Advanced search
Start date
Betweenand
Related content
(Reference retrieved automatically from Web of Science through information on FAPESP grant and its corresponding number as mentioned in the publication by the authors.)

Deciphering the preservation of fossil insects: a case study from the Crato Member, Early Cretaceous of Brazil

Full text
Author(s):
Show less -
Oses, Gabriel Ladeira ; Petri, Setembrino ; Becker-Kerber, Bruno ; Romero, Guilherme Raffaeli ; Rizzutto, Marcia de Almeida ; Rodrigues, Fabio ; Galante, Douglas ; da Silva, Tiago Fiorini ; Curado, Jessica F. ; Rangel, Elidiane Cipriano ; Ribeiro, Rafael Parra ; Alves Forancelli Pacheco, Mirian Liza
Total Authors: 12
Document type: Journal article
Source: PeerJ; v. 4, DEC 21 2016.
Web of Science Citations: 5
Abstract

Exceptionally well-preserved three-dimensional insects with fine details and even labile tissues are ubiquitous in the Crato Member Konservat Lagerstatte (northeastern Brazil). Here we investigate the preservational pathways which yielded such specimens. We employed high resolution techniques (EDXRF, SR-SXS, SEM, EDS, micro Raman, and PIXE) to understand their fossilisation on mineralogical and geochemical grounds. Pseudomorphs of framboidal pyrite, the dominant fossil microfabric, display size variation when comparing cuticle with inner areas or soft tissues, which we interpret as the result of the balance between ion diffusion rates and nucleation rates of pyrite through the originally decaying carcasses. Furthermore, the mineral fabrics are associated with structures that can be the remains of extracellular polymeric substances (EPS). Geochemical data also point to a concentration of Fe, Zn, and Cu in the fossils in comparison to the embedding rock. Therefore, we consider that biofilms of sulphate reducing bacteria (SRB) had a central role in insect decay and mineralisation. Therefore, we shed light on exceptional preservation of fossils by pyritisation in a Cretaceous limestone lacustrine palaeoenvironment. (AU)

FAPESP's process: 12/18936-0 - Applications of Raman Spectroscopy in paleobiology and astrobiology
Grantee:Setembrino Petri
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
FAPESP's process: 12/00202-0 - Scientific research in the São Paulo museums
Grantee:Márcia de Almeida Rizzutto
Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants