Living stomatolites at Monkey
Mia, Shark Bay, Aus (www.volnay.demon.co.uk)
With the discovery of modern stromatolites
in Shark Bay, Australia, and the Bahamas much was learned about the mystery
of stromatolites. By using the theory "the present is the key to
the past" researchers derived that ancient stromatolites were very similar
to the living ones. These few places with living marine stromatolites,
or "living fossils" have generally been found to be hypersaline
and many other organisms such as grazers
and seagrasses cannot live there. Generally these areas are broad and shallow, with water depth at a maximum of 20m.
The climates are temperate to semiarid. Stromatolites have been found
in the subtidal, intertidal and supratidal zones.
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