Life in lakes and rivers
Freshwater eukaryotes live on land surfaces in Scotland 1.2 billion years ago.
- When
- Known to
- ± 50 million years
- Era
- Mesoproterozoic, Proterozoic
The Torridonian sequence of north-west Scotland preserves non-marine sediments with abundant microfossils, including eukaryotes, deposited in lakes and river systems. It is among the earliest strong evidence for complex life away from the sea, and for microbial soil crusts stabilising land surfaces. Continents were not the sterile deserts they are often pictured as by this stage.