Pyritized preservation of chancelloriids from the Cambrian Stage 3 of South China and implications for biomineralization |
| |
| Institution: | 1. State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics and Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi’an 710069, China;2. Department of Palaeobiology, Swedish Museum of Natural History, Box 50007, SE-104 05 Stockholm, Sweden;3. Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;1. A.A. Borissiak Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Profsoyuznaya str., 123, Moscow 117647, Russia;2. Zoological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Universitetskaya emb., 1, St. Petersburg 199034, Russia;3. National Research Centre ‘Kurchatov Institute’, Kurchatov Square, 1, Moscow 123182, Russia;1. Institut für Geowissenschaften, Friedrich-Schiller-Universität Jena, Burgweg 11, 07749 Jena, Germany;2. Geology Department and Albany Museum, Rhodes University, Makhanda/Grahamstown 6140, South Africa;1. State Key Laboratory of Palaeobiology and Stratigraphy, Nanjing Institute of Geology and Palaeontology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Nanjing 210008, China;2. Resources and Environmental Engineering College, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550025, China;3. College of Earth Sciences, University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, No. 19 Yuquan Road, Beijing 100049, China;4. Department of Paleobiology, National Museum of Natural History, P.O. Box 37012, MRC-121, Washington, DC 20013-7012, USA;1. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China;2. State Key Laboratory of Geological Processes and Mineral Resources, China University of Geosciences, Wuhan 430074, China;3. Department of Geology, University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH 45221-0013, USA;4. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, New Haven, CT 06520, USA;5. College of Resource and Environment, Guizhou University, Guiyang 550003, China;6. Early Life Institute and State Key Laboratory for Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xi''an 710069, China;1. Shaanxi Key Laboratory of Early Life and Environments and State Key Laboratory of Continental Dynamics, Department of Geology, Northwest University, Xian 710069, China;2. Shaanxi Coal Geology Investigation Research Institute Co., Ltd., Xian 710021, China |
| |
| Abstract: | The enigmatic Cambrian animal chancelloriids were discovered in a wide range of taphonomic settings; however, preservation of biomineralized sclerite microstructure was solely known from secondarily phosphatized skeletal remains. Here, we investigate a uniquely pyritized chancelloriid from the lower Cambrian Guojiaba Formation in southern Shaanxi Province, China, using a combination of advanced analytic techniques. Results of the energy dispersive spectroscopy (EDS), X-Ray Fluorescence (XRF), and Raman spectrum show that the sclerites and scleritomes are preserved as pyritized internal moulds with a calcitic outer layer. The outer layer enveloping the internal moulds likely represents the recrystallized counterpart of the original biomineralized sclerite wall. Distinctive fibrous microstructures are discovered in the sclerites, which echo the features seen in the phosphatized fossils of chancelloriids. The typical microstructure, along with the recrystallized calcite, corroborate the interpretation that chancelloriid sclerites were originally constructed by fibrous aragonite. The stability of the microstructure and mineral composition in both carbonate and siliciclastic backgrounds indicate that chancelloriids were adapted to exploit aragonitic fibres to build their skeletons regardless of the change of their living environments. |
| |
| Keywords: | Chancelloriida Scleritome Fossilization Fibrous aragonite Guojiaba Formation |
| 本文献已被 ScienceDirect 等数据库收录！ |
|
