Cryptozoon occidentale By Matt Young January 30, 2023 12:00 MST Photograph by James Kocher. Photography Contest, Honorable Mention. Cryptozoon occidentale – stromatolite colony, Snowslip Formation/Missoula Group from Essex, Montana. Specimen is a vertical section cut on lapidary saw (i.e., perpendicular to bedding). Age = ~1.0 Ga; neoproterozoic. Width of picture is ~6 cm. See also here.