Table 3 Maceral analysis of selected samples as percent volume determined by optical 

 microscopy. 



Sample 



Vitrinite 



Alginite 1 



Liptinite 2 



Inertinite 



Minerals 3 



Site 8, M2066 



71.4 



2.7 



10.1 



9.7 



8.8 



Site 41, M2180B 4 



64.9 



0.8 



11.7 



12.1 



11.2 



Site 41, M2180A 



44.6 



3.2 



43.6 



4.7 



7.4 



Site 43, M2205 



46.2 



0.5 



<15 5 - 6 



13.8 



26.5 



1 Alginite is the maceral term for Botryococcus. 



2 Liptinite group includes alginite. 



3 Minerals are primarily clay, fine grained quartz, and framboidal pyrite. 



4 Taken from strata that overlie those sampled for M2180A at the same site. 



5 Estimate; bituminite-soaked clays prohibited accurate identification. 



6 Bituminite is abundant. 



Figure 6 SEM micrographs of Botryococcus show the open structure of the cups in the organisms 

 (compare with outer edges shown in Plate 1, F). Macerated specimens rest on millipore filter paper and 

 are shown at magnifications of l,250x (A) and 3,700x (B). 



known by microscopic studies of living Botryococcus 

 (Niklas and Phillips 1974). It is not fully understood 

 why these cups have been so well preserved despite 

 being found in bituminous coals whose original or- 

 ganic-rich peats underwent three- to ten-fold compac- 

 tion during their metamorphism to coal (Kosanke et al. 

 1958, Stach et al. 1982). While we did not determine the 

 degree of metamorphism (rank) of these samples, they 

 are known to be high-volatile bituminous or higher in 

 rank (Cady 1935). These coals have certainly been bur- 



ied under hundreds of meters of sediments during their 

 lithification and conversion to coal from late Pennsyl- 

 vanian to Cretaceous, a period of approximately 160 mil- 

 lion years. 



The original peat in which Botryococcus colonies 

 were deposited was significantly altered chemically 

 and physically during the coalification that metamor- 

 phosed the peat into a suite of macerals that commonly 

 occur in bituminous coal; yet Botryococcus has not been 



17 



