Receptaculites
fossil genus of bottom-dwelling marine green algae
Receptaculites is the name-bearing genus for an extinct group of conspicuous benthic marine genera, the receptaculitids (formally Receptaculitaceae or Receptaculitidae), that lived from the Early Ordovician through the Permian period, peaking in the Middle Ordovician. The group's phylogenetic origin has long been obscure, with some arguing that they were calcareous algae, probably of the order Dasycladales. Receptaculitids lived in warm, shallow seas, but consensus disagreeing. They have been described from all continents except Antarctica. In some areas they were important reef-formers, and they also occur as isolated specimens.
Receptaculites and its relatives have a double-spiral, radiating pattern of rhombus-shaped plates supported by spindle-like objects called meroms. Fossils can usually be identified by the intersecting patterns of clockwise and counterclockwise rows of plates or stalk spaces, superficially similar to the arrangement of disk florets on a sunflower—hence the common name "sunflower coral".
Receptaculitids have sometimes been compared to the morphologically similar, but probably distantly related, cyclocrinitids.
Some dolomitic limestone deposits, such as Tyndall stone in Manitoba, Canada, are particularly rich in Receptaculites fossils.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Receptaculites” as fossil genus of bottom-dwelling marine green algae. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
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The subject matters to the science & nature register because the source frames it as fossil genus of bottom-dwelling marine green algae. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Stable identifiers, scientific names and standards terminology offer the best bridge between this overview and specialist evidence. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 4, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q7302354. None of the 0 selected statements returned an explicit reference.
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This entry incorporates text from “Receptaculites” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.