Coccolithophores Appeared Earlier Than Expected: Ghost Fossils Rewrite the History of Triassic Plankton
- 演化之聲
- Mar 13
- 5 min read
Biomineralization in the ocean has long been one of the fundamental forces shaping Earth's environment. From shallow coral reefs to plankton drifting across the open sea, organisms that build calcium carbonate structures influence seawater chemistry and alter how energy and materials move through marine ecosystems. Among modern marine plankton, coccolithophores are the most important calcifying organisms. These unicellular photosynthetic eukaryotes belong to the class Prymnesiophyceae. They play a major role in carbon fixation, contribute to cloud formation through the release of dimethyl sulfide into the atmosphere, and participate in the marine sulfur cycle. In today's oceans they are indispensable components of marine ecosystems.
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