Australia: The Land Where Time Began
A brownish-black patina often found on rocks from arid and semi-arid regions. It is a coating of ferromanganese oxide. In and on the surface of the varnish dematiaceous fungi and bacteria have been found in samples from the Sonoran Desert in the US. The varnish has been found to respire, but not photosynthesise.
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Fungi and bacteria involved in desert varnish formation
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