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Microfossils

  • Living reference work entry
  • First Online:
Encyclopedia of Astrobiology

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Definition

A microfossil is a microscopic morphological remain of an organism. It may represent a whole or part of a microscopic or macroscopic organism. The organism may be a unicellular or multicellular prokaryotic or eukaryotic organism, or a virus.

Overview

Microfossils can have a variety of morphologies and chemical compositions, depending on their original properties and the conditions in which they are preserved. Microfossils can have a carbonaceous composition or a mineral composition. The mineral composition can be primary (produced or precipitated by the organism) or secondary (the original carbonaceous or mineral walls or envelopes being in that case partially or completely replaced by other minerals).

Microfossils are studied by micropaleontologists and provide useful information on the evolution of the biosphere, for biostratigraphy (dating sedimentary rocks), and for paleoecology, through most of geological time.

Possible microfossils have simpler morphologies and smaller...

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References and Further Reading

  • Armstrong HA, Brasier MD (2005) Microfossils, 2nd edn. Blackwell, Oxford

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  • Brasier MD, McLoughin N, Green O, Wacay D (2006) A fresh look at the fossil evidence for early Archaean cellular life. Philos Trans R Soc Lond 361:887–902

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  • Buick R (1990) Microfossil recognition in Archean rocks: an appraisal of spheroids and filaments from a 3,500 M.Y. Old chert-barite unit at North Pole, Western Australia. PALAIOS 5:441–459

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  • Hofmann HJ (2004) Archean microfossils and abiomorphs. Astrobiology 4:135–136

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  • Javaux EJ, Benzerara K (2009) Microfossils. In: Gargaud M, Mustin C, Reisse J, Vandenabeele-Trambouze O (eds) Traces de vie présente ou passée: quels indices signatures ou marqueurs? Comptes rendus Académie des Sciences, Paris; PalEvol 8:605–615

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  • Konhauser KO (2007) Introduction to geomicrobiology. Blackwell, Oxford, p 425

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  • Lipps JH (ed) (1993) Fossil prokaryotes and protists. Blackwell, Boston/Oxford

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  • Sugitani K, Grey K, Allwood A, Nagaoka T, Mimurae K, Minamif M, Marshall CP, Van Kranendonk MJ, Walter MR (2007) Diverse microstructures from Archaean chert from the Mount Goldsworthy-Mount Grant area, Pilbara Craton, Western Australia: microfossils, dubiofossils, or pseudofossils? Precambrian Res 158:228–262

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Geology Department, Palaeobiogeology-Palaeobotany-Palaeopalynology, University of Liège, 17 allée du 6 Août B18, Sart-Tilman, Liège, 4000, Belgium

    Emmanuelle J. Javaux

Authors
  1. Emmanuelle J. Javaux
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Emmanuelle J. Javaux .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Centro de Biología Molecular, Universidad Autónoma de Madrid, Madrid, Spain

    Ricardo Amils

  2. Labo. d'Astrophysique de Bordeaux (LAB), Observatoire Aquitain des Sciences de l'Univers (OASU), Floirac CX, France

    Muriel Gargaud

  3. Centro de Astrobiología (CAB), Inst. Nacional de Técnica Aeroespacial, Torrejón de Ardoz, Madrid, Spain

    José Cernicharo Quintanilla

  4. Geophysical Lab., Carnegie Institution of Washington, Washington, District of Columbia, USA

    Henderson James Cleaves

  5. Astronomy Department, University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, USA

    William M. Irvine

  6. Dépt. Sc. de la Terre et de l’Atmosphère, Université du Québec, Montréal, Montreal, Québec, Canada

    Daniele Pinti

  7. Centre National d'Etudes Spatiale (CNES) DPI/E2U, Paris CX, France

    Michel Viso

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© 2014 Springer-Verlag Berlin Heidelberg

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Javaux, E.J. (2014). Microfossils. In: Amils, R., et al. Encyclopedia of Astrobiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_987-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-27833-4_987-3

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  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-27833-4

  • eBook Packages: Springer Reference Physics and AstronomyReference Module Physical and Materials ScienceReference Module Chemistry, Materials and Physics

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