Solenopora

Solenopora
Temporal range: Cambrian–Tertiary[1]
Scientific classification
Phylum: Rhodophyta
Class: Florideophyceae
stem group: Corallinales
Family: Solenoporaceae
Pia, 1927
Genus: Solenopora
Species

The extinct Solenoporaceae have traditionally been interpreted as a group of red algae ancestral to the Corallinales.[2]

The genus from which they take their name, Solenopora, originates in the Ordovician.[3] Unlike the Corallinaceae, this family has large vegetative cells and an undifferentiated thallus.[3] Additionally there are external, non-calcified sporangia.[4]

The differences in structure suggest that the holotype is not an alga at all, but rather is a chaetetid sponge. Post-Palaeozoic specimens therefore require re-classification.[5] However, some algal taxa are still classified within the genus.[6]

Some specimens of algal Solenopora retain an original pink colouration, which is banded with growth stages of the fossil; this is produced by boron-containing hydrocarbons.[6]

The solenoporaceae mineralized with calcite.[7]

Other genera within the Solenoporaceae

Although other genera have been included in this family, their status is uncertain due to the loose definition of the family.[5]

See also

References

  1. ^ Wright, V. P. (1 May 1985). "Seasonal Banding in the Alga Solenopora jurassica from the Middle Jurassic of Gloucestershire, England". Journal of Paleontology (Journal of Paleontology, Vol. 59, No. 3) 59 (3): 485–792. ISSN 00223360. JSTOR 1304992.  edit
  2. ^ Johnson, J. H. (May 1956). "Ancestry of the Coralline Algae". Journal of Paleontology (Paleontological Society) 30 (3): 563–567. ISSN 0022-3360. JSTOR 1300291. PMID 1300291.  edit
  3. ^ a b Blackwell, W. H.; Marak, J. H.; Powell, M. J. (1982). "THE IDENTITY AND REPRODUCTIVE STRUCTURES OF A MISPLACED SOLENOPORA (RHODOPHYCOPHYTA) FROM THE ORDOVICIAN OF SOUTHWESTERN OHIO AND EASTERN INDIANA". Journal of Phycology 18 (4): 477. doi:10.1111/j.0022-3646.1982.00477.x.  edit
  4. ^ Lee, R. E. (1999). Phycology. ISBN 9780521638838. http://books.google.com/?id=JbTg1QkFycgC&pg=PA158&lpg=PA158&dq=Solenoporaceae. 
  5. ^ a b Riding, R. (2004). "Solenopora is a Chaetetid Sponge, Not an Alga". Palaeontology 47: 117-122. doi:10.1111/j.0031-0239.2004.00351.x.  edit
  6. ^ a b Wolkenstein, K.; Gross, J. H.; Falk, H. (2010). "Boron-containing organic pigments from a Jurassic red alga". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 107 (45): 19374. Bibcode 2010PNAS..10719374W. doi:10.1073/pnas.1007973107.  edit
  7. ^ Cozar, P.; Vachard, D. (2006). "A new Mississippian red alga from south-western Spain". Geobios 39: 791. doi:10.1016/j.geobios.2005.09.002.  edit