Scientists unearth ‘ghostly’ remains of plankton dating back more than 180 million years

Their incredible resilience to extreme shifts in temperature has altered understanding of how plankton in oceans are affected by periods of warming, reports Emily Atkinson

(PA)

Scientists have discovered the “ghostly” remains of plankton that were entombed on the seafloor during a period of rapid global warming more than 180 million years ago.

The international team of scientists who unearthered the organisms said their incredible resilience to extreme shifts in temperature has altered understanding of how plankton in the oceans are affected by periods of warming.

The fossils are microscopic imprints, or “ghosts”, of single-celled plants called coccolithophores. The species is derived from the Mesozoic Era - an age characterised by the dominance of dinosaurs.