stromatolites found in western australia are produced by cyanobacteria.
stromatolites found in western australia are produced by cyanobacteria.
stromatolites found in western australia are are produced by which organism?
cyanobacteria
the photosynthetic cyanobacteria are arguably the most successful bacteria, and changed the early atmosphere of the earth by oxygenating it. stromatolites, structures made up of layers of calcium carbonate and trapped sediment left over from cyanobacteria and associated community bacteria, left behind extensive fossil records. the existence of stromatolites gives an excellent record as to the development of cyanobacteria, which are represented across the archaean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago), proterozoic (2.5 billion to 540 million years ago), and phanerozoic (540 million years ago to present day) eons. much of the fossilized stromatolites of the world can be found in western australia. there, some of the oldest stromatolites have been found, some dating back to about 3,430 million years ago.
unicellular organism
in 2008, as part of the tawani foundation 2008 antarctic international expedition (see below), dale andersen and ian hawes discovered conical stromatolites growing in lake untersee, the largest living ones known to date. small microbial pinnacles are also present, and it appears that the large conical stromatolites and the small pinnacles are made by different microbial communities. these communities provide an important analog to some of the oldest fossil stromatolites found to date.









































section::::history.:expeditions.
lake untersee