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 This
fossil stromatolite is in its natural form, though it has been
cut to have a flat surface on the back. The back has not been
polished. This very displayable collector piece exhibits the classic
rings characteristic of stromatolite growth.
Of
scientific interest is the age, Mississippian, some two Billion
years after stromatolite reached its peak on Earth, and during
a time when stromatolite has undergone a second major decline
at the end of the Ordovician. Once the only, and for two billion
years the domiant life form on earth, the photosynthetic prokaryotes,
had to withdraw to environments where its competitors had less
interest, a phenomena that remains true during modern times. Stromatolitic
reefs had largely given way to coral reefs, and were never to
recover.
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