Fig Tree Formation

The Fig Tree Formation, also called Fig Tree Group, is a stromatolite-containing geological formation in South Africa. The rock contains fossils of microscopic life forms of about 3.26 billion years old.[1] Identified organisms include the bacterium Eobacterium isolatus and the algae-like Archaeosphaeroides barbertonensis. The fossils in the Fig Tree Formation are considered some of the oldest known organisms on Earth, and provide evidence that life may have existed much earlier than previously thought. The formation is composed of shales, turbiditic greywackes, volcaniclastic sandstones, chert, turbiditic siltstone, conglomerate, breccias, mudstones, and iron-rich shales.[2]

Fig Tree Formation
Stratigraphic range: Paleoarchean
~3260 Ma
TypeGeological formation
Unit ofBarberton Supergroup
UnderliesMoodies Group
OverliesOnverwacht Group
Lithology
PrimarySandstone
OtherShale
Location
LocationKaapvaal Craton
Coordinates25.8°S 31.0°E / -25.8; 31.0
RegionBarberton Greenstone Belt, Mpumalanga
CountrySouth Africa

Location of the Barberton Greenstone Belt

See also

References

Further reading

  • "Fig Tree microfossils". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2016. Retrieved Oct 9, 2016.
  • Byerly G.R., Lower D.R. & Walsh M.M. (1986). Stromatolites from the 3300–3500-Myr Swaziland Supergroup, Barberton Mountain Land, South Africa. Nature, 319: 489-491.
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