www.spiers-software.org/), VG Studio Max (www.volumegraphics.com) etc. The Avizo project and label files (.hx and .am files) require Avizo software (www.vsg3d.com/) to be opened. The 3D models (.ply files) are widely compatible with 3D freeware packages such as MeshLab (http://meshlab.sourceforge.net/) or Blender (https://www.blender.org/), or with proprietary software, e.g. Avizo (www.vsg3d.com/), Geomagic (http://www.geomagic.com/en/), Mimics (http://biomedical.materialise.com/mimics). The files relate to the following publication: Cunningham, J. A., Vargas, K., Marone, F., Bengtson, S. & Donoghue, P. C. J. 2016. A multicellular organism with embedded cell clusters from the Ediacaran Weng'an biota (Doushantuo Formation, South China). Evolution & Development

Reflectance Transformation Imaging files of specimen BGS GSM106352, a large (1.0 x 1.2m) display cast, made from Jesmonite AC-300 and coloured dark gray and showing several species typical of the fossil biota on the Bed B surface of Wilby et al. (2011) in Charnwood Forest. Wilby. P, Carney, J.N, Howe, M.P.A 2011 A rich Ediacaran assemblage from eastern Avalonia: Evidence of early widespread diversity in the deep ocean. https://doi.org/10.1130/G31890.1

Computed tomography (CT) scans of extant and fossil chondrichthyans, of teeth organized into functional dentitions. These scans were taken on a Nikon Metrology HMX ST 225, in the Image and Analysis Centre, Natural History Museum, London.

Laser scans of Ediacaran Fossil Surfaces. Data collected 2016-2018 in Newfoundland Canada using a laser-line probe. Data is in the form of .wrp files so can only be opened in Geomagic. The scan files are in files of the bedding plane. All scan numbers with the same base were scanned with the tripod in the same position, so no alignment is needed. Manuel alignment is needed between bases.

The map shows the localities of significant fossil samples, either collected by BGS Staff, or donated by individuals and institutions. The BGS fossil collections contain over 2 million specimens, including a sizeable quantity of type, figured and cited material. Since a small number of fossil locations are confidential, you are unable to view this dataset at large scales. However, if you send a data enquiry, such information may be made available. Enquiries are normally free, but a charge may be levied depending upon the time taken; users will be notified in advance. Material is available for inspection on application by e-mail. Specimens are sometimes available for loan to bona fide academics.

The co-evolution and geographical spread of trees and deep-rooting systems is widely proposed to represent the 'Devonian engine' of global change that drove the weathering of soil minerals and biogeochemical cycling of elements to exert a major influence on the Earth's atmospheric CO2 history. If correct, this paradigm suggests the evolutionary appearance of forested ecosystems through the Devonian (418-360 Myr ago) constitutes the single most important biotic feedback on the geochemical carbon cycle to emerge during the entire 540 Myr duration of the Phanaerozoic. Crucially, no link has yet been established between the evolutionary advance of trees and their geochemical impacts on palaeosols. Direct evidence that one has affected the other is still awaited, largely because of the lack of cross-disciplinary investigations to date. Our proposal addresses this high level 'earth system science' challenge. The overarching objective is to provide a mechanistic understanding of how the evolutionary rise of deep-rotting forests intensified weathering and pedogenesis that constitute the primary biotic feedbacks on the long-term C-cycle. Our central hypothesis is that the evolutionary advance of trees left geochemical effects detectable in palaeosols as forested ecosystems increased the quantity and depth of chemical energy transported into the soil through roots, mycorrhizal fungi and litter. This intensified soil acidification, increased the strength of isotopic and elemental enrichment in surface soil horizons, enhanced the weathering of Ca-Si and Ca-P minerals, and the formation of pedogenic clays, leading to long-term sequestration of atmospheric CO2 through the formation of marine carbonates with the liberated terrestrial Ca. We will investigate this research hypothesis by obtaining and analysing well-preserved palaeosol profiles from a time sequence of localities in the eastern North America through the critical Silurian-Devonian interval that represents Earth's transition to a forested planet. These palaeosol sequences will then be subjected to targeted geochemical, clay mineralogical and palaeontological analyses. This will allow, for the first time, the rooting structures of mixed and monospecific Mid-Devonian forests to be directly linked to palaeosol weathering profiles obtained by drilling replicate unweathered profiles. Weathering by these forests will be compared with the 'control case' - weathering by pre-forest, early vascular land plants with diminutive/shallow rooting systems from Silurian and lower Devonian localities. These sites afford us the previously unexploited ability to characterize the evolution of plant-root-soil relationships during the critical Silurian-Devonian interval, whilst at the same time controlling for the effects of palaeogeography and provenance on palaeosol development. Applying geochemical analyses targeted at elements and isotopes that are strongly concentrated by trees at the surface of contemporary soils, and which show major changes in abundance through mineral weathering under forests, provides a powerful new strategy to resolve and reconstruct the intensity and depth of weathering and pedogenesis at different stages in the evolution of forested ecosystems. The project is tightly focused on "improving current knowledge of the interaction between the evolution of life and the Earth", which represents one of the three high level challenges within NERC's Earth System Science Theme.