Bacteria Found in fossil stromatolites Neuquén Blogs
are the oldest life forms on earth. They are called stromatolites and recorded on our planet for about 3,500 million years. It is laminated structures in which organic matter is bound to minerals, usually calcium carbonate, are attached to the substrate, and are products of the metabolic activity of microorganisms, primarily cyanobacteria. They were responsible for providing oxygen to the atmosphere through the process of photosynthesis, and thus enabled the development of other life forms.
currently living stromatolites are limited to a few places on earth, and it is easier to find them in fossil form. However, in most of the fossil record is difficult to find traces of organisms that gave rise to them. But recently in the western province of Neuquen, stromatolites were found with fossilized algal filaments could be seen under the electron microscope. Trapped in these stromatolites are also nanobacteria. Moreover, we could accurately determine its age: 65 million years.
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