陕南新元古代末期微体管状疑难化石

末元古纪以Cloudina为代表的管状动物化石是目前世界上公认最早的具矿化骨骼的生物类群,在世界许多地区都有发现,但它并不是当时唯一的矿化生物类型,更多的动物骨骼化化石证据在寒武纪大爆发之前的沉积物中时有发现。作者在处理陕南末元古纪的化石过程中,发现了大量不同形态的微体管状化石(直径大多小于150μm),包括末端封闭的粗短管体,不分枝管体,末端扩展的骨针状构造及具多种分叉样式的分枝管体。这些化石的亲缘关系仍不清楚,但它们为我们提供了动物演化和矿化初始阶段的化石记录。     

冲绳海槽海底黑烟囱中微生物化石的发现及其意义

采用光学显微镜以及扫描电镜对冲绳海槽海底黑烟囱样品进行研究,发现了大量的微生物化石,它们保留了完好的形态,主要有四种不同类型的丝状体,可能是硫或者铁氧化化能自养细菌和真菌。这些化石微生物的鉴别基于大小、形状、细胞分裂、群落聚集等物理标志。初步研究表明这些微生物不仅依存于海底热液活动,同时在热液成矿过程中起着重要的作用。     

湖北宜昌寒武系水井沱组古杯化石上蓝菌类及其微型钻孔

湖北宜昌下寒武统水井沱组灰岩中富含大量壳体化石,主要包括腕足动物以及少量古杯化石。研究发现部分古杯化石表面保存丰富的微生物个体及其微型钻孔,同时发现有的微型钻孔内原位保存微生物个体,这种保存方式表明微生物体与微型钻孔之间具有直接联系。微生物体呈丝管状,空心,弯曲程度不等,横切面呈圆形,直径约7—10μm,长度可达500μm。钻孔直径15—25μm,横截面为圆形。微钻孔保存在古杯板间室(intersept)内,大多与板间室侧表面平行,少数与板间室侧表面斜交。形态研究表明这些微生物体可能为钻孔蓝菌类Endoconchialata。古杯骨骼上发现的这些微型钻孔及其原位保存的蓝菌类化石的研究对理解前寒武纪-寒武纪界线附近发现的微型钻孔化石的成因和生物属性有重要启示。     

西南印度洋中脊热液羽状流中微生物化石的发现及意义

深海热液微生物因其生存于海底极端环境,能够提供深部生物圈和生物地球化学信息而成为当今海洋科学领域关心的热点问题之一.本文以西南印度洋中脊热液羽状流水体中悬浮颗粒物为研究对象,选取典型的3个CTD采水站位,对离底42-500m的不同水层悬浮体过滤的滤膜进行扫描电镜观察和X射线能谱面扫描分析.结果表明,热液羽状流颗粒物中含有大量的微生物化石,包括丝状、球状、杆状和簇状等4种形态.对不同形态微生物化石能谱分析表明Si、O、Ca、Fe和Zn等元素在微生物化石中都有高值出现,其中丝状体中具有Ti和Mn的高值出现,球状体中Ba具有高值,说明微生物化石化过程中不同类型的微生物体对金属元素的选择性吸收,钙化和铁硅酸盐岩化是微生物化石化的主要机制.微生物化石在羽状流中的分布状况能够提供活动热液喷口的空间信息,为我们寻找喷口提供帮助.     

临夏盆地晚中新世鸵鸟化石的特异保存（英文）

报道了来自西北地区中新世晚期临夏盆地的一件鸵鸟化石,该标本包括鸵鸟的部分颈椎以及气管,由于缺乏物种级别的鉴定特征,被暂定为鸵鸟(Struthiosp.)。新标本还保留了平齿三趾马(Hipparionplatyodus)的部分头骨。利用多种分析测试方法,对该鸵鸟骨骼的微观特征进行了详细研究,以探讨临夏鸵鸟的埋藏条件和古气候背景。在鸵鸟化石的一个脱矿化的骨碎片中发现了软组织(内源性血管和红细胞的化石残留)。同时光学显微镜和扫描电镜成像显示,化石组织切片中存在显著的细菌改变(骨侵蚀现象)。这是中新世临夏盆地脊椎动物遗体中软组织的首次报道。通过相关的地质和沉积学证据与新的古生物数据相结合,认为季风气候可能是造成鸟类化石早期埋葬期间微生物侵蚀的原因,接下来延续了8Ma左右的盆地剧烈的干旱化作用,导致了微生物活动的停止,并进一步导致了成岩作用后期孔隙方解石的沉淀。这项工作显示出跨学科(包括形态学、沉积学、地球化学和软组织分析)研究可以更好地揭示中国西北临夏盆地柳树组的中新世晚期的动物群更替、气候和分子保存。     

