Late Precambrian Microfossils: a New Stromatolitic Biota from Boorthanna, South Australia

Abstract

OF the four dozen fossiliferous Precambrian sediments now known1, only a very few contain diverse microfossil assemblages preserved in situ on which inferences of ecologic setting and evolutionary status can be based reliably. The time gaps between these deposits are enormous, commonly approaching or exceeding a duration equivalent to that of the entire Palaeozoic. Present inferences regarding the course of early evolutionary development are therefore highly speculative. There is obvious need for the detection of additional evidence with which to evaluate such inferences and to fill in the skeletal picture that has emerged in recent years. We report here the discovery of a well preserved, Stromatolitic microbiota from the late Precambrian of Boorthanna, South Australia, that should contribute measurably toward this goal.