Athena Review Image Archive ™
Oscillatoriopsis, detail of segments
Detail of Oscillatoriopsis segments (after Schopf, in Taylor et al.2009)
Oscillatoriopsis is
a fossil genus of Late Precambrian cyanobacteria found at Bitter
Springs, Australia dating from 850 mya. Various parallels with current
bacterial species can be seen in the fossil deposits in chert and
quartzite deposits formations at Bitter Springs (Schopf 1968).
These Late Proterozoic deposits are rich in fossils of certain forms of segmented cyanobacteria, including Oscillatoripsis sp.,
with a detail of several segments shown in the figure. These segments
contained thallus-like elements which performed photosynthesis. This
resembles the present day species Oscillatoria amena, a filamentous cyanobacterium, named for its oscillating movement in seeking light sources.
References:
Schopf, J.W. 1968. Microflora of the Bitter Springs Formation, Late Precambrian, Central Australia. Journal of Paleontology 42(3), pp. 651-688.
Taylor, E.L., T.N. Taylor, and M. Krings 2009. Paleobotany: The Biology and Evolution of Fossil Plants. New York, Academic Press.
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