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Abstract
A taphocenosis with internal fossil diatom molds were retrieved from the Upper Palaeocene-Lower Eocene sediments of Ølst and Albaekhoved (Denmark). Energy-dispersive X-ray microanalyses show that barium, sulphur, oxygen and sometimes strontium are the major chemical elements composing these diatom molds. According to the elemental compositions, the minerals composing the molds are identified as barite (BaSO4) and celestobarite (Ba-SrSO4). The examination of the morphology and size of the (celesto-) barite crystals lead us to confirm their diagenetic origin. This work documents the first description of fossil diatoms composed of (celesto-) barite crystals.