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

A Silurian (Llandovery, Aeronian) Lagerstätte in Kalana, Estonia, has revealed exceptionally preserved noncalcified thalli of dasycladalean (divison Chlorophyta) algal fossils. The siphonous, serially segmented fossils of Palaeocymopolia silurica n. sp. are closely similar to P. 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 species Cymopolia barbata, with lack of a calcium carbonate skeleton being the major observable difference from the latter.