Early

Forms of
Life

EARTH & LIFE SCIENCE

01
Objective
1. Identify Early life forms on Earth

2. Describe the course of evolution for these organisms

02
SCIENCE QUIZ

The Oldest TRILOBITES AMMONITES

fossils
found were
___ and they CYANOBACTERIA STROMATOLITES

were found
in rocks
called _____ LIMESTONE SANDSTONE

03
Cyanobacteria & Stromarolites

Cyanobacteria (blue green algae) form rocks

called Stromatolites when they die. Much like
how carbonate shells of animals form
Limestone.

07
Apex Chert Fossils
Found in Pilbara,
Western Australia in
1993
Cyanobacteria that got
preserved in the floor
of an ancient ocean or
lake
10-20 micrometers
long
 -- Study done in 2015
TEM (Transmission Electron Microscopy)
show these are just clay that had carbon
absorbed in the edges of the mineral "AT HIGH SPATIAL RESOLUTION, THE APEX
‘MICROFOSSILS’ LACK ALL EVIDENCE FOR COHERENT,
ROUNDED WALLS. INSTEAD, THEY HAVE A COMPLEX,
INCOHERENT SPIKY MORPHOLOGY, EVIDENTLY
FORMED BY FILAMENTS OF CLAY CRYSTALS COATED
WITH IRON AND CARBON.”
 STRELLY POOL MICROFOSSILS
Discovered in 2011 by Dr. Julien Alleon and team
Based on X-ray Absorption Spectroscopy Analysis (to determine geometric and
electronic structure of matter
Collected from Strelley Pool formation, Western Australia

survived
exposure to
up to 300
degC
???? (for now) - First prokaryotes

2.7 B - Eukaryotic biomarker : found in

oil was a compound called "sterol" (fatty
acid) which was a common component
of eukaryotic cells; first eukaryotes were
amoeba

2.1 B - Eukaryotic fossil: Grypania

spiralis​(Michigan)

1.7 B - multi-cellular Eukaryote:

unicellular eukaryotes that congregated
together