Show your stromatolites by period/epoch

[Missourian]

Stromatolites are potentially present in every geologic period.

 

Show any if you got 'em.

 

The goal here is to represent every period, and every stage/epoch if possible, including subdivisions/periods of the Precambrian.

 

These can be posted in no particular order.

 

Any and all are welcome to post multiple examples from any period/epoch.

 

I'll start with a specimen from the Pennsylvanian:

 

Sniabar Limestone, Kasimovian/Missourian Stage, Pennsylvanian
Kansas City, Missouri, USA

 

 

The front side has been polished.

[DPS Ammonite]

Do you have to post one that is exactly one period older or newer?

[Missourian]

  

1 hour ago, DPS Ammonite said:

Do you have to post one that is exactly one period older or newer?

 

No particular order, and multiple examples from any given period are welcome. (I edited the first post above.)

 

This thread was inspired by stromatolites posted in the thread: Show Us Your Fossils Challenge Mode: Ordered By Geologic Time Period!

[DPS Ammonite]

Here is a silicified Miocene lacustrine stromatolite from northern Maricopa County, Arizona: north of Phoenix. Associated with palm wood and silicified reeds. Looking at underside of 380 mm wide colony.

[MarcoSr]

I have close to two hundred slabs (stromatolites, oncolites, microbialites etc.) from different time periods and from different states in the United States and different countries worldwide.  I don't want to overwhelm your thread, so I'll just post one of my favorite pieces. 

 

Stromatolite, Kona Dolomite, domal bulbous, Precambrian Proterozoic Paleoproterozoic Rhyacian 2.2 to 2.3 BYA, Lindberg Quarry near Ishpeming, Marquette Co, MI (1323 grams 11.75x7.375x.31 inches):

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[FranzBernhard]

Are oncoides/oncolites also allowed or should I start a new topic ?

 

1 hour ago, MarcoSr said:

11.75x7.375x.31 inches

That´s a rather big specimen, too !
Franz Bernhard

Edited August 27, 2022 by FranzBernhard

[MarcoSr]

8 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

That´s a rather big specimen, too !
Franz Bernhard

 

I have a wide variation in the size of the slabs that I have, with that slab being one of the biggest, and the smallest being only a few inches.

 

Marco Sr.

[Yoda]

Burntisland, Fife, Scotland 

Carboniferous 

 

 

[Missourian]

  

17 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

Are oncoides/oncolites also allowed or should I start a new topic ?

 

Yes, oncolites are welcome, since they are 'mobile' stromatolites

[MarcoSr]

Two colorful oncolite slabs.

 

Girvanella sp. oncolites, Lower Cambrian, Chambless Limestone Formation, San Bernardino County, California (1114grams 120mmx115mmx45mm thick):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Girvanella sp Oncolites, Lower Cambrian, Chambless Limestone Formation, San Bernardino County, California (486grams 165mmx85mmx22mm thick)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[FranzBernhard]

In strong contrast to @MarcoSr´s colorful oncolites, some chocolate oncoides/oncolites. Just copied over from another thread:

 

[Tidgy's Dad]

[minnbuckeye]

I assume @Tidgy's Dad's specimen is Mary Ellen Jasper, a 1.88-billion-year-old stromatolite!!!! Here is mine.

 

 

[MarcoSr]

5 hours ago, FranzBernhard said:

In strong contrast to @MarcoSr´s colorful oncolites, some chocolate oncoides/oncolites. Just copied over from another thread:

 

 

I haven't seen oncolites from Austria before.  I'll have to keep an eye out for these.  Thank you for posting.

 

Another colorful oncolite slab.

 

Oncolites, Precambrian Proterozoic Neoproterozoic Tonian 720 to 740 MYA, Beck Springs Limestone, Mohave Desert, California (166 grams 3.5x4x.25 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[MarcoSr]

1 hour ago, Tidgy's Dad said:

 

28 minutes ago, minnbuckeye said:

I assume @Tidgy's Dad's specimen is Mary Ellen Jasper, a 1.88-billion-year-old stromatolite!!!! Here is mine.