四川江油渔洞子剖面下三叠统飞仙关组底部龙介类的古生态意义

三叠系龙介类化石在欧洲早有报道。在我国四川江油渔洞子剖面下三叠统飞仙关组底部牙形刺Hindeodus pavus带微生物岩中首次发现环节动物龙介类化石Spirorbisphlyctaena,与以蓝菌为主的自养型底栖微生物群落共生,是早三叠世生物复苏的先驱者。     

现生微生物群落形态研究及其对解释埃迪卡拉生物群化石属性的启示

通过对常见微生物种类进行纯培养获得多种微生物菌落形态,并将其与埃迪卡拉生物群化石形态进行对比研究,发现：1）盘状化石Aspidella与圆盘形菌落的轮廓和放射状分布的小脊具有相似性;2）“rangeomorphs”分支状化石与具有次级分支结构的菌落具有某些相似性;3）五边形似棘皮动物化石Arkaruaadami与五边形菌落较为相似;4）两侧对称类化石Kimberella与圆盘形边缘具放射状脊的菌落的表面形态非常相似;5）盘状化石Az—bumaresbrunsae与圆盘形表面具辐射状脊的菌落的轮廓和表面纹饰分布极为相似。以上对比结果表明部分埃迪卡拉生物群化石与微生物菌落形态具有一定的相似性。本研究为埃迪卡拉生物群化石生物属性的解译提供了新思路。     

第五届国际刺细胞(包括古杯和绵形螅)化石讨论会将在澳大利亚召开

本文研究的材料系青岛市博物馆采自山东省青岛市附近即墨县城西10km 马山西麓,确切层位不明。由张福臻馆长选取小块送交鉴定。其完整标本现陈列于青岛市博物馆。当前的标本是一过矿化(渗矿化)(permine-ralized)的树干化石,长7m;上下两端的直径分别为65及75cm,略扁;成分硅质;呈灰黄色。磨片后在显微镜下观察,发现化石保存良好,特征明显,系南洋杉型木属(Araucarioxylon)的一新种,可能为白垩纪的产物,特予报道。即墨县城附近素产中生代木材化石,徐仁     

氧气对生物早期降解影响的实验模拟——以小型鱼类肠道微生物降解为例北大核心CSCD

一般研究中,通常将类似澄江动物群或关岭动物群为代表的生物软体印痕化石保存归因为与缺氧环境等有关的特异条件。本文关注到通常与化石降解和埋藏有关的缺氧环境推测并没有表达机理和成立条件;生物体内自身携带大量的微生物可能对生物的降解作用需要得到重视。为证实水体中氧气含量与生物非矿化组织印痕保存间的关系,本文通过设计条件控制(太湖银鱼,30℃,无菌纯净水、无外界微生物)进行有氧和缺氧环境的对比实验。该条件下的模拟对比实验研究证实:1)总体来说生物降解过程在有氧和缺氧环境下具有相似的降解速度;2)两者的降解实验在前期有短暂的差异,而144小时(6天)后有氧和无氧环境具有基本一致的降解速度和程度,其中较多样本6天后在缺氧环境的降解速度略高于有氧环境,短时间(6天)的降解差异是否会造成矿化差异有待研究;3)生物体本身携带的以肠道微生物为主的好氧和兼性厌氧微生物,足以使生物以蛋白质为代表的器官结构产生相似的破坏性降解,在本研究中是主要的降解因素;4)实验中所检出的生物体肠道内普遍存在的兼性厌氧微生物,可能是导致有氧和缺氧环境具有相似降解过程的主要原因;5)生物降解过程早期由于蛋白质的降解,微环境趋向于弱碱性而非一般推测的酸性;6)在实验设定条件下的有氧环境和缺氧环境对化石的形成和保存的早期过程相似,其他理化条件下的降解过程和结论需要进一步实验证实。     

陕南晚震旦世Gaojiashania的保存特征及形态解释

陕西宁强地区灯影组高家山段地层中特异原地埋藏的管状化石Gaojiashania Yang et al.,1986为体似蚕状或带状,直或微弯,由密集圆环（或皱脊）彼此连接在一起形成的管状化石,对化石的埋藏及保存特征的研究表明,不同的矿化阶段形成不同的保存特征,早期黄铁矿化对化石保存起着重要作用。Gaojiashania以其特殊的圆环叠置的保存方式,与软躯体蠕形动物化石以及遗迹化石的保存迥然不同,推测Gaojiashania生物体已具有分节现象,在成分上也有差别,圆环部分可能具有一定的矿化,属于较为高等的生物门类。     

