New dasycladalean algal species from the Kalana Lagerstätte (Silurian, Estonia)

AbstractA Silurian (Llandovery, Aeronian) Lagerstätte in Kalana, Estonia, has revealed exceptionally preserved noncalcified thalli of dasycladalean (divison Chlorophyta) algal fossils. The siphonous, serially segmented fossils ofPalaeocymopolia silurican. sp. are closely similar toP. nunavutensis, a Ludlovian species from the Arctic Canada. The occurrence of closely related species at Baltica and Laurentia paleocontinents indicates a wide distribution of noncalcified algal flora on both sides of the Iapetus Ocean in the Paleozoic. The exceptionally well-preserved specimens from the Kalana Lagerstätte show similarity to extant speciesCymopolia barbata, with lack of a calcium carbonate skeleton being the major observable difference from the latter.