stromatolite

American  

[stroh-mat-l-ahyt] / stroʊˈmæt lˌaɪt /

noun

Geology.

1. a layered, calcareous living fossil formed by cyanobacteria and believed to be responsible for building up the content of the primeval earth’s oxygen levels, allowing life forms to emerge and evolve.

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stromatolite British  

/ strəʊˌmætəˈlɪtɪk, strəʊˈmætəˌlaɪt /

noun

1. a rocky mass consisting of layers of calcareous material and sediment formed by the prolific growth of cyanobacteria: such structures date back to Precambrian times

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stromatolite Scientific  

/ strō-măt′l-īt′ /

1. A dome-shaped structure consisting of alternating layers of carbonate or silicate sediment and fossilized algal mats. Stromatolites are produced over geologic time by the trapping, binding, or precipitating of sediment by groups of microorganisms, primarily cyanobacteria. They are widely distributed in the fossil record and contain some of the oldest recorded forms of life, from over three billion years ago. They continue to form today especially in western Australia.

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Other Word Forms

• stromatolitic adjective

Etymology

Origin of stromatolite

First recorded in 1930–35; from German Stromatolith (1908), from Late Latin strōmat-, stem of strōma “coverlet” + -o- connecting vowel + German -lith; see stroma, -o-, -lith; see also -lite

Example Sentences

Several different species of microbes are involved in stromatolite creation.

From New York Times • Aug. 31, 2016

Meanwhile, the stromatolite will sit on the geological samples table and will be picked up and examined and discussed, acquiring many fingerprints.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 12, 2011

She finds the young geologist—he’s still on the second ridge, along with his coterie of admirers—and produces the stromatolite.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 12, 2011

Then she retrieves the stromatolite, being careful not to let any of the blood touch her or even her gloves, and slides it into a pool of bog water.

From The New Yorker • Dec. 12, 2011

This past August, a team of geologists announced that they had found a 3.7-billion-year-old stromatolite in Greenland, which would make it the oldest fossil ever found on Earth.

From National Geographic