Fossil Protista

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Fossil Protista
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Kingdom Protista Phylum Sarcomastigophora
Subphylum Sarcodina Class
Granuloreticulosa Subclass Rhizopoda
Order Foraminifera
Suborder Allogrominna simple, organic
Suborder Textulariina agglutinated
sand Suborder Lagenina
uniserial sac-shaped Suborder
Fusulina large spindle-shaped
Suborder Miliolina imperforate
porcelaneous calcite Suborder
Rotaliina hyaline multichambered
spirals Suborder Globigeriina
bubble-shaped spirals Subclass
Radiolaria Order Spumellaria
spherical symmetry Order
Nasellaria conical symmetry
Division Chrysophyta (golden brown algae)
Class Bacillariophyceae diatoms
Class Coccolithophyceae
coccolithophorids (calc. nannofossils)
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Protoplasm Pseudopodia Algal symbionts Test
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Alternation of Generations
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Foraminifer Tests geometric patterns of
overlapping chambers
Cushman Foundation
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(No Transcript)
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Foram Evolution

• Cambrian - agglut. cylindrical tubes
• Silurian enrolled tubes
• Devonian multichambered agglut. forms
• Carboniferous bi-, triserial, and trochospiral
  forms, agglut. and calcitic (appearance of
  miliolines lagenines)
• Carb-Perm Fusulinaceans large grain of
  wheat shaped
• Mesozoic benthics diversify and spread to all
  modern habitats
• Planktonics first appear in mid Jurassic
• 3 sp. of planktonic survived K/T, diversified in
  Cenozoic
• Large Rotaliines (nummulitids, discocyclinids,
  lepidocyclinids) up to 3 cm developed
• E/O extinction
• Good examples of iterative evolution, convergent
  evolution

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Fusulinids
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Nummulites
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RADIOLARIA
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Nassellaria - conical
Spumellaria - spherical
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Radiolarian Ecology

• Marine depths less than 1000m (usually lt 100m
  with symbiotes)
• Species are depth zoned
• Zonation may be more temperature than depth
• Distribution in seds eflects the CCD
• Used in CLIMAP
• Apparently reproduce by asexual cloning

Radiolarian Evolution

• Cambrian to Recent
• Depth zonation by Silurian
• Strongly affected by Permo-Triassic ext. but not
  by K/T
• First Nassellarians inTriassic
• Diversity peaked in Cretaceous and late Cenozoic
• Many morphotypes may be ecophenotypic variants

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DIATOMS
Test frustule Radial symm Centrales Bilateral
symm Pennales
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Diatom Ecology

• Marine fresh depths less than 100m
  (photosynthetic algae)
• Important in Food Chain
• Most of life repro asexually - getting smaller
  as new valve fits inside old
• When too small repro sexually
• resting spore stage - statospore
• common in upwelling, cold waters, good
  indicators of paleoenvironment

Diatom Evolution

• Jurassic to Recent
• High diversity by Cretaceous suggests
  unpreserved prior history
• Unaffected by K/T
• Trend toward reduced silica

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Coccolithophores
Coccoliths Coccospheres
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Coccolith Ecology

• Shallow marine (lt200m), most are euryhaline
• Temperature zonation
• Distribution reflects CCD and fecal express
• Very small - coccosphere can fit inside a foram
  test
• Coccoliths formed in interior vesicles
• Coccoliths are not necessarily species specific
• Single species may have different types in
  layers
• Most repro by asexual fission
• Some have alternating flagellated motile and
  non-motile stages
• May have sexual repro

Coccolith Evolution

• (Paleozoic ?) Late Triassic to Recent
• Decimated by K/T 15-18 species survived
• Present day diversity at a minimum
• 1 Species may have several morphotypes