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Cyanobacteria
| Description | Cyanobacteria , also known as Cyanophyta, are a phylum consisting of free-living bacteria and the endosymbiotic plastids, a sister group to Gloeomargarita, that are present in some eukaryotes. They commonly obtain their energy through oxygenic photosynthesis. The oxygen gas in the atmosphere of earth is produced by cyanobacteria of this phylum, either as free-living bacteria or as the endosymbiotic plastids. The name cyanobacteria comes from the color of the bacteria (Greek: κυανός, romanized: kyanós, lit. 'blue'). Cyanobacteria, which are prokaryotes, are also called "blue-green algae", though some modern botanists restrict the term algae to eukaryotes. Cyanobacteria appear to have originated in freshwater or a terrestrial environment. From Wikipedia article at https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria, which is released under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share-Alike License 3.0. | ||||||||||||||||||||
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| Source Data |
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| Rank | phylum | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (GBIF) | Life : Bacteria : Cyanobacteria | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomy (PBDB) | Life : Cyanobacteria | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxonomic Status (GBIF) | accepted | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Classification (PBDB,GBIF) |
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| Scientific Name | Cyanobacteria | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Opinions (PBDB) |
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| Status (PBDB) | extant | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Taxon Size (PBDB) | 51 | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Extant Size (PBDB) | 3 (5.9%) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| First Recorded Appearance | 635 - 541 Ma Neoproterozoic | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Environment | hypersaline,marine,brackish,freshwater | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Motility | stationary | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Diet | photoautotroph | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Primary Reference (PBDB) | W. Kiessling. 2003. Personal data. | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Common Name(s) | Blue-green Algae, Cyanophytes, Cyanobakterier, Blue-green Bacteria | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Wikipedia | https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cyanobacteria |
Fossil Distribution
Subtaxa
| Name | Status | Common Name(s) | Fossil Occurrences | Oldest | Youngest |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cyanophyceae class | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Porostromata class | listed (PBDB) | 75 | 450 Ma Late/Upper Ordovician | 129 Ma Early/Lower Cretaceous | |
| Chroococcales order | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 3,600 Ma Paleoarchean | 0 Ma Extant | |
| Pleurocapsales order | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 0 Ma Extant | |||
| Aphralysiaceae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 19 | 359 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | 331 Ma Carboniferous | |
| Garwoodiaceae ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 25 | 541 Ma Cambrian | 212 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | |
| Oscillatoriacea ✝ family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 13 | 530 Ma Cambrian | 513 Ma Cambrian | |
| Rivulariaceae family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 24 | 456 Ma Late/Upper Ordovician | 99.6 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Scytonemaceae family | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 2 | 37.2 Ma Eocene | 37.2 Ma Eocene | |
| Aulophycus ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | ||||
| Bevocastria ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 17 | 443 Ma Silurian | 232 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | |
| Cladogirvanella ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 13 | 242 Ma Middle Triassic | 235 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | |
| Cladophorites genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 28.4 Ma Oligocene | 28.4 Ma Oligocene | |
| Desmekalamos genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 222 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | 222 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | |
| Girvanella ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 415 | 635 Ma Neoproterozoic | 7.25 Ma Miocene | |
| Hecetaphyton ✝ genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 4 | 433 Ma Silurian | 427 Ma Silurian | |
| Lithocodium ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 119 | 228 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | 72.1 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | |
| Ludlovia ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 5 | 433 Ma Silurian | 419 Ma Early/Lower Devonian | |
| Morania ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 31 | 513 Ma Cambrian | 423 Ma Silurian | |
| Obruchevella ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 4 | 635 Ma Neoproterozoic | 513 Ma Cambrian | |
| Peloploca genus | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Platella ✝ genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 635 Ma Neoproterozoic | 635 Ma Neoproterozoic | |
| Renalcis ✝ genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 217 | 635 Ma Neoproterozoic | 251 Ma Early/Lower Triassic | |
| Rhyniella ✝ genus | accepted (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 411 Ma Early/Lower Devonian | 411 Ma Early/Lower Devonian | |
| Rothpletzella ✝ genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 72 | 516 Ma Cambrian | 161 Ma Jurassic | |
| Setula genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 1 | 458 Ma Middle Ordovician | 458 Ma Middle Ordovician | |
| Sigmopollis ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 6 | 83.5 Ma Late/Upper Cretaceous | 56.0 Ma Paleocene | |
| Sphaerina ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 4 | 433 Ma Silurian | 427 Ma Silurian | |
| Sphaerocodium ✝ genus | doubtful (GBIF) listed (PBDB) | 72 | 467 Ma Middle Ordovician | 228 Ma Late/Upper Triassic | |
| Subtifloria ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 9 | 635 Ma Neoproterozoic | 372 Ma Late/Upper Devonian | |
| Tuxekanella ✝ genus | listed (PBDB) | 2 | 433 Ma Silurian | 433 Ma Silurian | |
| Hygrocrocis fasciculata species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Hygrocrocis rigidula species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Mastigothrix turgida species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
| Schizosiphon gracilis species | accepted (GBIF) | No associated record in PBDB | |||
Synonymy List
| Year | Name and Author |
|---|---|
| 2003 | Cyanophyta Kiessling |
| 2006 | Cyanobacteria Kiessling |
| 2008 | Cyanobacteria Taylor et al. p. 1027 |
| 2015 | Cyanobacteria Ruggiero et al. p. 11 |
References
Data courtesy of: PBDB: The Paleobiology Database, Creative Commons CC-BY licenced. , GBIF: the Global Biodiversity Information Facility, various licences, iDigBio, various licences, and EOL: The Encyclopedia of Life (Open Data Public Domain). Because fossils are made of minerals too!