热泉微生物化石的识别研究及其科学意义

现代海底热液喷口以及许多陆地热泉周围生活着密集的生物群落。热液生态系统的初级生产者嗜热细菌和古细菌(Archaea),其初级能量来源是由地球深部上升喷出流体提供的化学能。围绕现代热泉微生物及其与地史时期热泉微生物化石的对比研究表明,它们具有相似结构特征。研究微生物成矿机制和微生物化石化作用,以及沉积物中由生物化学作用产生的生物标志,不仅有助于探讨海底热液活动的规律性和成矿机制,也可以为鉴别古老岩石和地外矿物中生命现象提供更多更详细的鉴定标志,对于理解生命起源和地外生命都有重要的理论意义。     

球形小壳化石在贵州金沙寒武系牛蹄塘组的首次发现

贵州金沙岩孔剖面的寒武系牛蹄塘组为跨阶地层,以镍钼矿层为分界面,其上部属于筇竹寺阶,下部为梅树村阶。近期,作者利用15%左右的醋酸浸泡金沙岩孔剖面牛蹄塘组底部(梅树村阶)的岩样,发现了以球形化石为主的单胞、多胞球形类小壳动物化石,包括Olivooides pearformis和其余两类未确定的球形化石。此次球形化石的发现不仅丰富了牛蹄塘生物群的生物面貌,而且为解译早期后生动物的起源和演化、胚胎生物学提供了化石资料。     

湖北三峡地区埃迪卡拉系灯影组“蝌蚪状”遗迹化石*

遗迹化石是埃迪卡拉纪存在两侧对称动物最有力的证据。但多数埃迪卡拉纪遗迹化石为简单、水平的表面爬迹或潜穴。在湖北三峡地区灯影组石板滩段含典型埃迪卡拉软躯体化石的地层中新发现一类形态特别的化石,呈蝌蚪状,一端膨大,一端细管状。通过对化石形态、同位素分析以及沉积学特征的研究,说明该化石为遗迹化石,而不是实体化石。蝌蚪状化石为一种复合迹,垂向活动形成球状的膨大端,平行藻席层活动形成近于水平的潜穴,反映了造迹生物垂向切穿藻席层并沿藻席层进行觅食的行为。该发现说明了在埃迪卡拉纪晚期已有两侧对称动物开始形成较为复杂的潜穴。     

In situ microbial ecology of hydrothermal vent sediments

Abstract Lipid analysis of a preliminary sampling of the Endeavor Ridge hydrothermal vent site was performed in order to estimate the extent and nature of the diversity of the microbial community. The vent microbial community was found to be highly variable in density and composition. Evidence was found for a dense microbial community of archaebacteria and possibly Thiobacilli in the interior of the flange of a black smoker, a red Beggiatoa -type colony in a sediment sample, and large amounts of polyenoic fatty acids of the type previously found in barophilic eubacteria. Lipid analysis provided a 'snapshot' of the in situ biomass, community structure, and metabolic status of the microbial community, a valuable addition to the techniques available to the microbial ecologist.     

ON THE MIDDLE DEVONIAN SERIES OF WUDING, YUNNAN

TheDevonianfishfossilsandstratigraphyofWudinghavebeenstudiedbymanypalaeontologistssince1942.Prof.H.C.WangforthefirsttimereportedBothriolepisfossilsfromWuding.In1965,ZhangGuoruidescribedWudinolepisweni,DianolepiIliuiandBothriolcpistungscni.Thehorizoflsofthefish-bearingstratawereconsideredasMiddleDevonian.In1973,LiuYuhaiandWangJunqingin"SomeproblemsontheDevonianstratigraphyofeasternYunnan"discussedthedivisionofDevonianSystemofWudingasshowninthetable1.ZhaoXiukun's"TheDevonianSystemof…     

Microbial Iron Mats at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Evidence that Zetaproteobacteria May Be Restricted to Iron-Oxidizing Marine Systems

