The Paleontology of North America

Other Protists from North America

What are Other Protists? Other protists with fossil records, however patchy and limited they may be, include:

The ebridians make internal silica skeletons like silicoflagellates, but they only appear in the Tertiary and their relationships to other protists are unclear. Some amoebans (Testaceafilosea) have skeletons (tests) made of silica scales that usually disintegrate, although their fossils have been found in Tertiary and Quaternary rocks. Euglenids (Euglenida) are unicellular and can be found in Tertiary rocks. Golden algae (Chrysophyta) are unicellular, photosynthetic, freshwater protists found in rocks from the Cretaceous. Slime molds (Myxomycota) live in moist terrestrial environments and thus do not fossilize well; however, some slime mold fossils have been found in Tertiary amber.

First known fossil occurrence: Cretaceous.

Last known fossil occurrence: Quaternary. This group has living relatives.

Fossils through time:
Choose a time period to see what life was like:

Quaternary
Tertiary
Cretaceous
Jurassic
Triassic
Permian
Carboniferous
Devonian
Silurian
Ordovician
Cambrian
Precambrian