释义 |
cryptozoon Geol.|krɪptəʊˈzəʊɒn| [f. crypto- + Gr. ζῷον animal.] A Cambrian reef-forming fossil, believed to be the remains of colonies of calcareous algæ; cf. stromatolite. Also attrib.
1883J. Hall in 36th Ann. Rep. N.Y. State Mus. Nat. Hist. Plate 6, There occurs a bed of limestone..the surface being nearly covered by closely-arranged circular or subcircular discs which are made of concentric laminæ... I, therefore, propose the term cryptozoön as a designation for this peculiar form and mode of growth. 1914Smithsonian Misc. Coll. LXIV. 98, I do not know a true Cryptozoön older than the Cambrian fauna. 1936Geogr. Jrnl. LXXXVII. 429 Near Etah a Cryptozoon reef occurs. 1965M. E. Wilson in K. Rankama Precambrian II. 312 Concentric Cryptozoon-like structures believed to be of algal origin. 1969Dunbar & Waage Hist. Geol. (ed. 3) viii. 182/2 The name Cryptozoon, once given to all Lower Paleozoic stromatolites, is no longer used. |