Eobacterium

Last updated

Eobacterium
Temporal range: 3100 Ma [1]
Scientific classification OOjs UI icon edit-ltr.svg
Domain: Bacteria
Kingdom: incertae sedis
Genus:† Eobacterium
Barghoorn and Schopf, 1966
Species:
†E. isolatum
Binomial name
†Eobacterium isolatum
Barghoorn and Schopf, 1966

Eobacterium is a possible [2] genus of extinct bacteria from the Fig Tree Formation in South Africa. [1] [3] It is about 3.1 billion years old, making it one of the oldest known organisms. [1] The discovery of Eobacterium and other Fig Tree organisms in the 1960s helped prove that life existed over three billion years ago. [3]

References

  1. 1 2 3 Barghoorn, Elso S.; Schopf, J. William (6 May 1966). "Microorganisms Three Billion Years Old from the Precambrian of South Africa". Science. 152 (3723): 758–763. doi:10.1126/science.152.3723.758.
  2. ↑ Eobacterium E.S. Barghoorn & J.W. Schopf, 1966 . Retrieved through: Interim Register of Marine and Nonmarine Genera  on 20 December 2025.
  3. 1 2 "Fig Tree microfossils". Encyclopædia Britannica Online. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc. 2016. Retrieved Oct 9, 2016.


This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.