''Kulparia'' is a genus of fossil

stromatolite Stromatolites ( ) or stromatoliths () are layered Sedimentary rock, sedimentary formation of rocks, formations (microbialite) that are created mainly by Photosynthesis, photosynthetic microorganisms such as cyanobacteria, sulfate-reducing micr ...

-forming

cyanobacteria Cyanobacteria ( ) are a group of autotrophic gram-negative bacteria that can obtain biological energy via oxygenic photosynthesis. The name "cyanobacteria" () refers to their bluish green (cyan) color, which forms the basis of cyanobacteri ...

from the late

Neoproterozoic The Neoproterozoic Era is the last of the three geologic eras of the Proterozoic geologic eon, eon, spanning from 1 billion to 538.8 million years ago, and is the last era of the Precambrian "supereon". It is preceded by the Mesoproterozoic era an ...

era. It is named after the town of Kulpara in

South Australia South Australia (commonly abbreviated as SA) is a States and territories of Australia, state in the southern central part of Australia. With a total land area of , it is the fourth-largest of Australia's states and territories by area, which in ...

, where the

type specimen In biology, a type is a particular wikt:en:specimen, specimen (or in some cases a group of specimens) of an organism to which the scientific name of that organism is formally associated. In other words, a type is an example that serves to ancho ...

was found nearby.

Description

''Kulparia'' is a genus of cyanobacteria known from fossil

s characterised by long, bumpy, almost straight columns arranged radially or parallel. Branching between columns is α- or β- parallel. Bridging and coalescing are very frequent, a wall between bridges is almost always present. Projections are moderately frequent to rare. The stromatolites of ''Kulparia'' appear similar to '' Minjaria'' and '' Boxonia'' in gross form but is distinguished by its bumpy column margins and frequent bridging and coalescing.

Taxonomy

''K. kulparensis'' was initially assigned to the genus '' Patomia'' as ''Patomia sp. nov'' (Glaessner, Preiss, & Walter 1969) but was later assigned to its own genus where it became the

type species In International_Code_of_Zoological_Nomenclature, zoological nomenclature, a type species (''species typica'') is the species name with which the name of a genus or subgenus is considered to be permanently taxonomically associated, i.e., the spe ...

. Two species are recognised, ''K. kulparensis,'' and ''K. alicia.''

Distribution

Fossils of ''K. kulparensis'' have been found in the Umbertana Group in the northern

Yorke Peninsula The Yorke Peninsula, known as Guuranda by the original inhabitants, the Narungga people, is a peninsula located northwest and west of Adelaide in South Australia, between Spencer Gulf on the west and Gulf St Vincent on the east. The peninsula ...

in South Australia, south of Kulpara. ''K. alicia'' fossils have been found in the

Loves Creek Member Love's Travel Stops, doing business as Love's (or stylized as Loves), is an American family-owned and -operated chain of more than 650 truck stops in 42 states in the United States. The company is privately owned and headquartered in Oklahoma ...

of the Bitter Springs Formation in the Amaedus Basin of

Western Australia Western Australia (WA) is the westernmost state of Australia. It is bounded by the Indian Ocean to the north and west, the Southern Ocean to the south, the Northern Territory to the north-east, and South Australia to the south-east. Western Aust ...

, west-south-west of

Jay Creek Aboriginal Settlement Jays are a paraphyletic grouping of passerine birds within the family Corvidae. Although the term "jay" carries no taxonomic weight, most or all of the birds referred to as jays share a few similarities: they are small to medium-sized, usually ...

References

{{Taxonbar, from=Q126366444 Proterozoic life Prehistoric bacteria Cyanobacteria genera Fossil taxa described in 1972

Description

Taxonomy

Distribution

See also

References