Cladophorales Temporal range: | |
---|---|
Cladophora sp. | |
Scientific classification | |
(unranked): | Viridiplantae |
Division: | Chlorophyta |
Class: | Ulvophyceae |
Order: | Cladophorales Haeckel |
Families | |
Cladophorales are an order of green algae, in the class Ulvophyceae. [1]
The earliest known representative is Proterocladus antiquus from the Mesoproterozoic-Neoproterozoic boundary in North China. [2]
The Ulvophyceae or ulvophytes are a class of green algae, distinguished mainly on the basis of ultrastructural morphology, life cycle and molecular phylogenetic data. The sea lettuce, Ulva, belongs here. Other well-known members include Caulerpa, Codium, Acetabularia, Cladophora, Trentepohlia and Monostroma.
The Tremadocian is the lowest stage of Ordovician. Together with the later Floian Stage it forms the Lower Ordovician Epoch. The Tremadocian lasted from 485.4 to 477.7 million years ago. The base of the Tremadocian is defined as the first appearance of the conodont species Iapetognathus fluctivagus at the Global Boundary Stratotype Section and Point (GSSP) section on Newfoundland.
Choia is a genus of extinct demosponge ranging from the Cambrian until the Lower Ordovician periods. Fossils of Choia have been found in the Burgess Shale in British Columbia; the Maotianshan shales of China; the Wheeler Shale in Utah; and the Lower Ordovician Fezouata formation. It was first described in 1920 by Charles Doolittle Walcott.
Anadyomenaceae is a family of green algae, in the order Cladophorales.
Cladophoraceae are a family of green algae in the order the Cladophorales. This family includes notably the genus Chaetomorpha which has a few members used in saltwater aquariums.
Siphonocladaceae is a family of green algae, in the order Cladophorales.
Valoniaceae is a family of green algae in the order Cladophorales.
Chaetomorpha is a genus of green algae in the family Cladophoraceae. Members of this genus may be referred to by the common name sea emerald.
Spongiochrysis is a genus of green algae in the family Cladophorales. It contains a single species, Spongiochrysis hawaiiensis.
Graticula, formerly incorrectly named Craticula, is a genus of Palaeozoic coralline alga. They form the framework of reef rocks in the Silurian of Gotland, from the Högklint, Slite and Halla groups.
The extinct Solenoporaceae have traditionally been interpreted as a group of red algae ancestral to the Corallinales.
The Fezouata Formation or Fezouata Shale is a geological formation in Morocco which dates to the Early Ordovician. It was deposited in a marine environment, and is known for its exceptionally preserved fossils, filling an important preservational window beyond the earlier and more common Cambrian Burgess shale-type deposits. The fauna of this geological unit is often described as the Fezouata biota, and the particular strata within the formation which exhibit exceptional preservation are generally termed the Fezouata Lagerstätte.
Archeognathus is a fossilized jaw apparatus of a large predatory conodont from the Ordovician period. Its large size has made classification difficult, and it has historically been compared to conodonts and gnathostomes since its remains were first discovered in Missouri. Complete articulated jaw apparatus of Archeognathus primus are common in the Winneshiek Shale lagerstätte of Iowa, allowing its identity as a conodont to be secured.
Archaeolithophyllum is a genus of conceptacle-bearing red alga that falls in the coralline stem group. It somewhat resembles Lithophyllum.
The Archaeolithophyllaceae are a family of algae that are thought to represent the stem lineage of the corallinaceae.
Palaeoaplysina is a genus of tabular, calcified fossils that are a component of many Late Palaeozoic reefs. The fossil acted as a baffle to trap sediment. Historically interpreted as a sponge or hydrozoan, recent studies are converging to its classification in the coralline stem group, placing it among the red algae.
Paleontology in Iowa refers to paleontological research occurring within or conducted by people from the U.S. state of Iowa. The paleozoic fossil record of Iowa spans from the Cambrian to Mississippian. During the early Paleozoic Iowa was covered by a shallow sea that would later be home to creatures like brachiopods, bryozoans, cephalopods, corals, fishes, and trilobites. Later in the Paleozoic, this sea left the state, but a new one covered Iowa during the early Mesozoic. As this sea began to withdraw a new subtropical coastal plain environment which was home to duck-billed dinosaurs spread across the state. Later this plain was submerged by the rise of the Western Interior Seaway, where plesiosaurs lived. The early Cenozoic is missing from the local rock record, but during the Ice Age evidence indicates that glaciers entered the state, which was home to mammoths and mastodons.
The Decorah crater, also called the Decorah impact structure, is a possible impact crater located on the east side of the city of Decorah in Iowa, United States. It is thought to have been caused by a meteor about 200 metres (660 ft) wide which struck during the Middle Ordovician Period, circa 470 million years ago.
Pentecopterus is a genus of eurypterid, an extinct group of aquatic arthropods. Fossils have been registered from the Darriwilian age of the Middle Ordovician period, as early as 467.3 million years ago. The genus contains only one species, P. decorahensis, that is the oldest known eurypterid, surpassing other Ordovician eurypterids, such as Brachypterus, in age by almost 9 million years. The generic name derives from the penteconter, a warship from ancient Greece, and the suffix -pterus, which means "wing" and is often used in other genus of eurypterids. The specific name refers to Decorah, Iowa, where Pentecopterus was discovered.
The Winneshiek Shale is a Middle Ordovician (Darriwilian-age) geological formation in Iowa. The formation is restricted to the Decorah crater, an impact crater near Decorah, Iowa. Despite only being discovered in 2005, the Winneshiek Shale is already renowned for the exceptional preservation of its fossils. The shale preserves a unique ecosystem, the Winneshiek biota, which is among the most remarkable Ordovician lagerstätten in the United States. Fossils include the oldest known eurypterid, Pentecopterus, as well as giant conodonts such as Iowagnathus and Archeognathus.