STROMATOLITE FOSSILS FOR SALE

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 planet Earth! Stromatolites and microbialites were typically formed in shallow water by the growth of layer upon layer of cyanobacteria, a kind of single-celled, photosynthesizing microbe. These layers often form very beautiful and colorful banded structures in the rock.

These photosynthesizing cyanobacteria, so simple they even lacked DNA, were responsible for possibly the largest changes the Earth has undergone: for eons they were the only major source of atmospheric oxygen critical for the development of more complex life!