emphasized as extensively as the much better-known coral
assemblages. A number of the above studies focused
mainly on coral-reef components; whereas, rigorous
reanalyses of the facies studied actually indicated
a relatively low percentage of corals and a predominance
of rhodoliths. Esteban (1996) noted a similar bias in
a review of Miocene Mediterranean coral reefs and
rhodalgal facies. Such discrepancies can be attributed
mostly to poor knowledge of coralline red algae and
rhodolith facies, in conjunction with the tendency for
workers to apply classic coral-reef depositional models,
even in settings where corals were sparse.
Algae, Coralline, Figure 3 Spectrum of head-forming crustose corallines with upright branched excrescences.
Algae, Coralline, Figure 4 Examples of coralline algal rhodoliths.
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ALGAE, CORALLINE