Spectroscopic studies of the fish fossils (Cladocyclus gardneri and Vinctifer comptoni) from the Ipubi Formation of the Cretaceous Period

Biofinder detects biological remains in Green River fish fossils from Eocene epoch at video speed

The “Search for life”, which may be extinct or extant on other planetary bodies is one of the major goals of NASA planetary exploration missions. Finding such evidence of biological residue in a vast planetary landscape is an enormous challenge. We have developed a highly sensitive instrument, the “Compact Color Biofinder”, which can locate minute amounts of biological material in a large area at video speed from a standoff distance. Here we demonstrate the efficacy of the Biofinder to detect fossils that still possess strong bio-fluorescence signals from a collection of samples. Fluorescence images taken by the Biofinder instrument show that all Knightia spp. fish fossils analysed from the Green River formation (Eocene, 56.0–33.9 Mya) still contain considerable amounts of biological residues. The biofluorescence images support the fact that organic matter has been well preserved in the Green River formation, and thus, not diagenetically replaced (replaced by minerals) over such a significant timescale. We further corroborated results from the Biofinder fluorescence imagery through Raman and attenuated total reflection Fourier-transform infrared (ATR-FTIR) spectroscopies, scanning electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (SEM–EDS), and fluorescence lifetime imaging microscopy (FLIM). Our findings confirm once more that biological residues can survive millions of years, and that using biofluorescence imaging effectively detects these trace residues in real time. We anticipate that fluorescence imaging will be critical in future NASA missions to detect organics and the existence of life on other planetary bodies.

Exceptionally preserved 'skin' in an Early Cretaceous fish from Colombia

Studies of soft tissue, cells and original biomolecular constituents preserved in fossil vertebrates have increased greatly in recent years. Here we report preservation of 'skin' with chemical and molecular characterization from a three-dimensionally preserved caudal portion of an aspidorhynchid Cretaceous fish from the equatorial Barremian of Colombia, increasing the number of localities for which exceptional preservation is known. We applied several analytical techniques including SEM-EDS, FTIR and ToF-SIMS to characterize the micromorphology and molecular and elemental composition of this fossil. Here, we show that the fossilized 'skin' exhibits similarities with those from extant fish, including the wrinkles after suffering compression stress and flexibility, as well as architectural and tissue aspects of the two main layers (epidermis and dermis). This similarity extends also to the molecular level, with the demonstrated preservation of potential residues of original proteins not consistent with a bacterial source. Our results show a potential preservation mechanism where scales may have acted as an external barrier and together with an internal phosphate layer resulting from the degradation of the dermis itself creating an encapsulated environment for the integument.

Physicochemical investigation of shrimp fossils from the Romualdo and Ipubi formations (Araripe Basin)

The Ipubi and Romualdo Formations are Cretaceous units of the Araripe Basin (Santana Group). The first and most ancient was deposited in a lake environment, and some fossils were preserved in shales deposited under blackish conditions. The second was deposited in a marine environment, preserving a rich paleontological content in calcareous concretions. Considering that these two environments preserved their fossils under different processes, in this work we investigated the chemical composition of two fossilized specimens, one from each of the studied stratigraphic units, and compared them using vibrational spectroscopy techniques (Raman and IR), X-ray diffraction and large-field energy-dispersive X-ray spectroscopy (EDS) mappings. Calcite was observed as the dominant phase and carbon was observed in the fossils as a byproduct of the decomposition. The preservation of hydroxide calcium phosphate (Ca₁₀(PO₄)₆(OH)₂, hydroxyapatite) was observed in both fossils. In addition, it was observed that there was a smaller amount of pyrite (pyritization) in the Romualdo Formation sample than in the Ipubi one. Large-field EDS measurements showed the major presence of the chemical elements calcium, oxygen, iron, aluminum and fluoride in the Ipubi fossil, indicating a greater influence of inorganic processes in its fossilization. Our results also suggest that the Romualdo Formation fossilization process involved the substitution of the hydroxyl group by fluorine, providing durability to the fossils.