Eobacterium
Extinct genus of probable bacteria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Eobacterium is a fossil genus of probable[2] bacteria from the Fig Tree Formation in South Africa.[3][4] It lived during the Paleoarchean era, around 3.277–3.225 Ga, making it one of the oldest known organisms if it is valid.[1][3] The discovery of Eobacterium and other Fig Tree organisms such as Archaeosphaeroides in the 1960s helped prove that life existed over three billion years ago.[4]
| Eobacterium Temporal range: Paleoarchean, ~ | |
|---|---|
Scientific classification  | |
| Domain: | Bacteria |
| Kingdom: | incertae sedis |
| Genus: | †Eobacterium Barghoorn and Schopf, 1966 |
| Species: | †E. isolatum |
| Binomial name | |
| †Eobacterium isolatum Barghoorn and Schopf, 1966 | |
The genus is monospecific, and contains one species, Eobacterium isolatum.[5]
