Non-pollen palynomorph and palynofacies assemblages from the Lower Cretaceous of Iraq: A glimpse into palaeobiology and palaeoenvironment Author Atfy, Haytham El Department of Geosciences, University of Tübingen, 72076 Tübingen (Germany) and Geology Department, Faculty of Science, Mansoura University, 35516 Mansoura (Egypt) el-atfy@daad-alumni.de Author Abeed, Qusay Halliburton, 97 Jubillee Avenue, Milton Park, Abingdon, OX 14 4 RW (United Kingdom) qusayabeed@googlemail.com Author Uhl, Dieter Senckenberg Forschungsinstitut und Naturmuseum Frankfurt, Senckenberganlage 25, 60325 Frankfurt am Main (Germany) dieter.uhl@senckenberg.de text Geodiversitas 2023 2023-06-22 45 11 353 366 journal article 10.5252/geodiversitas2023v45a11 1638-9395 8095590 urn:lsid:zoobank.org:pub:CED4FE1B-3702-496B-9891-AEB5006F0D0E Botryococcus Kützing, 1849 . Botryococcus spp. colonies present in the samples are of variable size, ranging from 100 to 150 µm, and appear as moderately degraded botryoidal colonies that lack clear cup shapes, and are highly fluorescent ( Fig. 3 A-C). They are proportionally more abundant in samples 09-243 and 09-262, less proportionally abundant in sample 09-234, and are absent in samples 09-242 and 09-255 ( Fig. 2 ). Botryococcus colonies of the planktonic green algal genus are well-known as fossils, extending back to the Precambrian ( Batten & Grenfell 1996 ). Botryococcus is most often found in freshwater bogs, temporary ponds, pools, and lakes, however, considerable abundances are known to occur in variable saline/brackish water supporting its cosmopolitan habitat ( Batten & Grenfell 1996 ; Senousy et al. 2004 ; Kumar et al. 2017 and references therein). Although Botryococcus coenobia have little biostratigraphic value, the fossil forms can be used, through analogy with the living microalga, to elucidate palaeoecological and climatic conditions and palaeoenvironmental reconstructions (e.g. Guy-Ohlson & Lindström 1994 ). In addition, they generate liquid hydrocarbons ( Batten & Grenfell 1996 ).