(IMAGE)

University College London

Caption

Centimeter-size pectinate-branching and parallel-aligned filaments composed of red hematite, some with twists, tubes and different kinds of hematite spheroids. These are the oldest microfossils on Earth, which lived on the sea-floor near hydrothermal vents, and they metabolized iron, sulfur and carbon dioxide. Nuvvuagittuq Supracrustal Belt, Québec, Canada.

Credit

Dominic Papineau

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