Filamentous cyanobacteria preserved in masses of fungal hyphae from the Triassic of Antarctica
PUBLISHED Permineralized peat from the central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica has provided a wealth of information on plant and fungal diversity in Middle Triassic high-latitude forest paleoecosystems; however, there are no reports as yet of algae or cyanobacteria. The first record of a foss...
| Published in: | Frontiers in Marine Science |
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| Format: | Article in Journal/Newspaper |
| Language: | English |
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2020
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| Online Access: | http://hdl.handle.net/2262/91847 http://people.tcd.ie/charper https://doi.org/10.7717/peerj.8660 https://peerj.com/articles/8660 |
| Summary: | PUBLISHED Permineralized peat from the central Transantarctic Mountains of Antarctica has provided a wealth of information on plant and fungal diversity in Middle Triassic high-latitude forest paleoecosystems; however, there are no reports as yet of algae or cyanobacteria. The first record of a fossil filamentous cyanobacterium in this peat consists of wide, uniseriate trichomes composed of discoid cells up to 25 μm wide, and enveloped in a distinct sheath. Filament morphology, structurally preserved by permineralization and mineral replacement, corresponds to the fossil genus Palaeo- lyngbya, a predominantly Precambrian equivalent of the extant Lyngbya sensu lato (Oscillatoriaceae, Oscillatoriales). Specimens occur exclusively in masses of interwoven hyphae produced by the fungus Endochaetophora antarctica, suggesting that a special micro-environmental setting was required to preserve the filaments. Whether some form of symbiotic relationship existed between the fungus and cyanobacterium remains unknown. Grant information: United States National Science Foundation: U.S. NSF-1443546. |
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