Article: Tertiary solenoporacean algae and the reproductive structures of the Solenoporaceae

Knowledge of the supposed reproductive structures of the Solenoporaceae (Rhodophyta, calcareous algae, mostly Palaeozoic and Mesozoic) is reviewed, and then compared with evidence from a study of well-preserved Tertiary Solenoporaceae. Even in this material reproductive bodies cannot be identified with certainty. A suggested evolutionary history of the family relates the supposed reproductive processes to cell-structure, anatomy, and palaeoecology, comparing each with that of the related Corallinaceae.