418 / Precambrian
Doushantuophyton
Doushantuophyton cometa
Branching cellular filaments show complex photosynthetic life before abundant animals.
View original image · 1600 × 1067- Time range
- About 600 million years ago
- Final stage
- Early Ediacaran
- Geographic range
- Shallow sea · Guizhou, China
01 / DEFINITION & ECOLOGY
What was Doushantuophyton?
Doushantuophyton (Doushantuophyton cometa) was an extinct organism known from About 600 million years ago, with a range in Shallow sea · Guizhou, China.
Life and ecology
A basal attachment may have anchored the thallus while branches increased light capture.
02 / DISAPPEARANCE
Why did Doushantuophyton disappear?
Ediacaran ocean and algal turnover is possible context; why this form disappeared is not established.
03 / EVIDENCE
How do scientists know about Doushantuophyton?
Phosphatized microfossils preserve cell walls, branching and the base; exact algal affinity remains uncertain.
04 / SOURCES & FURTHER READING
Check the source record
Use the scientific name to compare taxonomy, occurrence records and the fossil record. Database coverage and classifications may differ.
05 / REVISION HISTORY
How has this record changed?
- Rewrote an extinction cause that presented environmental or faunal turnover as established; it is now given as context the record does not prove.
- Verified authoritative entity sources and added three responsive reconstruction sizes.
- Initial bilingual species record published.
06 / CORRECTIONS & ADDITIONS