Abstract
THE oldest documented microfossils are from the ∼3,300 Myr BP Onverwacht Group of South Africa6–8. Here, we discuss the occurrence of a new assemblage of microfossils from a ∼3,500 Myr BP silicified shallow-water to supratidal carbonate sequence of the Warrawoona Group at North Pole, Western Australia. Five morphologies of carbonaceous spheroids are recognised, including some with splits, some with tetragonal tetrad form and others with groups of up to four individuals. Their morphology is very similar to microfossils from the Onverwacht group of South Africa, and statistical tests of size distribution support a biogenic origin. This occurrence suggests that evidence for early Archaean life may be more widespread than generally thought.
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DUNLOP, J., MILNE, V., GROVES, D. et al. A new microfossil assemblage from the Archaean of Western Australia. Nature 274, 676–678 (1978). https://doi.org/10.1038/274676a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/274676a0
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