Nebraska's Invertebrate Fossils - Fossilized Algae

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Stromatolites from the Ozawkie Limestone member, Deer Creek Formation, Cass County Cryptalgalaminae from the Salem Point Shale member, Grenola Formation, Richardson county Phylloid Algae from the Reading Limestone member, Emporia Formation, Pawnee County Oncolites from the White Cloud Shale Member, Scranton Formation, Pawne County Oncolites from the Haynies Limestone bed, Ervine Creek Limestone member, Deer Creek formation, Cass County

Introduction, Fossilized Algae

Algae are very important producers in the marine environment's food chain. Through photosynthesis, by using energy from sunlight, algae can convert carbon dioxide and important nutrient elements such as Carbon, Magnesium, Hydrogen, Oxygen, Potassium, Iodine, Nitrogen, Calcium and Iron into carbohydrates and proteins that sustain all animal life. Some very important examples of fossilized algae have been found in the Pennsylvanian and Permian strata of southeastern Nebraska and southwestern Iowa.

Algae are very important fossils in helping geologists and paleontologists to understand the ancient environments of depositions and ecosystems that existed in the geologic past. The kind of algae present in a rock can give the geologist some idea as to the depth of water in which the rock was deposited. Some wavelengths of light penetrate the water column deeper than other wavelengths. Different species of algae photosynthesize at different wavelengths of light. For example, red wavelengths of light penetrate deeper than blue wavelengths so a species of algae that used only red wavelengths would suggest it lived in deeper water.

All algae live in the photic zone---the range of water depths that sunlight penetrates and photosynthesis takes place. By using carbon dioxide, the algae produces the carbonate (CO3) ion which is one of the the building blocks of calcite (CaCO3), the mineral component of limestone.

References, Fossilized Algae

• Aitken, J. G., 1967. Classification and environmental significance of cryptalgal limestones and dolomites, with illustrations from the Cambrian and Ordovician of south-western Alberta. Journal of Sedimentary Petrology, v. 37, p. 1163-1178.
• Fagerstrom, J. A., and Burchett, 1972. Upper Pennsylvanian Shoreline Deposits from Iowa and Nebraska: Their Recognition, Variation and Significance. Geological Society of America Bulletin, v. 83, p. 367-388.
• Harbaugh, J. W., 1959. Marine bank development in Plattsburg Limestone (Pennsylvanian), Neodesha-Fredonia area, Kansas. Kansas Geological Survey Bulletin 134, pt. 8, p. 289-331.
• Harbaugh, J. W., 1962. Geologic guide to Pennsylvanian marine banks, southeast Kansas. Kansas Geological Society, 27th Field Conference, Guidebook, p. 13-67.
• LaGarry, H. E., Rudnick, C. E., and Kirkland, J. I., 1989. Biostratigraphy, Paleoecology, and Storm Wave Disturbance in the Pennsylvanian-Aged "Haynies Limestone" Bed (Deer Creek Fm.) of Cass County, Nebraska. Nebraska Academy of Sciences, Proceedings, 99th Annual Meeting, April 14-15, 1989, Nebraska Wesleyan University, p. 52-53.
• LaGarry-Guyon, H. E., Rudnick, C. E., Moser, D. W., and Holmes, S. C.,1992. Geological Society of America, North-Central Section, 26th Annual Meeting, Abstracts with Programs, v. 24, no. 4, p.
• Logan, B. W., 1961. Cryptozoon and associated stromatolites from the Recent, Shark Bay, Western Australia. Journal of Geology, v. 69, p. 517-533.
• Pabian, R. K. and Diffendal, R. F. Jr., 1991. Late Paleozoic Cyclic Sedimentation in Southeastern Nebraska: A Field Guide. Conservation and Survey Division, IANR, University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Educational Circular No. 9, 64 p.