Inzeria intia Stromatolite – 89g, Alice Springs NT (800 Million Years Old)

Among the oldest life forms ever to leave a trace on Earth — this Inzeria intia stromatolite specimen weighs 89 grams and was collected from the ancient rock formations of Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia. At approximately 800 million years old, this specimen predates complex animal life entirely, offering a direct, tangible connection to the Proterozoic era when microbial mats were the dominant life form on our planet.

Inzeria intia is a species of stromatolite — a layered biogenic sedimentary structure formed by communities of cyanobacteria (blue-green algae) that trapped and bound sediment over vast stretches of geological time. The characteristic domed, columnar, or branching laminated structures visible in this specimen are the preserved record of billions of individual microbial organisms, layer by layer, over millions of years.

Australia is one of the world's premier locations for Proterozoic stromatolites, and the Alice Springs region has yielded some of the finest and best-preserved examples known to science. This is not merely a fossil — it is a piece of Earth's earliest biological history.

• Fossil: Inzeria intia (Stromatolite)
• Age: Approximately 800 million years (Proterozoic)
• Origin: Alice Springs, Northern Territory, Australia
• Weight: 89g
• Form: Natural specimen