Thrombolites

Posted on 11 Sep, 2009 8 comments

“What are those?”, you may well ask yourself. So did I, when my daughter send me the pictures she took of this amazing organism, which are in fact life rocks. They are known as one of the earliest forms of life on earth.
She went to see them at Lake Clifton, only 2 mins drive from her home.
Read all about them and that they are protected since the wetland convention of 1971 in Iran, which was signed by an intergovernmental treaty to preserve these amazing living rocks. Here is a website about them.
http://www.westaustralianvista.com/thrombolites.html
My daughter went to visit the Lake two weeks ago with her friend and took these pictures from the boardwalk, looking down into the water.

Comments

Amy

Wow , they really do look like rocks . it's always been a mystery to me as to how plants can look like and imitate other things .. ie . Bee orchids etc .. how can they copy if they cant see ?

11 Sep, 2009

Fluff

Just googled them Marguerita...& got blinded by science...well it is Friday night & I've found the vodka bottle...but very interesting none-the-less. Fab pics...especially the first one...could just take an amble along there myself...

11 Sep, 2009

Marguerite

Oh Fluff, you made me laugh. Especially through the Vodka bottle it would all look very obscure and mysterious, lol. Amy I think there are a lot of copycats in nature, just look at life under the sea and compare it with a forest. Only the fish we don't find on land....
In a flower you find patterns you see in sponges or even a moonscape. These thrombolites are living creatures, not plants or rocks and they can see ( I guess ). It's just nice to know they've been there for eons, bringing us closer to the origin of life on earth.

14 Sep, 2009

Bobg

How fascinating is that, I thoroughly enjoy anything like this I am just going to the website now, thankyou.

16 Sep, 2009

Bobg

I have just been to the website, it is extremly fascinating that these things could have given us our atmosphere billions of years ago. Perhaps we should try to encourage their growth and it may repair the ozone layer.

17 Sep, 2009

Marguerite

Hi Bobg, this is just what I was thinking too the other day, but if it was so easy, it probably would have been tried already. perhaps there's more to it, but it would be an excellent idea.

17 Sep, 2009

Bobg

Yeah I suppose you are right Marguerite, it takes a woman to look at it logically :o))) Not a bad idea tho' ;o)

17 Sep, 2009