Molecular taphonomy of graptolites

Journal of the Geological Society - Tập 163 Số 6 - Trang 897-900 - 2006
Neal S. Gupta1, Derek E. G. Briggs1, Richard D. Pancost2
11Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, PO Box 208109, New Haven, CT 06520-8109, USA (e-mail: [email protected])
22The School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol BS8 1TS, UK

Tóm tắt

Graptolites are important fossils in Early Palaeozoic assemblages. Preserved graptolite periderm consists dominantly of an aliphatic polymer, immune to base hydrolysis. It contains no protein even though its structure, and chemical analyses of the periderm of the living relative Rhabdopleura , indicate that it was originally collagen. This anomaly was previously interpreted as the result of replacement by macromolecular material from the surrounding sediment. New analyses suggest that the aliphatic composition of graptolite periderm reflects direct incorporation of lipids from the organism itself by in situ polymerization. A similar process may account for the preservation of most organic fossils.

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