A chunk of 3.5 billion-year-old slime mold has gone to the Utah Museum of Natural History.
Scientists estimate the Earth was formed about 4.6 billion years ago, and layers of algae and sediment called stromatolites formed soon after that.A chunk of one of the oldest stromatolite specimens ever found, dated at 3.5 billion years old, was presented Thursday to the Utah Museum of Natural History for permanent residence in the museum's remodeled geology exhibit.
The man who found the specimen in Australia, Malcolm Walker, addressed the audience.
"This is a one-of-a-kind specimen for us," said Frank DeCourten, the museum's assistant director.
Utah geologist Richard Barnes arranged the museum's acquisition of the specimen, approximately one foot in diameter, with Walker.
Walker is credited with finding the world's oldest discovered stromatolite specimens, also approximately 3.5 billion years old. They are on display at the Smithsonian Museum of Natural History.