WYOMING STROMATOLITE A.jpg

Cryptozoon-type Stromatolite Fossil

SITE LOCATION: Wyoming, USA
TIME PERIOD: Pre-Cambrian , Proterozoic (~1.7 billion years ago (~1700 Ma)
Stromatolites or stromatoliths (from Greek str?ma "layer, stratum", and lithos "rock") are layered bio-chemical accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms (microbial mats) of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria. Fossilized stromatolites provide ancient records of life on Earth by these remains, some of which may date from 3.7 billion years ago. Lichen stromatolites are a proposed mechanism of formation of some kinds of layered rock structure that are formed above water, where rock meets air, by repeated colonization of the rock by endolithic lichens. Stromatolites exhibit a variety of forms and structures, or morphologies, including conical, stratiform, branching, domal, and columnar types. Stromatolites occur widely in the fossil record of the Precambrian, but are rare today. Very few ancient stromatolites contain fossilized microbes. While features of some stromatolites are suggestive of biological activity, others possess features that are more consistent with abiotic (non-biological) precipitation.[10] Finding reliable ways to distinguish between biologically formed and abiotic stromatolites is an active area of research in geology. In Wyoming, stromatolites are found in the Snowy Range (Medicine Bow Mountains) in the Nash Fork Formation of the Libby Creek Group. The stromatolites started out as microbial mats that colonized in a continental shelf environment. They are believed to have formed 1.7 billion years ago (1700 Ma). Today stromatolites are nearly extinct, living a precarious existence in only a few localities worldwide – the most famous location is Shark Bay in Western Australia.
Kingdom: Plantae
Phylum: Chlorophycophyta (green algae)
Genus: Chlorellopsis