# Sphaerocodium

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***Sphaerocodium*** is a fossil that represents the remains of [bacteria](/source/Bacteria) in the phylum [Cyanobacteria](/source/Cyanobacteria), often called *blue-green algae*.[1][2]

The species of *Sphaerocodium* recorded by the author Rothpletz could be symbiotic intergrowths of different encrusting organisms. Two genera (*[Rothpletzella](/source/Rothpletzella)* and *[Wetheredella](/source/Wetheredella)*) were proposed in 1948 by [Alan Wood](/source/Alan_Wood_(paleonotologist)) to include these forms in two species from the Silurian of Gotland.[3] These acts have sometimes been misinterpreted as dividing *Sphaerocodium* into two genera and treating *Sphaerocodium* as a synonym of *Rothpletzella*, whereas in fact *Sphaerocodium* is still considered a valid genus.[4]

*Sphaerocodium* is characterised by having dichotomously-branching tubular filaments made of [calcite](/source/Calcite), which formed encrusting masses on objects. These filaments branch in a fanlike pattern but remain in contact with each other; each filament is approximately 40-100μm wide and 30-50μ high. Filaments are not divided by septa.[5]

*Sphaerocodium* was formerly assigned to the now-obsolete family [porostromata](/source/Porostromata).[6]

## Fossil record

This genus is known in the fossil record from the [Ordovician](/source/Ordovician) to the [Triassic](/source/Triassic) (from about 460.9 to 221.5 million years ago). Fossils of species within this genus have been found in Europe, Russia, United States, Canada, China and Australia.[7]

## References

1. ["Sphaerocodium"](https://fossiilid.info/8299). *fossiilid.info*. Retrieved 7 January 2019.

1. E. Flügel [Fossil Algae: Recent Results and Developments](https://books.google.com/books?id=dLV9CAAAQBAJ&dq=Sphaerocodium&pg=PT117)

1. Wood, Alan (1948). ""Sphaerocodium," a misinterpreted Fossil from the Wenlock limestone". *Proceedings of the Geologists' Association*. **59** (1): 9–22. [doi:10.1016/S0016-7878(48)80027-1](https://doi.org/10.1016/S0016-7878(48)80027-1)

1. Riding, Robert & Fan, Jiasong (2001). "Ordovician Calcified Algae and Cyanobacteria, Northern Tarim Basin Subsurface, China". *Palaeontology*. **44** (4): 783–810. [doi:10.1111/1475-4983.00201](https://doi.org/10.1111/1475-4983.00201)

1. Wray, John Lee (3 June 2009). ["Calcareous algae, Volume 4 - 1st Edition"](https://www.elsevier.com/books/calcareous-algae/wray/978-0-444-41536-3). *www.elsevier.com*. Elsevier Scientific Publishing Company. ISBN 978-0-444-41536-3. Retrieved 2020-09-28.

1. Monty, C. L. (1981). ["Spongiostromate vs. Porostromate Stromatolites and Oncolites"](https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-67913-1_1). *Phanerozoic Stromatolites*. Monty, Claude (ed.). Berlin, Heidelberg: Springer. pp. 1–4. [doi:10.1007/978-3-642-67913-1_1](https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-67913-1_1). ISBN 978-3-642-67913-1.

1. ["Fossilworks: Sphaerocodium"](https://paleobiodb.org/classic/checkTaxonInfo?taxon_no=112275). *fossilworks.org*. Retrieved 17 December 2021.

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Sphaerocodium](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaerocodium) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sphaerocodium?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.