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Paleobiology of distinctive benthic microfossils from the upper Proterozoic Limestone-Dolomite "Series," central East GreenlandPopulations of Polybessurus bipartitus Fairchild ex Green et al., a large morphologically distinctive microfossil, occur in silicified carbonates of the Upper Proterozoic (700-800 Ma) Limestone-Dolomite "Series," central East Greenland. Large populations of well-preserved individuals permit reconstruction of P. bipartitus as a coccoidal unicell that "jetted" upward from the sediment by the highly unidirectional secretion of extracellular mucopolysaccharide envelopes. Reproduction by baeocyte formation is inferred on the basis of clustered envelope stalks produced by small cells. Sedimentological evidence indicates that P. bipartitus formed surficial crusts locally within a shallow peritidal carbonate platform. Among living microorganisms a close morphological, reproductive, and behavioral counterpart to Polybessurus is provided by populations of an as yet underscribed cyanobacterium found in coastal Bahamian environments similar to those in which the Proterozoic fossils occur. In general morphology and "jetting" behavior, this population resembles species of the genus Cyanostylon, Geitler (1925), but reproduces via baeocyte formation. Polybessurus is but one of the more than two dozen taxa in the richly fossiliferous biota of the Limestone-Dolomite "Series." This distinctive population, along with co-occurring filamentous cyanobacteria and other microfossils, contributes to an increasingly refined picture of ecological heterogeneity in late Proterozoic oceans.
Document ID
20040089080
Acquisition Source
Legacy CDMS
Document Type
Reprint (Version printed in journal)
Authors
Green, J. W.
(Harvard University Cambridge, Massachusetts 02138, United States)
Knoll, A. H.
Golubic, S.
Swett, K.
Date Acquired
August 21, 2013
Publication Date
January 1, 1987
Publication Information
Publication: American journal of botany
Volume: 74
Issue: 6
ISSN: 0002-9122
Subject Category
Geosciences (General)
Funding Number(s)
CONTRACT_GRANT: DPP 83-01226
CONTRACT_GRANT: BSR85-16328
CONTRACT_GRANT: EAR 83-06179
Distribution Limits
Public
Copyright
Other
Keywords
NASA Discipline Exobiology
Non-NASA Center

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