Chemolithoautotrophic iron-oxidizing bacteria play an essential role in the global iron cycle. Thus far, the majority of marine iron-oxidizing bacteria have been identified as Zetaproteobacteria, a novel class within the phylum Proteobacteria. Marine iron-oxidizing microbial communities have been found associated with volcanically active seamounts, crustal spreading centers, and coastal waters. However, little is known about the presence and diversity of iron-oxidizing communities at hydrothermal systems along the slow crustal spreading center of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. From October to November 2012, samples were collected from rust-colored mats at three well-known hydrothermal vent systems on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge (Rainbow, Trans-Atlantic Geotraverse, and Snake Pit) using the ROV Jason II. The goal of these efforts was to determine if iron-oxidizing Zetaproteobacteria were present at sites proximal to black smoker vent fields. Small, diffuse flow venting areas with high iron(II) concentrations and rust-colored microbial mats were observed at all three sites proximal to black smoker chimneys. A novel, syringe-based precision sampler was used to collect discrete microbial iron mat samples at the three sites. The presence of Zetaproteobacteria was confirmed using a combination of 16S rRNA pyrosequencing and single-cell sorting, while light micros-copy revealed a variety of iron-oxyhydroxide structures, indicating that active iron-oxidizing communities exist along the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Sequencing analysis suggests that these iron mats contain cosmopolitan representatives of Zetaproteobacteria, but also exhibit diversity that may be uncommon at other iron-rich marine sites studied to date. A meta-analysis of publically available data encompassing a variety of aquatic habitats indicates that Zetaproteobacteria are rare if an iron source is not readily available. This work adds to the growing understanding of Zetaproteobacteria ecology and suggests that this organism is likely locally restricted to iron-rich marine environments but may exhibit wide-scale geographic distribution, further underscoring the importance of Zetaproteobacteria in global iron cycling.     

Barite in hydrothermal environments as a recorder of subseafloor processes: a multiple‐isotope study from the Loki's Castle vent field

Barite chimneys are known to form in hydrothermal systems where barium‐enriched fluids generated by leaching of the oceanic basement are discharged and react with seawater sulfate. They also form at cold seeps along continental margins, where marine (or pelagic) barite in the sediments is remobilized because of subseafloor microbial sulfate reduction. We test the possibility of using multiple sulfur isotopes (δ³⁴S, Δ³³S, ?³⁶S) of barite to identify microbial sulfate reduction in a hydrothermal system. In addition to multiple sulfur isotopes, we present oxygen (δ¹⁸O) and strontium (⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr) isotopes for one of numerous barite chimneys in a low‐temperature (~20 °C) venting area of the Loki's Castle black smoker field at the ultraslow‐spreading Arctic Mid‐Ocean Ridge (AMOR). The chemistry of the venting fluids in the barite field identifies a contribution of at least 10% of high‐temperature black smoker fluid, which is corroborated by ⁸⁷Sr/⁸⁶Sr ratios in the barite chimney that are less radiogenic than in seawater. In contrast, oxygen and multiple sulfur isotopes indicate that the fluid from which the barite precipitated contained residual sulfate that was affected by microbial sulfate reduction. A sulfate reduction zone at this site is further supported by the multiple sulfur isotopic composition of framboidal pyrite in the flow channel of the barite chimney and in the hydrothermal sediments in the barite field, as well as by low SO₄ and elevated H₂S concentrations in the venting fluids compared with conservative mixing values. We suggest that the mixing of ascending H₂‐ and CH₄‐rich high‐temperature fluids with percolating seawater fuels microbial sulfate reduction, which is subsequently recorded by barite formed at the seafloor in areas where the flow rate is sufficient. Thus, low‐temperature precipitates in hydrothermal systems are promising sites to explore the interactions between the geosphere and biosphere in order to evaluate the microbial impact on these systems.     

Eukaryotic Algae Associated with Mid-Proterozoic Black Chert in Northern China

During the past two decades, Precambrian research, especially in the respect of the occurfence of microbial fossils in silicified rocks has been achieved. It is still in argument, however, at what time the origin of the eukaryote, one of the major events in biological evolution appeared according to the different criteria of the low, er eukaryotic organism fossils identified. The difference between prokaryotic and eukaryotic algal fossils in the cell size of structure and morphological colony and the model of their reproduction in biologic evolution is interpreted based on the knowledge about living lower organisms in this paper. Eight genera and eight species of eukaryotic algal fossils, including three genera and three species (Proto- cosmarium panduratum, Closteriopsis taihangensis and Phyllophycoma sinensis) newly descover ed in black stromatolitic chert from Gaoyuzhuang Formation, Lingqiu, Shanxi Province, China, which is about 1,400–1,600 My in age are described and named. All of these are characterized by the big cell size and complex structure of colony in which the cells have been divided into different function in physiology, and some of them produce endospore and autospore which are comparable with their mother cell or colony in morphology. According to the morphological characters of complex and diverse microfossils, it is assumed that the evolution of eukaryotic organisms had been achieved and even evolved up to a higher level at least before 1,600 million years.