Fossilization

Understanding the Material Nature of Ancient Plants and Animals

Carole T. Gee, Victoria E. McCoy, P. Martin Sander

• Publisher: Johns Hopkins University Press
• Year: 2021
• eBook ISBN: 9781421440224
• Edition: 0
• Topic: Physical Sciences
• Subtopic: Geology & Earth Sciences

An in-depth look at the latest breakthroughs in our understanding of the material record that deep time leaves behind.

Understanding the complex interplay of physical and chemical processes leading to fossilization is crucial to elucidating the 3800 million years of life on earth. And yet, the process of fossilization also leads to the loss of pivotal biological information, placing constraints on the very same understanding of ancient life it preserves. Over the last decade, however, remarkable advances in approaches, techniques, tools, and instrumentation have helped scientists to transcend these constraints by enabling high-resolution analysis of fossil material—even down to the nanoscale.

Fossilization provides a critical look at these cutting-edge innovations in the science of fossil preservation and provides a road map for future research. Drawing from the fields of paleontology, organic and inorganic chemistry, microbiology, and high-resolution imaging and analysis, and spanning the diversity of life from plants to vertebrates and invertebrates, this resource details expert findings on

• fossilization of hard and soft part tissues in dinosaurs
• high-resolution chemical analysis of organic and inorganic tissues
• arthropods preserved in amber
• experimental silicification of wood
• chemical defenses and color in fossil plants
• confocal Raman spectroscopy
• microprobe analysis
• radioisotopic studies
• and much more

A true interdisciplinary undertaking, the book is authored by paleontologists, mineralogists, geochemists, organic chemists, microbiologists, and materials scientists who have worked together to investigate questions around substance fossilization and the limits of the fossil record. A special color section contains SEM, Raman, and other striking images of vertebrates, invertebrates, and plants. Fossilization is a trailblazing reference book for research scientists and specialists in related fields, as well as for advanced undergraduates and graduate students interested in fossilization, emerging research techniques, and fresh approaches in the analysis of plant and animal fossils.

Contributors: H. Jonas Barthel, Aurore Canoville, Carole T. Gee, Thorsten Geisler, Jens Götze, Conrad C. Labandeira, Sashima Läbe, Moritz Liesegang, Victoria E. McCoy, Martina Menneken, Jes Rust, P. Martin Sander, Frank Tomaschek, Torsten Wappler, Kayleigh Wiersma, Tzu-Ruei Yang

Table of contents

• Cover Page
• Title Page
• Copyright Page
• Contents
• Preface
• 1. Introduction to the Limits of the Fossil Record
• 2. Organic Phase Preservation in Fossil Dinosaur and Other Tetrapod Bone from Deep Time: Extending the Probable Osteocyte Record to the Early Permian
• 3. Fossilization of Reproduction-Related Hard and Soft Tissues and Structures in Non-Avian Dinosaurs and Birds
• 4. Raman Spectroscopy in Fossilization Research: Basic Principles, Applications in Paleontology, and a Case Study on an Acanthodian Fish Spine
• 5. From Ultrastructure to Biomolecular Composition: Taphonomic Patterns of Tissue Preservation in Arthropod Inclusions in Amber
• 6. Experimental Silicification of Wood in the Lab and Field: Pivotal Studies and Open Questions
• 7. The Structure and Chemistry of Silica in Mineralized Wood: Techniques and Analysis
• 8. Exceptional Fossilization of Ecological Interactions: Plant Defenses during the Four Major Expansions of Arthropod Herbivory in the Fossil Record
• 9. Color in Living and Fossil Plants: The Search for Biological Pigments in the Paleobotanical Record
• 10. The Future of Fossilization
• Contributors
• Index