6.4" Polished Stromatolite (Mawsonsia) Slab - 450 Million Years

This is a 450 million year old, cut & polished Mawsonsia madaginia Stromatolite from the Antrim Basalt within the Northern Territory of Australia. 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
Mawsonsia madaginia
LOCATION
Northern Territory, Australia
FORMATION
Antrim Basalt
SIZE
6.4 x 5.3", .25" thick
CATEGORY
ITEM
#129187
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