The Red Sea may have gotten its name from dinoflagellate blooms. Dinoflagellates are most often considered to be plants because many make their own food using air, water, and sunlight. Some dinoflagellates eat other plants or eat small or large animals. Some live within animals such as corals.
Many dinoflagellates have a complex life cycle that includes a resting stage.
During this stage, the dinoflagellate may live in a very durable capsule called a dinocyst. The dinocyst is studied by paleontologists. Dinocysts are found in muds, sands, and other sediments at the bottoms of modern ocean, estuaries, lakes, and ponds, and as fossils in mudstones, sandstones, and limestones. Application to Earth Science Research Dinocysts are used to help deduce the age and environment of rocks or sediments. The age of sedimentary rocks provided by dinocysts is important to geologic mapping, to understanding the structural geology of an area, and to understanding the movement of ground water of an area.