Arthropod entombment in weathering-formed opal: new horizons for recording life in rocks

Autor: Brian T Berger, Aline Donini, Mickal Houadria, Boris Chauviré, Pierre Lhuissier, Gene Kritsky, Benjamin Rondeau
Přispěvatelé: Institut des Sciences de la Terre (ISTerre), Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Institut de recherche pour le développement [IRD] : UR219-Université Savoie Mont Blanc (USMB [Université de Savoie] [Université de Chambéry])-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Gustave Eiffel-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA), Institute of Entomology, Czech Academy of Sciences [Prague] (CAS), Laboratoire de Planétologie et Géodynamique [UMR 6112] (LPG), Université d'Angers (UA)-Université de Nantes - UFR des Sciences et des Techniques (UN UFR ST), Université de Nantes (UN)-Université de Nantes (UN)-Institut national des sciences de l'Univers (INSU - CNRS)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Mount St. Joseph University (MSJ), Science et Ingénierie des Matériaux et Procédés (SIMaP), Institut de Chimie du CNRS (INC)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)-Institut polytechnique de Grenoble - Grenoble Institute of Technology (Grenoble INP ), Université Grenoble Alpes (UGA)
Jazyk: angličtina
Rok vydání: 2020
Předmět:
Zdroj: Scientific Reports, Vol 10, Iss 1, Pp 1-9 (2020)
Scientific Reports
Scientific Reports, Nature Publishing Group, 2020, 10, pp.10575. ⟨10.1038/s41598-020-67412-9⟩
Scientific Reports, 2020, 10, pp.10575. ⟨10.1038/s41598-020-67412-9⟩
ISSN: 2045-2322
Popis: Animal fossils preserved in various geological materials, such as limestone, claystone, or amber, provide detailed information on extinct species that is indispensable for retracing the evolution of terrestrial life. Here, we present the first record of an animal fossil preserved in opal formed by weathering with such high-resolution details that even individual cuticle hairs are observed. The fossil consists of the exoskeleton of a nymphal insect belonging to the order Hemiptera and either the family Tettigarctidae or the Cicadidae. This identification is based on anatomical details such as the tibial and femoral morphology of the forelegs. The exoskeleton of the insect was primarily zeolitized during the alteration of the host rocks and later sealed in opal deposited by silica-rich fluids derived from the continental weathering of the volcanic host rocks. Organic matter is preserved in the form of amorphous carbon. This finding makes opal formed by rocks weathering a new, complementary source of animal fossils, offering new prospects for the search for ancient life in the early history of Earth and possibly other terrestrial planets such as Mars, where weathering-formed opal occurs.
Databáze: OpenAIRE
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