Term: stromatolites
Literally meaning: “layers of stones”
Origin: Anc Greek
στρώμα/stroma(=layer, mattress) > στορέννυμι/storenymi(=to spread the clothes over a bed, to strew or spread with )
+ λίθος/lithos(=stone, rock)
Coined/History
In 1908, by Kalkowsky while describing coastal paleoenviroments of a Lower Triassic epicontinental sea.
(Source: Kalkowsky E (1908)Oolith und Stromatolith im norddutschen Buntsandstein. Zeiitschrifit der deutchen geologischen Gesellschaft 60: 68-125. )
Definition
Stromatolites, are rock-like laminated structures formed by the trapping and precipitation of particles of microorganisms such as bacteria and algae. Srtomatolites include the oldest known fossils, dating back some 3.5 billion years.
