Palynology - Acritarch and Dinoflagellate

Acritarch and
Dinoflagellate
1
Introduction to Acritarch
• Organic walled cells relatively unknown biological affinity
• Range from mid-Precambrian to Recent
• Made of complex polymer called sporopollenin
• Reached their acme in the Paleozoic
2
Morphology
• Consist of vesicle enclosing a central cavity from which spine-like

processes and crests project
• Shape of the vesicle, presence or absence of vesicle/ornamentation
are important for defining species and genera
• Compression and other diagenetic processes and extraction
technique can considerably modify the original shape
• The exterior surface of the vesicle may be smooth, granulate, spinose
or reticulate with indentations and micropores
• The processes may be hollow and connected to the body cavity
• The tip of the processes may be simple, bi-furcated, branched or
connected by thin membrane (trabeculum)
• Similar processes on an individual vesicles is termed homomorphic,
more than 1 type is heteromorphic
3
Acritarchs. (a) Leiosphaeridium, ×400. (b) Baltisphaeridium, ×250. (c) Acanthodiacrodium,
×400. (d) Visbysphaera, ×700. (e) Diexallophasis, ×250. (f ) Tunisphaeridium, ×345. (g)
Micrhystridium, ×1200. (h) Ammonidium, ×390. (i) Cymatiosphaera, ×400. (j) Cymatiogalea,
×600. (k) Pterospermella, ×330. (l) Leiofusa, ×400. (m) Deunffia, ×400. (n) Domasia, ×400. (o)
Ooidium, ×450. (p) Veryhachium, ×300. (q) Pulvinosphaeridium, ×300. (r) Estiastra, ×300. (s)4
Octoedryxium, ×300. (t) Polyodryxium, ×350. (u) Neoveryhachium, ×600. (v) Melanocyrillium,
Encystment structures
• This is the resting stage of some acritarch. The structure may be:
• Simple, more or less straight structure that does not divide the vesicle
completely
• A median split that divides the vesicle into 2 roughly equal halves
5
Classification of Acritarch
• Lacking processes or crests
• Lacking processes but have crest
• With processes, with or without crests
Under each group, shapes, ornamentation were used for further
subdivision
6
Acritarch affinities and ecology
• Acritarch are proposed to be likely ancestors of dinoflagellates owing
to biomarker evidence
• The cyst is formed to protect the cell during binary fission or to
survive adverse environmental conditions
• Mostly found in shales and mudstones, also in sandstones and
limestones. There are non-marine samples from Recent strata
.They are diverse in mid-shelf environment and can track transgression
and regression
They have wide overall tolerance, found in periglacial and tropical
paleoenvironments
7
Geological History of Acritarch
• Oldest known in the Proterozoic
• The first radiation was in Late Precambrian
• They were scarce in the Carboniferous, Permian and Triassic
• Some made come back in the Jurassic, Cretaceous and Tertiary
• Palynologists focus on dinoflagellate in Mesozoic and Cenozoic
8
Applications of Acritarch
• Used to correlate Upper Precambrian and Paleozoic rocks. Used in
paleoclimatic studies.
• Reworked acritarchs are useful in detecting uplift and erosion of basin
margins in sedimentary provenance studies.
9
Dinoflagellates
• They are second only to diatoms as primary producer in world’s

ocean.
• They are singled organism with both plant and animal characteristics.
• The flagella for propulsion
• Both autotrophic and heterotrophic mode of nutrition
10
The dinoflagellate cell.
11
Cyst stage
• About 10-20% of living species are known to encyst, yet all fossil
dinoflagellate are preserved as cysts
• Cysts can be proximate, chorate and cavate
12
Surface ornament of cyst
13
Dinoflagellate cyst stage. (a) Proximate cyst of Peridinium (axial section), approx. ×250. (b)
Proximate cyst of fossil Gonyaulacysta, approx. ×450. (c) Chorate cyst of Gonyaulax with detail
of wall (axial section), approx. ×250. (d) Chorate cyst of Hystrichosphaeridium, approx. ×400. 14
(e) Proximochorate cyst of fossil Spiniferites, approx. ×465. (f) Proximate cyst of Deflandrea
Life History and Ecology of
Dinoflagellate
• Sexual reproduction occur in very few living Dinoflagellate. Asexual/vegetative
reproduction predominates via binary fission or meiosis. The resistant cyst mostly
form the fossil record
• The armoured and autotrophic forms the major part of the ocean and play prominent
role in the food chain of the marine realm.
• The autotrophic form thrive in region of upwelling currents that are rich in phosphate.
• They are rarely found below 50m depth because of UV light
• Flagella used I movement to avoid exposure to harmful UV light (1-35 degree Celsius
tolerant)
• They tolerate wide range of salinity
• They may sink and drift to be preserved at depths and conditions beyond species
tolerance leading to poor fossilization
• D. cyst are know from estuaries, near shore, neritic and oceanic environment
• They are classified base on presence or absence of flagella, armoury in the cell wall
15
Geological History of
Dinoflagellate
• Paleozoic radiation of Acritarch may represent early history of
dinoflagellate
• The main radiation occurred in the mid to late Triassic
• Proximate cyst are common in the Jurassic although chorate and
proximochorate cyst types had all appeared by the middle Jurassic
• Many Cretaceous forms are chorate and the greatest diversity of
dinoflagellate occurred here
• Cavate cysts flourished in Aptian to Albian and dominated Teriary
assemblages till Oligocene, almost dying out in the Pliocene
• Dinoflagellate fisrt appeared in freshwater sediments during the
Tertiary
16
Application of Dinoflagellate
• Important biostratigraphical tool
• Useful for sequence stratigraphy
• Provenance, paleoecology, paleosalinity and paleoclimate
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END
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Acritarch and

• Range from mid-Precambrian to Recent

• Made of complex polymer called sporopollenin

• Reached their acme in the Paleozoic

• Consist of vesicle enclosing a central cavity from which spine-like

• They are second only to diatoms as primary producer in world’s

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