Microfossils of the Early Archean Apex Chert: New Evidence of the Antiquity of Life
1993; American Association for the Advancement of Science; Volume: 260; Issue: 5108 Linguagem: Inglês
10.1126/science.260.5108.640
ISSN1095-9203
Autores Tópico(s)Geochemistry and Elemental Analysis
ResumoEleven taxa (including eight heretofore undescribed species) of cellularly preserved filamentous microbes, among the oldest fossils known, have been discovered in a bedded chert unit of the Early Archean Apex Basalt of northwestern Western Australia. This prokaryotic assemblage establishes that trichomic cyanobacterium-like microorganisms were extant and morphologically diverse at least as early as ∼3465 million years ago and suggests that oxygen-producing photoautotrophy may have already evolved by this early stage in biotic history.
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