AUTHOR=Singh Veeru Kant , Sharma Mukund 

TITLE=New Material of Carbonaceous Compressions from the ∼1.5 Ga Singhora Group, Chhattisgarh Supergroup, India, and their Interpretation as Benthic Algae

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Earth Science

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2022

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/earth-science/articles/10.3389/feart.2022.825430

DOI=10.3389/feart.2022.825430

ISSN=2296-6463

ABSTRACT=<p>The origin, antiquity, and affinity of benthic seaweeds (multicellular algae) in the geological past are shrouded in mystery due to their preservation bias. In this study, we present a new material of well-preserved carbonaceous compression fossils in shale horizons of the Mesoproterozoic (ca. ∼1,500–1,300 Ma) Singhora Group of the Chhattisgarh Supergroup. Eleven distinct taxa, including one new taxon, <italic>Palaeoscytosiphon shuklaii</italic>, n. gen. et. sp., and one new species, <italic>Jiuqunaoella sergeevii</italic>, n. sp., are established. Four unidentified morphologies are also reported. Morphologically, the carbonaceous fossils are fan-shaped, palmate, elongated, leaf-like algal thalli with/without holdfast at the base, isolated or dichotomously branched long filaments, along with multicellular reproductive structures. The results of laser Raman spectroscopy and energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDX) are also presented in support of their biogenicity. Collectively, the preservation mode of the Singhora carbonaceous fossils suggests multicellular algal affinity and adds to a Burgess Shale-type (BST) taphonomic window in the Pre-Ediacaran biosphere.</p>