Abstract
THE presence of carbonaceous matter, and stromatolitic structures in manganese deposits of Proterozoic (>600 Myr) age1–3, provides indirect evidence for the activity of living organisms during their formation. Here, I report the presence of microfossils from the Proterozoic manganese orebody of the Penganga Group, India. These microfossils occur commonly in chert and are present within manganese oxide sediments. The microfossils probably have affinities with the Cyanobacteria and may have been planktonic; both coccoid and filamentous forms are present. The presence of these microfossils suggests a possible genetic relationship between microbiota and manganese deposition and provides further information about Proterozoic ecology.
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Bandopadhyay, P. Proterozoic microfossils from manganese orebody, India. Nature 339, 376–378 (1989). https://doi.org/10.1038/339376a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/339376a0
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