Solenopora
Extinct genus of algae / From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The extinct Solenoporaceae have traditionally been interpreted as a group of red algae ancestral to the Corallinales.[4]
Solenopora | |
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Fossils of Solenopora species | |
Scientific classification | |
(unranked): | Archaeplastida |
Division: | Rhodophyta |
Class: | Florideophyceae |
Stem group: | Corallinales |
Family: | †Solenoporaceae Pia, 1927 [2] |
Genus: | †Solenopora Dybowski, 1877 |
Species[3] | |
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The genus from which they take their name, Solenopora, originates in the Ordovician.[5] Unlike the Corallinaceae, this family has large vegetative cells and an undifferentiated thallus.[5] Additionally there are external, non-calcified sporangia.[6]
The differences in structure suggest that the holotype is not an alga at all, but rather is a chaetetid sponge. Post-Palaeozoic specimens therefore require re-classification.[7] However, some algal taxa are still classified within the genus.[8]
Some specimens of algal Solenopora retain an original pink colouration, which is banded with growth stages of the fossil; this is produced by boron-containing hydrocarbons.[8]
The solenoporaceae mineralized with calcite.[9]