Data from: Morphometric analysis of Skiagia-plexus acritarchs from the early Cambrian of North Greenland

The Cambrian evolutionary radiations are marked by spectacular biotic turnovers and the establishment of increasingly tiered food chains. At their base are primary producers, which in the Cambrian fossil record are chiefly represented among organic-walled microfossils. The majority of these microfossil remains have traditionally been attributed to an informal category of incertae sedis called "acritarchs", based entirely on form taxonomy. Acritarch form-taxa have been intensely used for biostratigraphy, and in large-scale studies of phytoplankton diversity. However, both prospects have been challenged by cases of taxonomic inconsistencies and over-splitting arising from the large phenotypic plasticity seen among these microfossils. The acritarch form-genus Skiagia stands as an ideal case-study to explore these taxonomic challenges, since it encompasses a number of form-species widely used in lower Cambrian biostratigraphy. Moreover, subtle morphological differences among Skiagia species were suggested to underlie key evolutionary innovations towards complex reproduction strategies. Here we apply a multivariate morphometric approach to investigate the morphological variation of Skiagia-plexus acritarchs using an assemblage sourced from the Buen Formation (Cambrian Series 2, Stage 3–4) of North Greenland. Our analysis showed that the specific-level classification of Skiagia discretizes a continuous spectrum of morphologies. While these findings bring important taxonomic and biostratigraphic hurdles to light, the unequal frequency distribution of life cycle stages among Skiagia species suggests that certain elements of phytoplankton paleobiology are nonetheless captured by Skiagia form-taxonomy. These results demonstrate the value of using morphometric tools to explore acritarch phenotypic plasticity and its potential ontogenetic and paleoecological drivers in Cambrian ecosystems.