Statherian Period

What happened during this time?

Geological

• The super-continent Columbia formed during this period.

  • Continents of Ur, Nena, and Atlantica drifted together, they expanded through accretion and formed a huge super continent

Biological

• Diversification of unicellular organisms

• Oldest direct evidence of thylakoid membranes in a cyanobacterium, Navifusa majensis (Demoulin et al. 2023), found in Australia

• Appearance of possible early eukaryote (Grypania spiralis) around 2.1 Ga (Grey and Williams 1990; Han and Runnegar 1992; Kumar 1995) with the youngest occurrence of Grypania is in the Ediacaran Period (900 Ma)

  • The organisms has a coiled, filamentous appearance; possible green, Chlorophyceae algae

• Early eukaryotic acritarchs are found from northern Australia, fossilized in "in marginal marine environments such as tidal flats and back-barrier lagoonal settings" (Reidman et al. 2023)

  • Tappania plana, Satka favosa, Gigantosphaeridium fibratum, Gigantosphaeridium floccosum, Kamolineata elongata (= Valeria elongata), Limbunyasphaera operculata (the oldest known operculate taxon), Siphonoseptum bombycinum (exhibiting large septate filaments), Birrindudutuba brigandinia (platy tubular form), and Filinexum torsivum (spirally-twisted wall constructed of bound fibers)

  • This site shows significant morphological disparity, particularly in vesicle construction. 

  • The high levels of eukaryotic species richness and morphological disparity for this age suggests that the eukaryotic clade has a much deeper history.