 

 

 

 

Really nice specimens.  Mary Ellen Jasper comes in a number of colors.

 

Mostly green slab

 

Collenia undosa Stromatolite, Mary Ellen Jasper, Precambrian Proterozoic Paleoproterozoic Orosirian 1.88 BYA, Biwabik Formation, Hoyt Lakes Mine eastern Mesabi Range, St Louis County, Minnesota (208 grams 4.75x3x.31 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Mosty red and black slab.  I hand polished this slab (a lot of time and effort for a so-so result).

 

Collenia undosa Stromatolite, Mary Ellen Jasper, Precambrian Proterozoic Paleoproterozoic Orosirian 1.88 BYA, Biwabik Formation, St Louis County, Minnesota (222 grams 135mmx90mmx5to 9 mm thick):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

[Tidgy's Dad]

On 8/28/2022 at 11:21 AM, minnbuckeye said:

I assume @Tidgy's Dad's specimen is Mary Ellen Jasper, a 1.88-billion-year-old stromatolite!!!! Here is mine.

 

Wow! I love that natural look! 

You're correct that mine's Mary Ellen Mine material as well. 

Here's a stromatolite from the Upper Cretaceous of Bolivia.

[MarcoSr]

On 8/29/2022 at 11:52 AM, Tidgy's Dad said:

Wow! I love that natural look! 

You're correct that mine's Mary Ellen Mine material as well. 

Here's a stromatolite from the Upper Cretaceous of Bolivia.

 

 

It is nice to see a stromatolite in its natural state.  Does your piece also have ooids?

 

Below is a polished slab from the same formation in Bolivia.  It also has ooids in addition to stromatolites.  I have three slabs from that formation, two have ooids and one doesn't have ooids.

 

Edit: Pucalithus sp. Stromatolite with ooids, Cretaceous Maastrichtian, Puca Group El Molino Formation, Cerro Huanaquino, Potosi, Bolivia (254 grams 3.50x3.25x.5 inches):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Marco Sr.

 

 

Edited August 31, 2022 by MarcoSr
edit per Piranha reply

[Tidgy's Dad]

7 hours ago, MarcoSr said:

 

 

It is nice to see a stromatolite in its natural state.  Does your piece also have ooids?

Greysonia sp. Stromatolite with ooids, Cretaceous, Miraflores Formation, Cerro Huanaquino, Potosi, Bolivia (254 grams 3.50x3.25x.5 inches):

Nice.

Not sure if mine has ooids or not, I'll have to have a closer look with my microscope. 

[Missourian]

I never realized how beautiful stromatolites and oncolites could be!

[piranha]

On 8/29/2022 at 12:26 PM, MarcoSr said:

Greysonia sp. Stromatolite with ooids, Cretaceous, Miraflores Formation, Cerro Huanaquino, Potosi, Bolivia (254 grams 3.50x3.25x.5 inches):

 

I have a large polished sphere of this Bolivian stromatolite and did some research to discover the correct taxonomy. 'Greysonia' is a corrupted name, misappropriated by some commercial dealers and lifted from Walcott's 1914 Precambrian type species from Montana. The Bolivian specimens are classified as Pucalithus sp. and are typically found in the Maastrichtian El Molino Formation in the Puca Group, which also includes the Miraflores Formation.

 

 

Sempere, T., Butler, R.F., Richards, D.R., Marshall, L.G., Sharp, W., Swisher, C.C. 1997

Stratigraphy and Chronology of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Paleogene Strata in Bolivia and Northwest Argentina.

Geological Society of America Bulletin, 109(6):709-727

 

 

Sempere, T., Oller, J., Cherroni, C., Aranibar, O., Barrios, L., Branisa, L., Cirbian, M., Perez, M. 1987

Un ejemplo de cuenca carbonatada en un contexto distensivo de retroarco: paleogedinamica del Cretacico terminal en la Republica de Bolivia (Formacion El Molino y equivalentes). [An example of a carbonate basin in a distensive back-arc context: paleogedynamics of the terminal Cretaceous in the Republic of Bolivia (El Molino Formation and equivalents).] PICG 242 Simposio, Tucumán, Argentina, 39 pp.

