The enigmatic microfossil Triskelia scotlandica from the Lower Devonian Rhynie chert is an acritarch-like, usually spheroidal to ovoid vesicle with a surface ornamentation comprised of isolated triradiate and meandering, high membranous ridges. The form has been formally described based on dispersed specimens preserved inside the remains of a land plant axis, and interpreted as the resting stage of a microscopic alga. Unusual microbial coatings on land plant axes from the Rhynie chert have recently yielded > 300 additional specimens of T. scotlandica, many of which occur in situ in prominent swellings of fungal hyphae. This discovery is a strong evidence that T. scotlandica is not algal, but rather fungal or fungus-like in nature. The swellings might be oogonia of a representative of the Oomycota (e.g., Saprolegniales), and T. scotlandica accordingly an ornamented oospore. However, specimens with a discharge tube suggest that T. scotlandica is more likely a zoosporangium or resting spore stage of an endoparasite, perhaps with affinities to the holocarpic Oomycota (e.g., Olpidiopsis), Cryptomycota (e.g., Rozella), or zoosporic fungi (e.g., Olpidium), in which case the hyphal swellings would be either dilatations resulting from the expansion of the parasite inside, or a host response (hypertrophy). The affinity of T. scotlandica remains unresolved, due in part to the uncertain diagnostic value of the surface ornamentation, and because no other stages of the life history of this organism are known. Nevertheless, the new specimens expand our knowledge of the microbial interactions that existed in early terrestrial ecosystems.

来自下泥盆纪Rhynie chert的神秘微化石Triskelia scotlandica是一个类似贝壳状的，通常是球形到卵球形的囊泡，表面装饰物由孤立的triradiate和曲折的高膜质脊组成。该形式已根据保留在陆地植物轴残骸内部的分散标本进行了正式描述，并被解释为显微藻类的静止期。最近，在Rhynie chert的陆地植物轴上出现了异常的微生物涂层，另外又产生了300多个T. scotlandica标本，其中许多原位发生在真菌菌丝的明显肿胀中。这一发现有力证明了苏格兰锥虫不是藻类，而是自然界中的真菌或类真菌。肿胀可能是卵菌纲（Oomycota）的代表的卵（例如腐烂的腐烂菌），而T. scotlandica因此是装饰的卵。然而，带有放电管的标本表明，苏格兰锥虫更可能是内寄生虫的游动孢子囊或静止孢子阶段，可能与全腕卵菌纲（例如，斜纹夜蛾），隐孢子虫（例如，Rozella）或游动真菌（例如， ，Olpidium），在这种情况下，菌丝肿胀要么是由于体内寄生虫的扩张而导致的扩张，要么是宿主反应（肥大）。的亲和力T. scotlandica仍未解决，部分原因是表面装饰物的诊断价值不确定，并且由于该生物的其他生命史尚不清楚。尽管如此，新的标本扩展了我们对早期陆地生态系统中存在的微生物相互作用的认识。