Chitinozoa

with emphasis on the Ordovician and Silurian of Baltica

Publications | Species | SEM images | Localities | Samples | CONOP9 data

Belonechitina cactacea

Chitinozoans are an enigmatic group of microscopic fossils found in Ordovician, Silurian and Devonian sedimentary rocks. Their organic-walled tests are flask-, tube- or ball-shaped and most likely represent reproductive stages of some soft-bodied marine metazoans. Chitinozoans are widely used in biostratigraphy for dating and correlating rock layers. For further information check Wikipedia.

This portal provides access to various data related to these microfossils in Baltica paleocontinent, where the chitinozoans were first discovered and described, and which still stands out by some of the largest collections in the world, superb preservation and well-established regional biozonations. Building this database is currently in progress, hence some functions may not work properly and the amount of data is about to grow.