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Stromatolites occur widely in the fossil record of the Precambrian but are rare today. [15] Very few Archean stromatolites contain fossilized microbes, but fossilized microbes are sometimes abundant in Proterozoic stromatolites. [16]
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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.
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.
- The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica
Jan 18, 2021 · Stromatolites are living fossils and the oldest living lifeforms on our planet. The name derives from the Greek, stroma, meaning “mattress”, and lithos, meaning “rock”. Stromatolite literally means...
Fossil stromatolites. Formally defined, a stromatolite is an accretionary organosedimentary structure, commonly thinly layered, megascopic, and calcareous, produced by the activities of mat-building communities of mucilage-secreting microorganisms, filamentous and coccoid photoautotrophic prokaryotes such as cyanobacteria. Usage of the term ...
Here, we review observational and experimental models of stro-matolite morphogenesis, emphasizing those directly inspired by the Precambrian stromatolite record, and suggest experimental, observational, and theoretical approaches to the study of mod-ern and ancient stromatolites.
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.
