Diversification of early eukaryotes – evidence from the Mesoproterozoic Lakhanda Lagerstätt (Siberia, Russia)

This project revises the systematic affinity of fossil eukaryotes from the ~1.03 Ga Lakhanda Lagerstätte based on the up-to-date knowledge of early eukaryotes in paleontological record. Critical morphological and biogeochemical analyses of the Lakhanda Lagerstätte eukaryotic archive were undertaken to determine the value of these fossils in the phylogenetic reconstruction of the early branching eukaryotic lineages. In summary, the Upper Mesoproterozoic Lakhanda Lagerstätte of southeastern Siberia contains crucial information about diversity and functioning of transitional Meso- Neoproterozoic ecosystems, which may assist in fundamental reconstructions of early eukaryote evolution.