Stromatolites from the Dawn of the Cambrian Explosion

Fossil Description: This stromatolite comes from the sunset of large stromatolitic deposits. Coming from a Lowest Cambrian formation, these stromatolites date to a time when stromatolites were no longer prevalent and abundant on earth. The massive cyanobacterial stromatolite reefs of the Proterozoic had yielded to new reef systems with abundant and diverse life forms. For more than two billion years the cyanobacteria had oxygenated earth’s atmosphere through their photosynthetic metabolism. Earth was now hostile to them in many ways, with other heterotrophic microbes to compete with. The associated collapse of stromatolitic growth appears to have coincided with a transition of a shallow-water environment to one of more open-water conditions. The stromatolite-dominated assemblage was soon displaced by a shelly facies. At this point, massive domal mats were replaced by smaller colonies such as Girvanella as stromatolites attempted to retrench themselves.
Stromatolites have persisted to the modern day in such places as Shark Bay, Australia where they continue their billions of years old lifestyle. While this piece would make a fine present for any natural history buff, anyone who appreciates art would also be glad to get thus wonderful specimen as a gift.