Systematic paleontology of macroalgal fossils from the Tonian Mackenzie Mountains Supergroup
Description
Proterozoic eukaryotic macrofossils are rarely preserved with enough morphological detail to inform their phylogeny. This dataset includes the measurements and descriptions of three size classes of filamentous fossils from the Dolores Creek Formation of the Mackenzie Mountain Supergroup in the Wernecke Mountains, Yukon. This data was used to systematically describe and interpret the middle size class specimens as green macroalgae with an unbranching, uniseriate thallus (with uniform width throughout; n=304, width = 0.20 to 0.85 mm) and elliptical to globose anchoring holdfast. Fossils from the smaller size class (n = 90, width = 0.03 to 0.06 mm) retain too little morphological information to define properly. However, a third form is also documented, consisting of a ribbon-shaped thallus with a consistent width (n=19, width = 1.0 to 1.7 mm). The size range of these different, likely photoautotrophic, filaments supports the hypothesis of an increasing morphological complexity and overall diversification of macroalgae during the Tonian, setting the stage for dramatic changes to benthic marine ecosystems prior to the evolution of more complex ecosystems.
Notes
Funding provided by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000038
Award Number: Post graduate scholarship, Undergraduate Student Research Award
Funding provided by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000038
Award Number: RGPIN435402
Funding provided by: Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100000038
Award Number: RGPIN2017-04025
Funding provided by: National Aeronautics and Space Administration
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000104
Award Number: Exobiology Grant 80NSSC18K1086
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: 1652351
Funding provided by: National Science Foundation
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100000001
Award Number: 1636643
Funding provided by: Government of Ontario
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100013873
Award Number: Queen Elizabeth II Graduate Scholarship in Science & Technology (QEII-GSST)
Funding provided by: Geological Society of America
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/100005720
Award Number: Graduate Research Grant
Funding provided by: Northern Scientific Training Program*
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Funding provided by: Agouron Grant*
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Funding provided by: University of Toronto Mississauga
Crossref Funder Registry ID: http://dx.doi.org/10.13039/501100022101
Award Number: Chemical and Physical Sciences Research Visit Program
Funding provided by: Polar Continental Shelf Program*
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