Prot·er·o·zo·ic

(prŏt′ər-ə-zō′ĭk, prō′tər-)

adj.

Of, relating to, or being the most recent of the two divisions of Precambrian time, from about 2.5 billion to 542 million years ago, marked by the formation of stable continents, the buildup of oxygen, and the appearance of the first multicellular eukaryotic life forms. See Table at geologic time.

The Proterozoic Eon.

[Greek proteros, earlier, former; see per in Indo-European roots + -zoic.]

American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fifth Edition. Copyright © 2016 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

Proterozoic

(ˌprəʊtərəʊˈzəʊɪk)

(Geological Science) the later of two divisions of the Precambrian era, during which the earliest plants and animals are assumed to have lived. Compare Archaeozoic

adj

(Geological Science) of or formed in the late Precambrian era

Collins English Dictionary – Complete and Unabridged, 12th Edition 2014 © HarperCollins Publishers 1991, 1994, 1998, 2000, 2003, 2006, 2007, 2009, 2011, 2014

Prot•er•o•zo•ic

(ˌprɒt ər əˈzoʊ ɪk, ˌproʊ tər-)
adj.

1. noting or pertaining to the latter half of the Precambrian Era, from about 2.5 billion to 570 million years ago, when bacteria and marine algae were the principal forms of life.

2. the Proterozoic division of geologic time or the rock systems formed then.

[1905–10; < Greek prótero(s) earlier, prior + -zoic]

Prot·er·o·zo·ic

(prŏt′ər-ə-zō′ĭk)

The later of the two divisions of the Precambrian Eon, from about 2.5 billion to 540 million years ago. The Proterozoic was characterized by the buildup of oxygen in the atmosphere and the appearance of the first multicellular eukaryotes. See Chart at geologic time.

The American Heritage® Student Science Dictionary, Second Edition. Copyright © 2014 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. All rights reserved.

ThesaurusAntonymsRelated WordsSynonymsLegend:

Noun	1.	Proterozoic - from 2,500 to 544 million years ago; bacteria and fungi; primitive multicellular organisms Proterozoic aeon, Proterozoic eon Precambrian, Precambrian aeon, Precambrian eon, Precambrian period - the eon following the Hadean time and preceding the Phanerozoic eon; from about 3,800 million years ago until 544 million years ago
Adj.	1.	proterozoic - formed in the later of two divisions of the Precambrian era; "proterozoic life forms" geology - a science that deals with the history of the earth as recorded in rocks early - at or near the beginning of a period of time or course of events or before the usual or expected time; "early morning"; "an early warning"; "early diagnosis"; "an early death"; "took early retirement"; "an early spring"; "early varieties of peas and tomatoes mature before most standard varieties"

Translations

Proterozoikum

Protérozoïque

algonkijproterozoik

proterozoik

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References in periodicals archive

The Tocantins Gold Project, which is located near the town of Conceicao de Tocantins in Central Brazil, comprises a two exploration licenses totalling 14,329 hectares, covering Lower Proterozoic age greenstone lithologies that have been mined for gold sporadically since colonial times.

Lara Exchanges Tocantins Gold Property Interest for 2% NSR Royalty

The discovery could explain why, for two billion years during the Proterozoic Eon, life was prevented from colonising land.

Enzyme explains all on early [...]; UK & WORLD

The property hosts the Sunday Lake Intrusion, which is part of the Proterozoic Mid-Continental Rift magmatic event that produced the Eagle nickel deposit in Michigan (Lundin Mining) and the Tamarack (Rio Tinto Talon Resources) and Duluth Complex (Antofagasta PLC) magmatic sulphide deposits in Minnesota.

North American Palladium Acquires a 51% Interest in the Sunday Lake PGM Project

The ASP is located in the Proterozoic Mauritanide Belt in west Mauritania, approximately 230km northeast of Nouakchott (the capital) and 60km southeast of First Quantum's Guelb Moghrein copper-gold mine.

OreCorp Limited - Grant of Mauritanian Licence

The property hosts the Sunday Lake Intrusion, which is part of the Proterozoic Mid-Continental Rift magmatic event that produced the Eagle nickel deposit in Michigan and the Tamarack and Duluth Complex magmatic sulphide deposits in Minnesota.

North American Palladium acquires 51% interest in Sunday Lake PGM project

Hoffman recounts his career mapping Proterozoic terranes across North America and Africa.

Annual Review of Earth and Planetary Sciences; Volume 47, 2019

King River chairman Anthony Barton said high-grade gold mineralisation at Mt Remarkable was hosted by the Whitewater rock unit, a Proterozoic stratigraphy that is older than the Speewah project rocks to the north.

King River Resources Ltd granted six exploration licences near high-grade gold discovery at Mt Remarkable in WA

The microscopic fossils, contained in shale rock from the Northwest Territories of Canada, dated to the Proterozoic era before the advent of complex life forms.

Old mold: Fossil of world's earliest fungus unearthed in Canada

To find out, Catling's graduate student Joshua Krissansen-Totton led a study that examined the Earth's atmosphere in three stages of its existence: The Archean (4 billion to 2.5 billion years ago), the Proterozoic (2.5 billion to 541 million years ago) and the Phanerozoic (541 million years ago to the present).

The search for life on other planets could get a boost from biosignatures

The chapters contain information on the types of animals or species found during that particular time, for example in the Proterozoic to Cambrian era (about 2.5 billion-485 million years ago) soft-bodied organisms could be found in small bodies of water.

Parker, Steve and West, David: Life on Earth (A Brief Illustrated History)