[3] The full division of the Ediacaran biota into three separate assemblages was first postulated by Ben Waggoner in 2003 through parsimony analysis of endemicity.

This definition distinguishes the Nama assemblage from the Terminal Ediacaran biozone, the latter of which includes both holdovers and newer taxa.

[3] The genus diversity was lower than in the earlier Ediacaran and later Fortunian biotas, a fact that has been shown to be independent of sampling bias.

[5] This was, however, contested by findings showing a decline in both hard-bodied and soft-bodied fauna starting before the fall in oxygen levels.

However, some definitions exclude these organisms from the Nama assemblage, distinguishing it from the temporal Terminal Ediacaran biozone.

[3] The first traces of the tubular cloudinids appear in the Nama assemblage, including both the mineralized Cloudina and the softer-bodied Conotubus.