ALGAE:

- the cell walls of certain freshwater green algae are resistant to standard palynological extraction proceedures. These forms include the cell walls or coenobia of colonial green algae such as Pediastrum and Botryococcus, the cell walls of solitary green algae like Tetraedendron, and the reproductive spores of filamentous green algae like Spirogyra. Some of these forms have existed over very long periods of time, for example CONCENTROCYSTES and SCHIZOSPORIS
  • Images of Living Algae El Eden Ecological Preserve
  • Images of Living Algae Alg@line
  • Images of Living Algae Japan Science and Technology Corporation
  • PETRALGA Permian - Triassic Algae
    PEDIASTRUM: Radially-symmetrical colonial green algae, 10-35 µm, with 4 - 128 cells, and one or two horns on the outermost ring of cells. Inner cells may be irregularly-shaped with spaces between cells, or closely packed. The several species are distinguished by the number of cells, the cell shape, and the number and shape of the horns. Pediastrum boryanum, the most widespread species, is characteristic of the littoral zone of oligotrophic waters. Very common in certain depths of Wildcat Lake, Washington (Davis et al., 1977) and in Owens Lake, California (Woolfenden, 1993, 1995).
  • Images of living Pediastrum
  • Barrientos, O.O.P. 1979. Revision der Gattung Pediastrum Meyen (Chlorophyta). Bibliotheca Phycologica Band 48.
  • Prescott. G.W. 1962. Algae of the western Great Lakes area. Dubuque, W.C. Brown, 977 p.
  • Sulek, J. 1969. Taxonomische Uberisicht der Gattung Pediastrum Meyen. Studias in Phycology (Praha) 1969:197-261.
  • Whiteside, M. C. 1965. On the occurrence of Pediastrum in lake sediment. Journal of the Arizona Academy of Science, 3: 144-146.
  • Other references
    BOTRYOCOCCUS: Colonial green algae with densely-packed conical - cylindrical cells radiating and branching from the center of the roughly- spherical colony. Individual cells 5-10 µm, colony 25-35 µm, but may coalesce to form masses reaching 1 mm. Botryococcus braunii, characteristic of oligotrophic waters, is cosmopolitan. Very common in certain depths of Wildcat Lake, Washington (Davis et al., 1977) and in Owens Lake, California (Woolfenden, 1993, 1996). First occurring in Ordovician.
    TETRAEDRON: Single-celled green algae 10-20 µm, bilaterally symmetrical and quadrangular with constrictions between the corners. Planktonic or on soil or rocks. Tetraedron minimum, the most common species, has short spines at each vertex. It reaches high abundances (1000% of pollen) in Head Lake, Colorado (De Lanoise, 1993), and also is common in Pecks Lake, Arizona.
    SPIROGYRA: Filamentous green algae characterized by spirally-shaped chloroplasts. The reproductive spores of Spirogyra are oval and radially-symmetrical, ranging from 20 - 60 µm. However, other genera of the Zygnemataceae are bilaterally symmetrical (Mougeotia), and so Concentricystis has been tentatively placed in the Zygnemataceae, even though it has never been collected alive (Grenfell, 1995). The spores readily accept safranin stain. Occurs in mats on the bottom of clear, but seasonally-fluctuating ponds. Occasional in Wildcat Lake (Davis et al., 1977), Montezuma Well (Davis and Shafer, 1992), and many other small aquatic sites in western North America.
    SCHIZOSPORIS: Like Concentricystis, a palynological oddity that has been recovered from Paleozoic to extant sediments, but has never been collected alive. Consisting of a large (30-50 µm), central chamber covered with small (5 µm), uniform, evenly-distributed cells that may have individual pores. A suture is apparent for the large central chamber (Pierce, 1976). Collected in the sediment of Ballona Lagoon, Los Angeles Co., Californian (Davis, in prep.) and Felt Lake, California (Pierce, 1977),

    Schizosporis is similar to the eggs of Filinia (Rotatoria), which have unevenly-distributed, variously-sized cells forming bizarre and beautiful sculpturing. Collected in the sediment of Wildcat Lake, Washington (Davis et al., 1977) and John Wayne Gulch, California. (Davis, in prep.). Thanks to Bas van Geel for the correct identification!

