Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup
Proterozoic eukaryotic macroalgae are difficult to interpret because morphological details required for proper phylogenetic studies are rarely preserved. This is especially true of morphologically simple organisms consisting of tubes, ribbons, or spheres that are commonly found in a wide array of ba...
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2023
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ftbioone:10.1017/jpa.2023.4 2024-06-02T08:10:14+00:00 Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup Katie M. Maloney Dakota P. Maverick James D. Schiffbauer Galen P. Halverson Shuhai Xiao Marc Laflamme Katie M. Maloney Dakota P. Maverick James D. Schiffbauer Galen P. Halverson Shuhai Xiao Marc Laflamme world 2023-04-11 text/HTML https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.4 en eng The Paleontological Society doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.4 All rights reserved. https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.4 Text 2023 ftbioone https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.4 2024-05-07T00:48:07Z Proterozoic eukaryotic macroalgae are difficult to interpret because morphological details required for proper phylogenetic studies are rarely preserved. This is especially true of morphologically simple organisms consisting of tubes, ribbons, or spheres that are commonly found in a wide array of bacteria, plants, and even animals. Previous reports of exceptionally preserved Tonian (ca. 950–900 Ma) fossils from the Dolores Creek Formation of Northwestern Canada feature enough morphological evidence to support a green macroalgal affinity. However, the affinities of two additional forms identified on the basis of the size distribution of available specimens remain undetermined, while the presence of three unique algal forms supports other reports of increasing algal diversity in the early Neoproterozoic. Archaeochaeta guncho new genus new species is described as a green macroalga on the basis of its well-preserved morphology consisting of an unbranching, uniseriate thallus with uniform width throughout and possessing an elliptical to globose anchoring holdfast. A larger size class of ribbon-like forms is interpreted as Vendotaenia sp. A third size class is significantly smaller than Archaeochaeta n. gen. and Vendotaenia, but in the absence of clear morphological characters, it remains difficult to assign. As Archaeochaeta n. gen. and Vendotaenia represent photoautotrophic taxa, these findings support the hypothesis of increasing morphological complexity and phyletic diversification of macroalgae during the Tonian, leading to dramatic changes within benthic marine ecosystems before the evolution of animals. Text Mackenzie mountains BioOne Online Journals Canada Dolores ENVELOPE(-58.433,-58.433,-62.233,-62.233) Holdfast ENVELOPE(-66.590,-66.590,-66.803,-66.803) Journal of Paleontology 97 2 499 515 |
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English |
description |
Proterozoic eukaryotic macroalgae are difficult to interpret because morphological details required for proper phylogenetic studies are rarely preserved. This is especially true of morphologically simple organisms consisting of tubes, ribbons, or spheres that are commonly found in a wide array of bacteria, plants, and even animals. Previous reports of exceptionally preserved Tonian (ca. 950–900 Ma) fossils from the Dolores Creek Formation of Northwestern Canada feature enough morphological evidence to support a green macroalgal affinity. However, the affinities of two additional forms identified on the basis of the size distribution of available specimens remain undetermined, while the presence of three unique algal forms supports other reports of increasing algal diversity in the early Neoproterozoic. Archaeochaeta guncho new genus new species is described as a green macroalga on the basis of its well-preserved morphology consisting of an unbranching, uniseriate thallus with uniform width throughout and possessing an elliptical to globose anchoring holdfast. A larger size class of ribbon-like forms is interpreted as Vendotaenia sp. A third size class is significantly smaller than Archaeochaeta n. gen. and Vendotaenia, but in the absence of clear morphological characters, it remains difficult to assign. As Archaeochaeta n. gen. and Vendotaenia represent photoautotrophic taxa, these findings support the hypothesis of increasing morphological complexity and phyletic diversification of macroalgae during the Tonian, leading to dramatic changes within benthic marine ecosystems before the evolution of animals. |
author2 |
Katie M. Maloney Dakota P. Maverick James D. Schiffbauer Galen P. Halverson Shuhai Xiao Marc Laflamme |
format |
Text |
author |
Katie M. Maloney Dakota P. Maverick James D. Schiffbauer Galen P. Halverson Shuhai Xiao Marc Laflamme |
spellingShingle |
Katie M. Maloney Dakota P. Maverick James D. Schiffbauer Galen P. Halverson Shuhai Xiao Marc Laflamme Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup |
author_facet |
Katie M. Maloney Dakota P. Maverick James D. Schiffbauer Galen P. Halverson Shuhai Xiao Marc Laflamme |
author_sort |
Katie M. Maloney |
title |
Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup |
title_short |
Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup |
title_full |
Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup |
title_fullStr |
Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup |
title_full_unstemmed |
Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup |
title_sort |
systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the tonian mackenzie mountains supergroup |
publisher |
The Paleontological Society |
publishDate |
2023 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.4 |
op_coverage |
world |
long_lat |
ENVELOPE(-58.433,-58.433,-62.233,-62.233) ENVELOPE(-66.590,-66.590,-66.803,-66.803) |
geographic |
Canada Dolores Holdfast |
geographic_facet |
Canada Dolores Holdfast |
genre |
Mackenzie mountains |
genre_facet |
Mackenzie mountains |
op_source |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.4 |
op_relation |
doi:10.1017/jpa.2023.4 |
op_rights |
All rights reserved. |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1017/jpa.2023.4 |
container_title |
Journal of Paleontology |
container_volume |
97 |
container_issue |
2 |
container_start_page |
499 |
op_container_end_page |
515 |
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1800756057426886656 |