Appearance of armoured algae

Range ~770 Mya
Organism Algae
Reference Olivia P. Judson, The energy expansions of evolution, Nature ecology & evolution, 28 April 2017 | Volume: 1 | Article number: 0138 p.3 right column bottom paragraph & p.4 right column 6th paragraph
Primary Source [89] Porter, S. M. & Knoll, A. H. Testate amoebae in the Neoproterozoic Era: evidence from vase-shaped microfossils in the Chuar Group, Grand Canyon. Paleobiology 26, 360–385 (2000). link [90] Porter, S. The rise of predators. Geology 39, 607–608 (2011). doi: 10.1130/focus062011.1 link [91] Cohen, P. A. & Knoll, A. H. Scale microfossils from the mid-Neoproterozoic Fifteenmile Group, Yukon Territory. J. Paleontol. 86, 775–800 (2012).
Comments P.3 right column bottom paragraph: "As in the case of oxygen, however, flesh-eating has a prehistory. Predation by single-celled eukaryotes may have caused the evolution of the first armoured algae, around 770 Ma (primary sources), as well as a major increase in eukaryotic diversity (ref 92)." P.4 right column 6th paragraph: "On the geological side, the flourishing of animals had at least four major impacts. First, the evolution of predation rapidly led to the evolution of armour—shells, scales, spikes and carapaces built from materials such as calcite and silica (ref 100). Although, as noted above, the first protective coverings (on algae) date back to around 770 Ma (primary source 90), it’s not until the evolution of flesh-eating animals that shells and other forms of protection became widespread. This development would eventually result in vast deposits of materials such as radiolarite (ref 101), limestone (ref 102), coquina (ref 103) and chalk (ref 104) and would also produce changes in ocean chemistry, as organisms removed dissolved materials such as silica and calcium and used it for themselves (refs 105, 106)."
Entered by Uri M
ID 113584