Life cycle of 70 Ma-old non-marine pennate diatoms |
| |
| Affiliation: | 1. Instituto de Geologia, Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Ciudad Universitaria, 04510 México DF, Mexico;2. Royal Botanic Garden Edinburgh, 20A Inverleith Row, Edinburgh EH3 5LR, United Kingdom;3. Institute for Food and Agricultural Research and Technology (IRTA), Aquatic Ecosystems, Carretera Poble Nou Km 5.5, St. Carles de la Ràpita, 43540 Catalonia, Spain;1. Lerchenauerstr. 167, D-80935 München, Germany;2. Earth Observatory of Singapore, Nanyang Technological University, 50 Nanyang Avenue, 639798, Singapore;1. Grupo de Investigación IberCreta, Departamento de Geología y Geografía, Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad de Alcalá de Henares, 28871 Alcalá de Henares, Spain;2. Grupo de Investigación Procesos Bióticos Mesozoicos, Departamento de Paleontología, Facultad de Ciencias Geológicas, Universidad Complutense de Madrid, 28040 Madrid, Spain;3. Instituto de História Contemporânea, Centro de Estudos de História e Filosofia da Ciência, Universidade de Évora, 7000-554 Évora, Portugal;4. Departamento de Ciências da Terra, Faculdade de Ciências e Tecnologia, Universidade de Coimbra, 3030-790 Coimbra, Portugal;5. Centro de Investigação da Terra e do Espaço, Universidade de Coimbra, 3000-134 Coimbra, Portugal;6. Museu Nacional de História Natural e da Ciência, Universidade de Lisboa, 1250-102 Lisboa, Portugal |
| |
| Abstract: | Life cycle variations in the morphological and behavioral traits of modern pennate diatoms are known for a wide variety of genera and it is assumed that patterns of asexual and sexual reproduction (e.g. size reduction and auxosporulation) have remained essentially unchanged since their origin. We show here that many characteristics of modern pennate diatoms and the communities they inhabit can indeed be recognized in remarkably well-preserved, non-marine fossil material from the Cretaceous (∼70 Ma) Huepac Chert in NW Mexico. Besides the incremental size reduction of the siliceous frustules in species including Fragilaria tarahumara, we also demonstrate the spatial arrangement and distribution of these cells in in situ microalgal communities, and present evidence for local production of dense exopolymeric substances, cell division, and possibly auxospores. This is the first time that such life cycle stages are reported for non-marine fossil diatoms. |
| |
| Keywords: | Huepac chert Pennate fossil diatoms Life cycle Cretaceous |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
