tags: Stromatolites, fossils, earth science, NewScientist, Image of the Day
Stromatolites.
These intriguing fossils are a visual portal into the emergence of life and the eventual evolving of life forms from Cambrian to modern times.
Image: Mark Boyle 2007 (NewScientist calendar 2008). [Much larger view]
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The oldest evidence for microbial life has been found in Greenland, with fossilized 3.7 billion year old stromatolites (layered bacterial colonies) found in the rocks. Here's what they look like:
Some years ago, I was asked by a friend to accompany him on a visit to a site in Saratoga Springs, New York, where we were to witness the activities of a gen-u-wine geomancer. I had never heard of a geomancer before. If you don't know what one is, be happy. If you do, you have my sympathies.
Body's Own 'Cannabis (Marijuana)' Is Good For The Skin, Scientists Find:
This is a review of The Story of Life in 25 Fossils: Tales of Intrepid Fossil Hun
The ones in the picture are alive, aren't they? Kind of brings new meaning to the term "living fossil," huh?
Very cool picture with great colors. However, let's give the stromatolites full props and acknowledge their presence in the fossil record from 3.45 billion years ago and their importance in producing oxygen that eventually changed the composition of our atmosphere.
Thanks again.
These look like the living stromatolites in Shark Bay, Western Australia. Although beneath the surface, they're just as rocky as the 3.5 billion year old variety.
Here are some dead ones:
http://lablemminglounge.blogspot.com/2007/12/trophy-rocks.html