A Record of Phylactolaemata from Late Cenozoic Continental Deposits of Northern Eurasia and North America

Fossil statoblasts of Phylactolaemata were found in several Late Cenozoic sections of Eurasia and North America. Phylactolaemata has great potential for paleoenvironmental reconstructions, but the taxon is still rarely used. Here we give examples of environmental reconstructions based on fossil statoblasts. These records suggest an aquatic origin of the sediments and make it possible to distinguish freshwater from marine environments, to establish of the type of basin, and to evaluate the temperature and level of pollution. Statoblasts of the Cristatella mucedo Cuvier, 1798 are more common; Hyalinella punctata (Hancock, 1850) and Fredericella sultana (Blumenbach, 1779) were also recorded.