''Proterocladus'' is a genus of
green algae
The green algae (: green alga) are a group of chlorophyll-containing autotrophic eukaryotes consisting of the phylum Prasinodermophyta and its unnamed sister group that contains the Chlorophyta and Charophyta/ Streptophyta. The land plants ...
from the early
Neoproterozoic
The Neoproterozoic Era is the last of the three geologic eras of the Proterozoic geologic eon, eon, spanning from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago, and is the last era of the Precambrian "supereon". It is preceded by the Mesoproterozoic era an ...
(
Tonian
The Tonian (from , meaning "stretch") is the first geologic period of the Neoproterozoic era (geology), Era. It lasted from to Mya (million years ago). Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined by the International Commissi ...
) and latest
Mesoproterozoic
The Mesoproterozoic Era is a geologic era that occurred from . The Mesoproterozoic was the first era of Earth's history for which a fairly definitive geological record survives. Continents existed during the preceding era (the Paleoproterozoic ...
(
Stenian
The Stenian Period ( , from , meaning "narrow") is the final geologic period in the Mesoproterozoic Era and lasted from Mya to Mya (million years ago). Instead of being based on stratigraphy, these dates are defined chronometrically. The name ...
), known from the
Nanfen Formation
Nanfen District () is a district under the administration of the city of Benxi, Liaoning province, People's Republic of China. It has a total area of , and a population of approximately 55,500 people as of 2020.
Administrative divisions
There are ...
and
Diaoyutai Formation
The Senkaku Islands, known as the Diaoyu Islands in China and the Tiaoyutai Islands in Taiwan, are a group of uninhabited islands in the East China Sea, administered by Japan. They were historically known in the Western world as the Pinnacle ...
in China and the
Svanbergfjellet Formation
The Svanbergfjellet Formation is a Formation (geology), geologic formation in Svalbard. It preserves eukaryotic fossils dating back to the Late Tonian Period (geology), period, around 790 Ma.
Paleobiota
After Butterfield et al, 1994.
Refere ...
in Norway.
Alongside this, possible ''Proterocladus'' remains are known from the
Nonesuch Formation __NOTOC__
Nonesuch may refer to:
Plants
* ''Lychnis chalcedonica'', a wildflower
* ''Medicago lupulina'', a wildflower
Places and structures
*Nonesuch, Kentucky
*Nonesuch Island, Bermuda
*Nonesuch Mine, Michigan
*Nonesuch Palace, mis-spelling of ...
, although their fragmentary state makes it unclear whether they belong to the genus.
[
]
Description
The later three species (''major'', ''minor'', ''hermannae'') are relatively similar, only being differentiated by size and accessory features. All these species have filaments composed of rows of single cells with occasional branches, with the individual cells being cylindrical,