Moodies Crinkles Microbial Mats - Oldest Land Life

The Moodies Group fossil microbial mats represent the oldest trace of terrestrial life to date. This fantastic material is about 3.22 Ga. It contains a wide variety of sedimentary structures that are easily seen and well-preserved. This specimen offers an important, absolutely fantastic window into the land-adapted microbial life from our early Earth!

The "Moodies crinkles" are siliciclastic terrestrial mats from the Dycedale Syncline. They are different from their "cousin," the Saddleback Syncline fossil microbial mats, which were restricted to a shallow aquatic environment. The significant difference between these two fascinating synclines and their microbial mat structure is that they show a morphological transition from an aquatic to a terrestrial environment.

The evolution from an aquatic to a land environment required more structure and morphological change. The microstructures reveal a denser, interwoven mesh containing fine-grained particles mixed with filamentous strands that gripped various biofilm forms. The preserved land-dwelling carbonaceous mats are thicker than mats formed by marine-dwelling microbial life (Saddleback Syncline). The Moodies crinkles were the forerunner ancestors to the stromatolites.

Moodies crinkles specimen size: 72mm L X 61mm W X 8mm D; Weight: 77.3 grams; polished smooth front and back. This is a fantastic specimen from this premier geological location! 

Ships with Certificate of Authenticity and information about the specimen. Tag stand included. Specimen stand and photo cube not included. PHOTOS in situ and a copy of relevant scientific articles included.

This material was legally collected and obtained in a materials trade with a scientific institution.

Own a premiere Moodies Crinkles for studying the oldest microbial mat fossil trace material on land from early Earth.

This scientific material is Guaranteed Authentic. It was professionally and legally collected and arrives with a Certificate of Authenticity.