The mysterious microorganism ``Euglenoid algae'' is discovered in a fossil for the first time
Recognition of an extended record of euglenoid cysts: Implications for the end-Triassic mass extinction - ScienceDirect
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0034666723002129
Microfossils shed light on the long fossil record of euglenoids - News - Utrecht University
https://www.uu.nl/en/news/microfossils-shed-light-on-the-long-fossil-record-of-euglenoids
Bizarre Fossils Are Neither Plant Nor Animal, But a 'Weird Fusion' of Life : ScienceAlert
https://www.sciencealert.com/bizarre-fossils-are-neither-plant-nor-animal-but-a-weird-fusion-of-life
A research team led by Andreas Koutzodendris, who studies microbial fossils at the University of Heidelberg in Germany, found that ancient euglenoid algae were among the 'extensive paper trail' of published scientific research. He claimed to have discovered a hidden fossil. These fossils have long been misidentified as ``insect eggs'' or ``fern spores,'' partly because they have a circular tissue in their centers, and in a 1962 paper they were called ``pseudocyzea shells.'' I did. According to Koutsodendris, the ecology and habitat of euglenoid algae have not been fully understood, and some people have pointed out that photos and diagrams shown in past studies may be euglenoid algae. It is said that there was no such thing.
The paper's co-authors, Dutch paleontologists Bas van de Schootbrugge and Paul Strother, have been working since around 2012 to identify microbial fossils in sediments from around 200 million years ago. I was there. In the process, he realized that the circular fossils that had been observed in the past might be a type of euglenoid algae. Strother said: ``Some of the microfossils we encountered showed striking similarities to features of modern representative euglenoid algae described by colleagues in Slovakia. 'There was only one publication in the world that was making the claim.'
So Scootbrugge and Strother teamed up with American and British paleontologists to research about 500 references to fossils with similar characteristics. 'We were very surprised by the structure of these microorganisms,' said Wilson Taylor, a paleontologist at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in the United States who collaborated on the research. has a distinctly different structure.'
A major reason why older studies did not notice that fossils contain euglenoid algae is that living euglenoid algae undergo a state of self-propagation called ``cyst formation'' when they sense a crisis. There are some points that are difficult to observe. However, in December 2023, Australian Fabian Weston, whose hobby is microscopic observation, posted a movie titled ``Rarely seen cyst formation of euglenoid algae'', which became an important key to this research. 'Unbeknownst to himself, Mr. Weston provided important evidence for us. He is probably the only person on earth to have seen a cyst of euglenoid algae under a microscope,' Strother said. ” and talked about its importance.
Euglena Encystment - A Rarely Seen Event - YouTube
The evolutionary history of euglenoid algae has been greatly elucidated by linking Euglena family Euglena, collected from a pond in Australia, to cyst fossils from over 400 million years ago. Researchers believe this will lead to the discovery of euglenoid algae even in older fossils. Scootbrugge said of the study: 'Now that we know which organisms produced what kind of cysts, we can use them to interpret the paleoenvironment and deepen our investigation. Perhaps these organisms... 'Unlike giant organisms that were destroyed by volcanoes or asteroid impacts, our ability to form cysts has allowed us to overcome all difficulties.'
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