Published online by Cambridge University Press: 14 July 2015
“Phylloid algae” (Pray and Wray, 1963, p. 209) are problematical fossils that occur profusely in Pennsylvanian carbonate microfacies in the United States (Wray, 1968) and many other parts of the world (Mamet, 1991). Taxonomic affinities of most phylloid alga are uncertain. The questionable affinities of phylloid algae and related paleoecologic problems have been summarized by Riding (1977), Wray (1979), and James et al. (1988) and will not, therefore, be repeated here. Our ability to establish probable taxonomic affinities of fossil calcareous algae is dependent largely upon the recognition of their internal microstructures. Because phylloid algae are very susceptible to dissolution and neomorphism, their original internal microstructures are rarely well preserved.