Paleozoic life

Cryptospores are microscopic fossilized spores produced by embryophytes (land plants). They first appear in the fossil record during the middle of the Cambrian period, as the oldest fossil evidence for the colonization of land by plants. A similar (though broader) category is miospores, a term generally used for spores smaller than 200 μm. Both cryptospores and miospores are types of palynomorphs.