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Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology pp 171–183Cite as

History of Life from the Hydrocarbon Fossil Record

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Abstract:

Certain lipids and biopolymers retain their original structure through sedimentary diagenesis and catagenesis that they can be assigned to a specific biological origin. These “taxon-specific biomarkers” (TSBs) can serve as chemical fossils that trace the evolution of life. TSBs in Early Precambrian rocks reveal the early evolution of archaea, cyanobacteria, and eukarya and the development of atmospheric free oxygen. Steroidal TSBs document the changing nature of marine phytoplankton from Neoproterozoic organic-walled acritarchs to the predominance of present day diatoms and terpanoid TSRs reveal the evolution of higher land plants. TSBs, used in conjunction with isotopic analysis, can identify the taxa of enigmatic fossils, provide important clues to the causes of mass extinctions, and describe the global changes in biotic diversity and Earth’s conditions as the biosphere recovers. Biomarkers record the evolutionary history of life on Earth and perhaps, other planets.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. ExxonMobil Corporate Strategic Research, Annandale, NJ, USA

    C. C. Walters

  2. U.S. Geological Survey, Menlo Park, CA, USA

    K. E. Peters

  3. Department of Geological & Environmental Sciences, Stanford University, Stanford, CA, USA

    J. M. Moldowan

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  1. C. C. Walters
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  2. K. E. Peters
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  3. J. M. Moldowan
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  1. Environmental Microbiology Laboratory, Helmholtz Centre for Infection Research, Inhoffenstrasse 7, 38124, Braunschweig, Germany

    Kenneth N. Timmis (Professor) (Professor)

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Walters, C.C., Peters, K.E., Moldowan, J.M. (2010). History of Life from the Hydrocarbon Fossil Record. In: Timmis, K.N. (eds) Handbook of Hydrocarbon and Lipid Microbiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-540-77587-4_11

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