| Grypania Temporal range: | |
|---|---|
| | |
| Grypania spiralis fossil | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Incertae sedis |
| Genus: | † Grypania Walter, Oehler & Oehler, 1976 [1] |
| Type species | |
| Grypania spiralis Walter, Oehler & Oehler, 1976 | |
Grypania is an early, tube-shaped fossil from the Proterozoic eon. The organism, with a size over one centimeter and consistent form, could have been a giant bacterium, a bacterial colony, or a eukaryotic alga. [2] The oldest probable Grypania fossils date to about 1870 million years ago (redated from the previous 2100 million) [2] [3] and the youngest extended into the Ediacaran period. [4] This implies that the time range of this taxon extended for 1200 million years.