Stromatolites or stromatoliths are layered sedimentary formations that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota. These m
Fossilized stromatolite in Strelley Pool chert, about 3.4 billion years old, from Pilbara Craton, Western Australia
Modern stromatolites in Shark Bay, Western Australia
Paleoproterozoic oncoids from the Franceville Basin, Gabon, Central Africa. Oncoids are unfixed stromatolites ranging in size from a few millimeters to a few centimeters
Fossilized stromatolites, about 425 million years old, in the Soeginina Beds (Paadla Formation, Ludlow, Silurian) near Kübassaare, Estonia
Cyanobacteria are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria of the phylum Cyanobacteriota that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. Cyanobacteria originated in a freshwater or
Stromatolite
…stratum' and λίθος (líthos) 'rock') are layered sedimentary formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing bacteria, and Pseudomonadota (formerly proteobacteria). These microorganisms produce adhesive compounds that cement sand and other…
CSIRO Science Image 4203 A bluegreen algae species Cylindrospermum sp under magnification
Cyanobacteria are found almost everywhere. Sea spray containing marine microorganisms, including cyanobacteria, can be swept high into the atmosphere where they become aeroplankton, and can travel the globe before falling back to earth.
Prochlorococcus, an influential marine cyanobacterium which produces much of the world's oxygen
Unicellular and colonial cyanobacteria. (scale bars about 10 μm)