| Grypania Temporal range: Paleoproterozoic–Mesoproterozoic |
|
|---|---|
| Grypania spiralis fossil | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Genus: | †Grypania Walter, Oehler & Oehler, 1976[1] |
| Type species | |
| Grypania spiralis Walter, Oehler & Oehler, 1976 |
|
Grypania is an early, tube-shaped fossil from the Proterozoic eon. The organism could have been a giant bacterium or bacterial colony, but because of its size (over one centimeter) and consistent form, is more likely to have been a eukaryotic alga. The oldest probable Grypania fossils date to about 2.1 billion years ago,[2] and the youngest extended into the Mesoproterozoic era. Grypania reproduced asexually .