Image: Virginia Museum of Natural History display
Description: Huge thrombolite-stromatolite mass (compare its size with the theropod dinosaur in the background) from the Cambrian of Virginia. This remarkable specimen is a >2 ton, 1.9 meter long-axis diameter thrombolite bioherm on public display at the Virginia Museum of Natural History (Martinsville, Virginia, USA). It has a thrombolite core with a pustulose stromatolitic outer layer. It was collected in June 2008. Stratigraphy: Conococheague Formation, Upper Cambrian. Locality: Boxley Materials Blue Ridge Quarry, Bedford County, Virginia, USA. Stromatolites are large, layered structures built up by mats of cyanobacteria. Stromatolites vary in appearance, ranging from slightly wrinkled horizontal laminations in sedimentary rocks to low mounds to prominent mounds to columnar structures and other forms. Stromatolites are most common in the Proterozoic fossil record. They are scarce today, but famous modern examples occur at Shark Bay, Western Australia.
Title: Virginia Museum of Natural History display
Credit: Thrombolite-stromatolite (1.9 m diameter) (Conococheague Formation, Upper Cambrian; Boxley Materials Blue Ridge Quarry, Bedford County, Virginia, USA) 5
Author: James St. John
Usage Terms: Creative Commons Attribution 2.0
License: CC BY 2.0
License Link: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0
Attribution Required?: Yes
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