    CONCENTRICYSTES: A bilaterally-symmetrical cell with finger-print-like concentric to spiral striations on opposite faces, 20-30 µm. The form genus is fairly conservative in shape and ornamentation, but it has six or more published names and ranges from Devonian to extant sediments. It may be algal or fungal, and it may have been produced more than one kind of organism. Although Grenfell (1995) has included it in the green algae family Zygnemataceae, it has never been collected alive. Occasional in the sediment of subtropical shallow-water sites (Davis, 1992; Leroy, 1992; Ward, 1998).

    References:

    Brodispora (Clarke)

  • Clarke, R.F.A. 1965. Keuper miospores from Worchestershire, England. Palaeontology 8(2):16-28.

    Chomotriletes minor (Kedves) Pocock 1970

  • Pocock, S.A.J., 1970. Palynology of the Jurassic sediments of western Canada. Part 1. Terrestrial species. Palaeontographica, Abteilung B, 130: 73-136.

    Circulisporites (De Jersey)

  • De Jersey, N.J. 1962. Triassic spores and pollen grains from the Ipswich coalfield. Geol. Survey Queensland Publ 307:1-18.
  • Norris, G. 1965. Triassic and Jurassic miospores and acritarcs from the Beacon and Ferrar groups, Victoria Land, Antarctica. New Zealand J. Geol. Geophys. 8(2):236-277.
  • Peabody, D.M. & Kremp, G.O.W. 1964. Preliminary studies of the palynology of the Chinle Formation, Petrified Forest. (Plate IV, figs. 10,11) Univ. Arizona Geochronology Lab. Interim Res. Rep., 3: 11-26

    Concentricystes circulus

  • Christopher, Ray. 1978 Quantitative palynologic correlation of three Campanian and Maestrichtian sections (Upper Cretaceous) from the Atlantic coastal plain. Palynology 2:1-27.
  • Jansonius, J. and L.V. Hills 1978. Genera file of fossil spores and pollen. Dept. Geol. Univesity of Calgary, Alberta Spec. Publ.
  • Wolff, H. 1934. Mikrofossilien des pliocaenen Humodils der Grube Freigericht bei Dettingen A.M. Preuss. Geol. Landesanstalt, Inst. Palaeobotanik und Petrographie Brennsteine Arb., 5: 55-86.

    Concentricystes rubinus

  • Rossignol, M. 1962. Analyse pollinique de sediments marins Quaternaires en Israel. II. Sediments Pleistocenes; Pollen Spores, v.4, p.121-148, pl.1-2.

    Concentricystes (Wolff)

  • Grenfell, Hugh R. 1995. Probable fossil Zygnematacean algae spore genera. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol., 84: 201-220.
  • Leroy, S., 1992. Palynological evidence of Azolla nilotica Dec in recent Holocene of the eastern Nile Delta and palaeoenvironment. Veget Hist Archaeobot 1:43-52.
  • Davis, O.K. 1992. Rapid climatic change in coastal southern California inferred from Pollen Analysis of San Joaquin Marsh. Quaternary Research. 37:89-100. (missnamed "Sporites")

    Pseudoschizaea (Theirgart and Frantz ex R. Potoni)

  • Christopher, R. 1976. Morpology and taxonomic status of Pseudoschizaea Theirgart and Frantz ex R. Potoni emend. Micropaleontology, 22(2):143-150
  • Ward, J. 1988. Palynology of Dosrae, eastern Caroline Islands: recoveries from pollen rain and Holocene deposits. Rev. Palaeobot. Palynol. 55:247-271.

    Owen Davis 2/99