16.6" Pennsylvanian, Fossil Microbial Mat - Oklahoma

This is a 16.6" Stromatolite "mat" from the Hartshorne Sandstone, Haskell County, Oklahoma. Also known as "MISS" (Microbially Induced Sedimentary Structures) it's the fossilized ichnofossils left behind by a colony of microbes, similar to the formation of stromatolites..

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.


It comes with an acrylic display stand.

SOLD
DETAILS
SPECIES
Unidentified
LOCATION
Haskall County, Oklahoma
FORMATION
Hartshorne Sandstone
SIZE
16.6 x 7.5 x .6"
CATEGORY
ITEM
#114073
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