Trochiliscaceae (original) (raw)

Trochiliscaceae is a family of fossil charophyte green algae. It is the only member of the order Trochiliscales. The reproductive structures in Trochiliscaceae (and families placed in Sycidiales by AlgaeBase) have a calcified cover, called a utricle, that is thought to prevent the zygote being desiccated. Other Paleozoic families lack this cover, as do modern charophytes. Fossils of Trochiliscaceae are from the Devonian.