Late Devonian marine anoxia challenged by benthic cyanobacterial mats

Mass occurrence of benthic cyanobacterial mats in a sequence of L ate D evonian black shales and bituminous limestones of the H oly C ross M ts. (central P oland), enclosing the famous K ellwasser and H angenberg extinction horizons, is reported. The microbiota forming the mats is compared with some modern benthic chroococcalean cyanobacteria. Similarly to their extant counterparts, the D evonian cyanobacteria must had been phototrophic and...