Development of living organisms on the lava-water interface of Palaeoproterozoic Ongeluk lavas of South Africa

An investigation of the Early Proterozoic pillow lavas of South-Africa shows that the lava-water boundary is very interesting from the point of view of bacterial paleontology. In the pillow selvages corresponding to this boundary, forms such as bacteria (including cyanobacteria) developed. Cyanobacterial or bacterial mats formed and probably even such highly organized forms as eukaryotes existed.