Microbial mats on an Archean coast
Tufted mats grow on tidal flats, and some microbes shelter inside cavities in the sand.
- When
- Known to
- ± 10 million years
- Era
- Paleoarchean, Archean
The Moodies tidal deposits preserve microbial mats across several coastal settings, with shapes adapted to their exposure — tufted in some places, flat in others. Some communities lived inside cavities within the sediment, the earliest known example of that habit. Together they show a structured coastal ecosystem, not isolated colonies.