Contribution
Colonizers of spinose spheres could be the first direct evidence of interactions between fungi and animals from the Lower Devonian Rhynie cherts
Krings, Michael
Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie - Abhandlungen (2026)
53 références bibliographiques
publication en ligne: Mar 30, 2026
manuscrit accepté: Feb 26, 2026
manuscrit reçu: Feb 6, 2026
DOI: 10.1127/njgpa/1308
Abstract
The Lower Devonian cherts of Rhynie, Scotland, are a rich source of information about the interactions between fungi and plants in early terrestrial ecosystems. However, very little is known yet about the relationships between fungi and the animals in these ecosystems. New specimens of a peculiar spinose microfossil from the Rhynie cherts, considered by some to be a resting egg of the branchiopod crustacean Lepidocaris rhyniensis, show signs of colonization by one or more fungi or fungus-like organisms in the form of sporangia with discharge papillae and epibiotic and endobiotic vesicles of varying shapes and sizes. If the hosts are in fact resting eggs, these specimens would be the first direct evidence of fungal parasites or saprotrophs associated with an animal from the Rhynie cherts.
Mots-clefs
chytrids • parasitism • Lepidocaris rhyniensis • resting egg • saprotrophism • zoosporangium