 

Walcott, C.D. 1914

Pre-Cambrian Algonkian Algal Flora.

Smithsonian Institution, Miscellaneous Collections, 64(2):77-156

[MarcoSr]

4 minutes ago, piranha said:

 

I have a large polished sphere of this Bolivian stromatolite and did some research to discover the correct taxonomy. 'Greysonia' is a corrupted name, misappropriated by some commercial dealers and lifted from Walcott's 1914 Precambrian type species from Montana. The Bolivian specimens are classified as Pucalithus sp. and are typically found in the Maastrichtian El Molino Formation in the Puca Group, which also includes the Miraflores Formation.

 

 

Sempere, T., Butler, R.F., Richards, D.R., Marshall, L.G., Sharp, W., Swisher, C.C. 1997

Stratigraphy and Chronology of Upper Cretaceous–Lower Paleogene Strata in Bolivia and Northwest Argentina.

Geological Society of America Bulletin, 109(6):709-727

 

 

Sempere, T., Oller, J., Cherroni, C., Aranibar, O., Barrios, L., Branisa, L., Cirbian, M., Perez, M. 1987

Un ejemplo de cuenca carbonatada en un contexto distensivo de retroarco: paleogedinamica del Cretacico terminal en la Republica de Bolivia (Formacion El Molino y equivalentes). [An example of a carbonate basin in a distensive back-arc context: paleogedynamics of the terminal Cretaceous in the Republic of Bolivia (El Molino Formation and equivalents).] PICG 242 Simposio, Tucumán, Argentina, 39 pp.

 

Walcott, C.D. 1914

Pre-Cambrian Algonkian Algal Flora.

Smithsonian Institution, Miscellaneous Collections, 64(2):77-156

 

Thank you for the species name update.  There is a lot of contradictory information on the stromatolites from this area.  One misinformation was on the timeframe that they are from.  I think it is now settled that the timeframe is Cretaceous and not much earlier as originally claimed.  Also, the exact location that they come from has been incorrectly reported for a while.  The reason for this misinformation seems to be to protect the areas where they are mined.  I've seen a number of specimens described as coming from Peru versus Bolivia.  From what I've researched, I can't really find evidence of them really being mined in Peru.

 

Marco Sr.

 

[piranha]

42 minutes ago, MarcoSr said:

Thank you for the species name update.  There is a lot of contradictory information on the stromatolites from this area.  One misinformation was on the timeframe that they are from.  I think it is now settled that the timeframe is Cretaceous and not much earlier as originally claimed.  Also, the exact location that they come from has been incorrectly reported for a while.  The reason for this misinformation seems to be to protect the areas where they are mined.  I've seen a number of specimens described as coming from Peru versus Bolivia.  From what I've researched, I can't really find evidence of them really being mined in Peru.

 

Marco Sr.

 

Glad to assist!

 

The erroneous age is no doubt connected to the Precambrian of Walcott's Greysonia.

 

There are also documented occurrences of Pucalithus in the Salta Group of Argentina.

[DPS Ammonite]

Here is a Miocene silicified stromatolite in an ash rich lacustrine rock from east of San Francisco, California: Orinda. It is probably in growth position. 92 mm in longest vertical direction. It is associated with palm wood and roots, reeds, petrified wood, and  freshwater snails.

 

[Yoda]

“Horse Tooth” Stromatolite  

Devonian 

Lower Flagstones Formation, Orkney - Scotland 

 

 

[Missourian]

Ottonosia sp.

Fontana Shale, Kasimovian/Missourian Stage, Pennsylvanian

Kansas City metro, MO/KS, USA

 

This grew on shells or whatever substrate was available:

 

 

In many cases, the algal encrustations envelop arenaceous forams, including Tolypammina and Ammovertella here: