Volyn biota

The Volyn biota are very old, fossilized tiny living things found in rock samples from special holes in igneous rocks collected in Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine. They come from a place called Volyn, which is why they have this name. These fossils are extremely well-preserved and scientists determined they are about 1.5 billion years old.

They were discovered during a time known as the "Boring Billion," a quiet period in Earth's history during the Proterozoic geological eon. Studying these fossils helps scientists learn about life on Earth long, long ago, when very simple organisms were just beginning to appear.

History of the discovery

The Volyn biota were found in rock samples from special types of chambers in igneous rocks collected in Ukraine. Scientists first noticed these formations in 1987 but thought they were not from living things. Later, in 2000, they realized these were fossils of very old tiny plants called cyanobacteria.

Recent studies from 2022 and 2023 looked at newer samples and dated them to 1.5 billion years ago. They found different shapes and sizes of tiny thread-like structures, and even signs of fungi-like organisms living deep underground during Precambrian times. These fossils are very well preserved because they were trapped in special cavities filled with silicon tetrafluoride-rich fluids, which protected them from changes over time.