Filamentous cyanobacteria preserved in masses of fungal hyphae from the Triassic of Antarctica

Harper, Carla J.; Taylor, Edith L. and Krings, Michael (2020): Filamentous cyanobacteria preserved in masses of fungal hyphae from the Triassic of Antarctica. In: Peerj, Vol. 8, e8660

Abstract

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 mu m wide, and enveloped in a distinct sheath. Filament morphology, structurally preserved by permineralization and mineral replacement., corresponds to the fossil genus Palaeolyngbya, 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.

• Item Type: Journal article
• Faculties: Geosciences > Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences
• Subjects: 500 Science > 550 Earth sciences and geology
• ISSN: 2167-8359
• Language: English