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  • Watznaueria barnesiae

    Images:

    Kosmoceras

    By Kosmoceras (edited)

    Taxonomy

    Kingdom: Protoctista
    Phylum: Haptophyta
    Class: Prymnesiophyceae
    Order: Watznaueriales
    Family: Watznaueriaceae
    Genus: Watznaueria
    Species: Watznaueria barnesiae
    Author Citation (Black in Black & Barnes, 1959) Perch-Nielsen, 1968

    Geological Time Scale

    Eon: Phanerozoic
    Era: Mesozoic
    Period: Cretaceous
    Sub Period: None
    Epoch: Late
    International Age: Turonian

    Stratigraphy

    Chalk Group, White Chalk Subgroup
    Holywell Nodular Chalk Formation

    Biostratigraphy

    UC5c Nannofossil Zone

    Provenance

    Acquired by: Field Collection

    Dimensions

    Width: 0.006 mm

    Location

    Luton
    Bedfordshire
    United Kingdom

    Comments

    Image taken in cross polarised light using an oil-immersion objective lens at 1000x magnification. One of the smallest fossils ever posted on TFF. 

    Go to fossils Other Invertebrates

    User Feedback


    Walt

    Sorry if this is a dumb question...but what was the mineral replacement that led to fossilization?  It is a type of algae?  

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    Kosmoceras

    Yeah it is a type of algae. They’re known as calcareous nannoplakton because they developed the ability to secrete calcite crystals arranged into coccolith plates, many of which form a coccosphere. The image above shows a single calcite coccolith plate. The scale of deposition of these calcitic plates was literally rock-building, and these nannofossils make up much of the bulk of the chalk limestone.

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