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Showing results for tags 'electrophycus'.
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Strange flower like thing in burmite Electrophycus? What even was Electrophycus?
jikohr posted a topic in Fossil ID
Hi everyone! I recently acquired a flower like thing in burmite and I'm trying to figure out what this thing is. The closest match I can find is this thing called Electrophycus astroplethus which should be mystery solved except I'm having trouble understanding exactly what type of plant it is. https://www.palaeontologie-troppenz.de/amber-bernstein seems to classify it as an "algal flowering body" from the Chaetophoraceae family, a family of green algae. My question is, is my ID right and is that really what this thing is? An algae flower? Is that a thing that existed? The idea kinda reminds me of the "algal fruiting bodies" aka porocystis you find all over the Texas limestone which coincidentally are a very similar age (Mid Cretaceous). Was algae just a lot more creative back then? The plant inclusion measures 14 mm, though I've seen them bigger. Any insight is appreciated as always!