Paleoarchean Microbial Mat – 58g, Strelley Pool, Pilbara WA

Among the most ancient evidence of life on Earth — this Paleoarchean microbial mat specimen weighs 58 grams and originates from the Strelley Pool Formation in the Pilbara region of Western Australia, one of the most scientifically significant geological sites on the planet. The Strelley Pool Chert is renowned for containing some of the oldest confirmed evidence of life on Earth, with microbial structures dating to approximately 3.43 billion years ago.

Microbial mats are layered communities of microorganisms — primarily cyanobacteria and other prokaryotes — that formed extensive biological films across the shallow seafloors and tidal flats of the early Earth. Over geological time, these mats were preserved within chert (silica-rich rock), locking in the textures, laminations, and wrinkled surfaces that are the hallmark of ancient biological activity. The structures visible in this specimen are not merely geological curiosities — they are the preserved remains of living organisms from a time when Earth was less than a billion years old.

The Pilbara region of Western Australia is one of only a handful of places on Earth where rocks of this age and quality of preservation are found at the surface, making specimens from Strelley Pool genuinely rare and scientifically important.

• Fossil type: Microbial Mat (Paleoarchean)
• Formation: Strelley Pool Chert
• Age: Approximately 3.43 billion years
• Origin: Strelley Pool, Pilbara, Western Australia
• Weight: 58g