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Stromatolites occur widely in the fossil record of the Precambrian but are rare today. Very few Archean stromatolites contain fossilized microbes, but fossilized microbes are sometimes abundant in Proterozoic stromatolites.
Mar 10, 2024 · Stromatolites are layered accretions of microorganisms, primarily cyanobacteria, mixed with sedimentary grains. These formations often occur in shallow water environments. They are one of the earliest forms of life on Earth that existed well before more complex organisms appeared.
Jan 18, 2021 · Fossils of the earliest known stromatolites, about 3.5 billion years old, are found about 1,000km north, near Marble Bar in the Pilbara region. With Earth an estimated 4.5 billion years old,...
stromatolite, layered deposit, mainly of limestone, formed by the growth of blue-green algae (primitive one-celled organisms). These structures are usually characterized by thin, alternating light and dark layers that may be flat, hummocky, or dome-shaped.
Mar 30, 2020 · Researchers have found stromatolites, microbial mats, chemical signatures indicative of life and more. Older sites hold potential but are controversial.
May 30, 2013 · For two billion years, the stromatolites’ place in the ecosystem was unchallenged. But around a billion years ago, the layered rocks abruptly disappeared from the fossil record.
Mar 1, 2021 · Stromatolites are the oldest fossils on earth, dating back to more than three billion years ago. They were the dominant life form on earth for over 2 billion years and are thought to be primarily responsible for the oxygenation of the atmosphere.
Sep 1, 2016 · The fossils are known as stromatolites and are the evidence of ancient water-based bacterial colonies, which cemented sediments together into distinctive layers with carbonate. Before this new...
Aug 31, 2016 · Stromatolite fossils formed around 3,700 million years ago in what is now Greenland predate the previous oldest fossil evidence for life on Earth by more than 200 million years.
With their associated microfossils, stromatolites provide us with the earliest evidence for life on Earth.1 Well-preserved stromatolites have been found in sedimentary rocks from Western Australia dated at approximately 3500 million years old2'3 and from similar-aged rocks in South Africa.4 Stromatolites have an incredibly long fossil record, sp...
