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Hi! I’m still trying to identify one fossil from a particular unit of Pleistocene/Early Holocene lacustrine silt from my hometown of Saskatoon, but I figured I would look away from it for a bit to try and identify another fossil from the same unit I’ve been unable to classify. I have two specimens, both apparently of the same species. They are both approximately 0.5 millimetres across. They are perfectly circular, with lines radiating from the centre and rings of alternating colours (possibly representing growth lines). One specimen is photographed dorsally, showing its circular shape, the other in profile, showing its umbrella-like, protruding outline. All photos are taken through a microscope with my best camera currently available, an iPhone! My main areas of middling expertise are arthropod and vertebrate fossils, so I have no idea what this is! I have briefly studied fossil foraminifera and diatoms in the past, but it looks like nothing I’ve seen in those areas as well. It reminded me of a small limpet, some type of seed or spore, or perhaps even a strange fish scale, but I have no formal suggestions. I’d highly appreciate any help! I will try to supply any additional information you may need. Thank you!

New light shed on ancient NZ fossils Ancient marine creatures once believed to have been mere ‘bit players’ in the fossil record have now found fame. Victoria University Of Wellington https://www.newsroom.co.nz/ideasroom/2020/03/05/1067165/new-light-shed-on-ancient-nz-fossils The paper is: Crampton, J.S., Cooper, R.A., Foote, M. and Sadler, P.M., 2020 Ephemeral species in the fossil record? Synchronous coupling of macroevolutionary dynamics in mid-Paleozoic zooplankton. Paleobiology, vol 46, no. 1, pp.1-13. https://www.cambridge.org/core/journals/paleobiology/article/ephemeral-species-in-the-fossil-recordsynchronous-coupling-of-macroevolutionary-dynamics-in-midpaleozoic-zooplankton/F87F8986D7197004222B4E3F5170B748 Yours, Paul H.

Fossil zooplankton indicate that marine ecosystems have entered the Anthropocene. Center for Marine Environmental Sciences, University of Bremen https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/05/190528120605.htm https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-05/m-cf-fzi052319.php https://natureecoevocommunity.nature.com/users/260397-lukas-jonkers/posts/49174-fossil-zooplankton-shows-that-marine-ecosystems-have-entered-the-anthropocene The paper is: Lukas Jonkers, Helmut Hillebrand, Michal Kucera. 2019. Global change drives modern plankton communities away from the pre-industrial state. Nature, 2019; DOI: 10.1038/s41586-019-1230-3 http://dx.doi.org/10.1038/s41586-019-1230-3 Yours, Paul H.