In Images: The Oldest Fossils on Earth

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Shark Bay, Australia

Stromatolites, like those found in the World Heritage Area of Shark Bay, Western Australia, may contain cyanobacteria, which were most likely Earth's first photosynthetic organisms.

(Image credit: Rob Bayer/Shutterstock)

Pilbara region

Pilbara

(Image credit: NASA Earth Observatory)

Scientists have found 3.43-billion-year-old fossil stromatlites in the Pilbara region of Australia. Here, a landsat image of the region.

Stromatolite layers

Pilbara stromatolite

(Image credit: Paulo Afonso/Shutterstock.com)

Here, layers from one of the Pilbara stromatolites.

Tia Ghose
Tia Ghose
Editor-in-Chief (Premium)

Tia is the editor-in-chief (premium) and was formerly managing editor and senior writer for Live Science. Her work has appeared in Scientific American, Wired.com, Science News and other outlets. She holds a master's degree in bioengineering from the University of Washington, a graduate certificate in science writing from UC Santa Cruz and a bachelor's degree in mechanical engineering from the University of Texas at Austin. Tia was part of a team at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that published the Empty Cradles series on preterm births, which won multiple awards, including the 2012 Casey Medal for Meritorious Journalism.