A green algae (Chaetophorales: Chaetophoraceae) in Burmese amber

ABSTRACT

A green alga in Burmese amber is described as Electrophycus astroplethus gen. et spec. nov. and tentatively placed in the extant family Chaetophoraceae. The new species is characterised by apical–basal polarity as defined by a holdfast located at the base of the filament cluster, and uniseriate filaments with many attached star-shaped clusters of spines. Reproductive units are produced in the spines. The species is considered to represent a terrestrial aerial alga that quite possibly was growing on the bark of the resin-producing tree. The presence of an oribatid mite (Acari: Oribatida), species of which are known to feed on algae, adjacent to the filaments, supports this view.

KEYWORDS:

• Fossil alga
• spinal clusters
• Burmese amber
• reproductive units

Acknowledgments

The authors thank Roberta Poinar for discussions and comments on earlier drafts of this paper.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.