Ancient fossils reveal how minerals form in extreme conditions
Scientists studying 500-million-year-old marine organisms from Greenland and Siberia have discovered unusual crystal formations that challenge conventional understanding of how minerals develop inside organic structures. The finding could inform industrial processes for creating specialized materials and understanding how conditions preserved these ancient fossils.
Originaltitel: Unusual diagenesis of Cambrian chancelloriids from Greenland and Siberia
<p>Phosphatized sclerites of <em>Chancelloria</em> and <em>Allonnia</em> are described from the Henson Gletscher Formation (Cambrian, Miaolingian Series, Wuliuan Stage) of North Greenland and the lower Cambrian of Siberia. They preserve diagenetic, unusually large, elongate crystals within the internal cavity (lumen) that maintain the imbricate lamellar structure of the original microstructure of the aragonitic sclerite wall.</p>