Yoda Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 I have recently added this piece to my collection. Was sold to me as a Sedimentary Stromatolite from Bolivia. No further info given. I have looked online and in my book and can't match it to anything. Is this a genuine Stromotolite? - it wasn't too expensive, and it's quite attractive either way. Photo of both sides. Roughly 11cm square MotM August 2023 - Eclectic Collector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 It sure looks like stromatolite though not exactly like the other ones I've seen from Bolivia, which I read are Cretaceous and not Precambrian though I can't provide you with references for that at the moment (Might have been something someone on the Forum said). 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Yoda Posted October 25, 2019 Author Share Posted October 25, 2019 6 hours ago, Wrangellian said: It sure looks like stromatolite though not exactly like the other ones I've seen from Bolivia, which I read are Cretaceous and not Precambrian though I can't provide you with references for that at the moment (Might have been something someone on the Forum said). I also have one of those Stroms. They seem quite common Excuse the poor photo. However I haven't seen other examples of the one I am querying. MotM August 2023 - Eclectic Collector Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 That's the stuff. I see a page on Fossilmall that says Lower Proterozoic, and another one (same material, same location: south of Cochabamba) that says Late Cretaceous (Maastrichtian)! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
piranha Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 The Bolivian stromatolites are typically found in the Maastrichtian El Molino Formation (Puca Group) and classified as Pucalithus sp. 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). PICG 242 Simposio, Tucumán, Argentina, 39 pp. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrangellian Posted October 25, 2019 Share Posted October 25, 2019 Ah yes.. I gather they were originally assumed to be Precambrian because everyone (amateurs/sellers) assumes stromatolites are Precambrian, and then someone set them right, in this case! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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