Algaenan Explained

Algaenan is the resistant biopolymer in the cell walls of unrelated groups of green algae,^[1] and facilitates their preservation in the fossil record.^[2]

Notes and References

1. 10.1016/j.orggeochem.2009.05.003 . Kodner . R. B. . Summons . R. E. . Knoll . A. H. . Phylogenetic investigation of the aliphatic, non-hydrolyzable biopolymer algaenan, with a focus on green algae . Organic Geochemistry . 40 . 8 . 854 . 2009.
2. Briggs . D. E. G. . Molecular taphonomy of animal and plant cuticles: selective preservation and diagenesis . Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences . 354 . 1379 . 7–17 . 1999 . 10.1098/rstb.1999.0356. 1692454 .