Apex Chert Australia 09711

This is authentic Apex Chert from Pilbara, Western Australia. There is controversy about Apex chert as to whether or not it contains Earth's earliest life. Geochemical signatures in early Archean rocks are difficult to interpret as the Earth has undergone a tremendous amount of change since its formation.

Apex chert was once the center of controversy as scientists believed it contained filamentous and tubular structures, indicating a presence for Earth's earliest lifeforms. Hydrothermal vents (see our other listings) become center stage as our knowledge of Earth's early life continues to be deciphered. Bacteria or algae lived on (and in) the sediment and were trapped and preserved. These fossil bacteria are so small that they can only be seen with a microscope and are carbonaceous filaments. There have been 11 morphological taxa of prokaryotic,coccoidal and filamentous microfossils found embedded in Apex chert. Most are chains of single cells, forming filaments, very much like bacteria and blue-green algae do today found on the floors of modern lakes. Apex chert filaments have the same types of shapes as some structures found in ALH 84001 (a meteorite found in Antarctica believed by some to contain actual life from Mars), which suggests that the structures in the meteorite could also contain microfossil life. The controversy for Apex chert early life is the question as to whether some of these microfossils were geochemically produced, rather than be actual lifeforms.

Size: 25mm L X 20mm W X 7mm D, Weight: 4.23 grams

Ships with protective case, Certificate of Authenticity, tag, tag stand and information about the importance of the specimen. Acrylic base and photo cube not included.

Note: -The Apex Chert, about 3.5 bya of the Pilbara craton, Australia, is known to have preserved about a dozen taxa of prokaryotes.

- The Gunflint Chert of western Ontario is chertized stromatolite Paleoproterozoic (1.9 Billion Years Old)

- The 3.3 - 3.5 bya chert of the Fig Tree Formation in the Barberton Mountains between Swaziland and South Africa, (see specimen on website).

- The Devonian Rhynie chert (400 mya) (see our Rhynie chert) of Scotland has the oldest remains of land flora, and the preservation is so perfect that it allows cellular studies of the fossils (see specimen on website).

Ships in a perky protective case, certificate of authenticity, and information about the specimen. Stands and cube not included.

Legally obtained in a materials trade with a major geological university.

This is probably your one and only last opportunity to own such an exceptional specimen. It is the very last one.