Living Organisms Morphologically Consistent with Gunflint Chert Microfossils (ca. 1.9 Ga) Recovered in South End, Boston, Massachusetts

Abstract: 

Live environmental samples collected from the South End neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts (Worcester Square, on the tidelands and marsh along the Roxbury Canal/Fort Point Channel), between January and June 2025, contain microbial forms displaying striking morphological correspondence to described taxa from the Gunflint Chert of Ontario, Canada (ca. 1878 ± 1.3 Ma).

Forms were identified in live wet-mount preparations that are consistent with Kakabekia, Eosphaera, Huroniospora, and Eoastrion. Mariprofundus ferrooxydans was also identified including in a development stage or morphological form that appears to overlap with Eosphaera. Proposed provisional species names for the Boston organisms are with Kakabekia bostonensis, Eosphaera bostonensis, Huroniospora bostonensis, Eoastrion bostonensis, Mariprofundus bostonensis, and Echinosphaera bostonensis. 

Further investigation is required to understand why these two-billion-year-old organisms are present in the environment around South End, Boston, their taxonomic placement, and to understand further details of their morphology and physiology.

Additional Resources:

• Gjøvik, A. M. (2026). A CERCLA Petition and Clean Water Act Citizen Suit Notice regarding the South Bay, Fort Point Channel, Roxbury Creek, and Dorchester Brook in Boston, Massachusetts. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18634019 (txt)
• Gjøvik, A. M. (2026). Microscopy of novel bacteria colony or self-assembly presenting Metazoa-like formation in South End, Boston (Feb. 5 2025). Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.18658270
• Gjovik, Ashley, The South Bay, ashleygjovik.com/southbay
• Gjøvik, Ashley M. “Identification of a New England Bolide Impact Site: A Geologic Reckoning with the Ground-Zero for the Younger Dryas Impact Event”. The Journal of Decolonized Ecology and Evolution 1, no. 1 (March 21, 2026). https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.19146482.
• “The Journal of Decolonized Ecology and Evolution: Exploring Deep Origins, Emergent Life, and the Foundations of Complex Biological Systems.” OSF, https://osf.io/ur79d/. DOI 10.17605/OSF.IO/UR79D