Grypania
Grypania spiralis
The fossil is an important, though disputed, indication of early complex or eukaryotic life.
Image: Xvazquez · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons
Loading map textures; the previous reconstruction stays visible...
Sites on today's globe · 1 marker
Characteristics
- Scientific name
- Grypania spiralis
- Period
- Early Proterozoic
- Lived
- 1.9–1.8 bn years ago (1.9 billion years ago)
- Diet
- Photosynthetic
- Habitat
- Open sea
Description
Grypania is known from long, twisted fossil ribbons that could reach several centimetres in width. It has been interpreted as a large alga, although some researchers regard it as a colonial bacterial structure. It lived in the sea during a period when oxygen was gradually becoming more abundant. As no cellular structures have been preserved, its precise biological affinity remains uncertain.
Habitat
Shallow marine environments near the coast.
Fossil sites
Negaunee Iron Formation, Michigan
Negaunee Iron Formation
Cultural profile: United States →
Sources: Grypania