6.4" Polished Domal Stromatolite Section - 1.1 Billion Years Old

This is a beautiful, polished section of Mesoproterozoic (~1.1 billion years old) domal stromatolites, collected from the Irregully Formation near Paraburdoo, Western Australia. These stromatolites have yet to be formally identified. One side has been polished to a mirror-like finish.

It comes with an acrylic display stand.

Stromatolites are the layered trace fossils of microbial life, primarily cyanobacteria. Some of them date back an astounding 3.4 billion years, making them the oldest record of life on Earth! Stromatolites and Microbialites were typically formed in shallow water by the growth of layer upon layer of cyanobacteria, a single-celled, photosynthesizing microbe. These layers often form very beautiful and colorful banded structures in the rock.

These oxygen-producing cyanobacteria were so simple they lacked a DNA-packaging nucleus, but were responsible for possibly the largest changes the earth has undergone. They were the only major source of atmospheric oxygen critical for the development of more complex life.
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DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidentified
LOCATION
Near Paraburdoo, Western Australia
FORMATION
Irregully Formation
SIZE
6.4 x 4.1", up to 2" thick
CATEGORY
ITEM
#239927
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