Thrombolite

Further information: Microbial mat

Modern thrombolites in Lake Clifton, Western Australia

Jurassic thrombolite formed around a tree trunk; Purbeck Formation, Isle of Portland, Dorset, England.

Thrombolites are ancient forms of microbial communities that photosynthesize. They are clotted accretionary structures formed in shallow water by the trapping, binding, and cementation of sedimentary grains by biofilms of microorganisms, especially cyanobacteria. They are now only found in a few places in the world. Stromatolites are similar but consist of layered accretions. Hundreds of millions of years ago the ancestors of thrombolites and stromatolites produced the oxygen in the atmosphere that is required for life as we know it.

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Thrombolites and stromatolites; two distinct types of microbial structures

Origin of life

Main	Abiogenesis Iron–sulfur world theory Last universal ancestor Miller–Urey experiment PAH world hypothesis Panspermia Peptide-RNA world Protocell Quasispecies model RNA world hypothesis Universal common descent

Related	Astrobiology Nexus for Exoplanet System Science

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