Here is another botanical fossil from our popular mini-series of botanical fossils (including their very early algal ancestors).  Our "mini series" features small specimens that are either very aesthetic, very interesting, very rare, very well preserved or some combination of those factors!  They are all lightweight, easy to store (a smaller box could hold quite a few), low cost and handpicked by serious botanical fossil collectors.  They are so reasonably priced that you can acquire several at the same time and enjoy combined shipping to save overall costs.  So be sure to check our other auctions for mini series specimen offerings.

This algae is one of the oldest fossil organisms yet discovered that has the beginnings of a skeletal structure.  The evolution of a skeletal structure is hypothesized to be the result a need for defense against the rise of predators (which in the Neoproterozoic would include single cell eukaryotes that preyed upon algae).  This ancient fossil comes from Horsethief Springs (geologically in the Pahrump Group, Horsethief Springs Formation) in the Kingston Range of the Eastern Mojave Desert in San Bernardino County, California.  It was first described in a paper published in the American Journal of Science, vol. 229-A in 1990.  It is described as a multi-cellular, sheet-like fossil with calcareous cell walls that may represent primary or diagenetic mineralization.  Either way, the cell walls were the beginning of armoring to protect against predators.  This very early organism grew in unbranched flat to curved sheets approximately 10 to 25 microns thick and up to 5 mm across.  They grew in asymmetric bodies permeated with a network of canals and interpreted by some researchers to be sponge-like organisms. This algae grew in a Neoproterozoic marine environment approximately 740 - 750 million years ago.  If you are a collector of very early life, this would be a valuable addition to your collection.  This specimen measures approximately 2" x 1.5" and 1/2" thick.  Our photomicrographs show the organization of some of the sheets of fossil algal growth.

We specialize in petrified wood and botanical fossils which are accurately identified as to locality of origin and family, genus or species. We don’t guess and when we don’t know, we say so! Your specimen will come with a label identifying the specimen, the locality where it was collected, the formation and age of the material and any other pertinent information we have gleaned from our literature search. 

Buyer to pay shipping charge of $7.00 for delivery to addresses in the United States. We are happy to ship internationally but international bidders should use the eBay postage rate calculator before bidding to determine postal rates for the postage charges to their country.  Be sure to check out our other auctions. We are happy to combine auction winnings to save you shipping costs.  eBay is now charging and collecting State Sales Tax for many states and yours may be one of them.  eBay then remits the tax directly to your state tax agency.