DescriptionFossil red algae (Salem Limestone, Middle Mississippian; Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA) (45624979264).jpg
Fossil red algae from the Mississippian of Kentucky, USA.
The squiggly carbonized compressions in this rock have been interpreted as fossil rhodophytes - red algae. Rhodophytes are the most common of all marine macroalgae, but they often go unnoticed due to the dull coloration and nondescript growth forms of many species. Over 7,000 species are currently known. Despite the common name "red algae", colors include red, pink, whitish, lavender, purple, yellow, and brownish-red. Many rhodophytes are calcareous - they have hard parts of CaCO3, usually as branching forms or crusts. As such, they are important reef organisms, and contribute large amounts of biogenous CaCO3 grains to seafloor sediments. Fleshy red algae are mostly weed-like or mossy or fuzzy.
Classification: Plantae, Rhodophyta
Stratigraphy: Salem Limestone, Middle Mississippian
Locality: unrecorded/undisclosed site at or near Elizabethtown, Kentucky, USA
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