Mesoproterozoic Era

The origin of sex

The Mesoproterozoic Era is the second era in the Proterozoic Eon, occurring after the Paleoproterozoic Era, and before the Neoproterozoic Era.

Geologic Age

  • 1,600–1,000 million years ago

Subdivisions

Eon

What happened during this time?

Geophysical

  • The break-up of the supercontinent Columbia

  • Formation of the supercontinent Rodinia

  • Oxygen levels 0.1% of current levels

Biological

  • Maximum diversity of stromatolites

  • Origin of the green plant lineage

    • The earliest fossils attributed to green algae from the Stenian-Ectasian boundary at 1,200 Ma (Tappan 1980; Knoll 2003).

    • The nature of these early fossils are controversial (Cavalier-Smith, 2006)

Additional Resources