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- Polished Stromatolite Slice 131
Polished Stromatolite Slice 131
Cut and Polished Slices Stromatolites from South America. Stromatolites are one of the earliest fossilized forms of life to be found. They are the result of the building process of sediments and cementations in shallow waters of cyanobacteria, or blue-green algaes. These can be cut to display the layers that have been built up over years and years, in the same way a tree is cut to show its growth rings. Seasonal changes may have slowed down growth or totally the opposite and this can be seen in the varying thickness of layers and different mineral content of each layer over time. Stromatolites can still be found today in places such as Shark Bay in Australia.
These come from the Maastrichtian El Molino Formation, S. Cochabamba, Bolivia, S. America. These are colonial Stromatolites. They are dated to 70 Million years old. They are still incredibly old. Previously studied and classified as Precambrian. They have now been recently given the new classification as Cretaceous.
Size: 13.0cm wide