THE DISCOVERY OF PHOSPHATIC RED ALGAE IN THE SINIAN DOUSHANTUO FORMATION

The phosphatic red algae were discovered in the phosphorites of Sinian Doushantuo Formation in South China. The follwing are places where the red algae occur: Yichang and Jingmen-Xianyang region in Hubei province, Shimen in Hunan Province, Kaiyang and Wengan in Guizhou Province, Hanzhong and Mianxian in Shanxi Province, Shangrao in Jiangxi Province, and so on. The red algae belong to different families or genus, but most of them belong to Solenopora in Solenoporacae. The thallus of the red algal has the forms of nodule, column or complex coagulum. The thallus is composed of radial trichomes. The mineral component making up the cell wall is micri-tic apatite. The inside of the cell is frequently polluted by organic substances. The discovery of the phosphatic red algae is of great significance to paleontology, stratigraphy and phosphorite mineralogy.