Interpreting ‘shelly’ fossils preserved as organic films: the case of hyolithids

Autor:	Mónica Martí Mus
Rok vydání:	2014
Předmět:	chemistry.chemical_classification Paleontology Carbonaceous film Taphonomy chemistry Organic matter Organic matrix Ecology Evolution Behavior and Systematics Geology Biomineralization Diagenesis
Zdroj:	Lethaia. 47:397-404
ISSN:	1502-3931 0024-1164
DOI:	10.1111/let.12066
Popis:	Most studies of Burgess Shale-type preservation have focussed on soft-bodied organisms, but ‘shelly’ fossils are also preserved as carbonaceous films. These films are usually interpreted as coherent organic layers – often external sheaths or periostracal layers – that were present in the original mineralized elements. The example of hyolithids shows that the organic films of skeletal parts do not represent original ‘layers’, but a composite resulting from the coalescence, into a single carbonaceous film, of all the preservable organic matter present in the skeletal element. The diagenetic processes that led to Burgess Shale-type preservation, which involve the polymerization of organic matter and the loss of original internal structure and chemical integrity of the original tissues, are entirely compatible with – and could account for – the characteristics observed in the fossil films of hyolithid skeletal elements. These observations have general implications for the interpretation of other organisms preserved as carbonaceous films, such as the diverse and often problematic Cambrian sponges.
Databáze:	OpenAIRE
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