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Schweitzer MH, Zheng W, Dickinson E, Scannella J, Hartstone-Rose A, Sjövall P, Lindgren J. Taphonomic variation in vascular remains from Mesozoic non-avian dinosaurs. Sci Rep 2025; 15:4359. [PMID: 39910217 PMCID: PMC11799182 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-025-85497-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/14/2024] [Accepted: 01/03/2025] [Indexed: 02/07/2025] Open
Abstract
The identity and source of flexible, semi-transparent, vascular-like components recovered from non-avian dinosaur bone are debated, because: (1) such preservation is not predicted by degradation models; (2) taphonomic mechanisms for this type of preservation are not well defined; and (3) although support for molecular endogeneity has been demonstrated in select specimens, comparable data are lacking on a broader scale. Here, we use a suite of micromorphological and molecular techniques to examine vessel-like material recovered from the skeletal remains of six non-avian dinosaurs, representing different taxa, depositional environments and geological ages, and we compare the data obtained from our analyses against vessels liberated from extant ostrich bone. The results of this in-depth, multi-faceted study present strong support for endogeneity of the fossil-derived vessels, although we also detect evidence of invasive microorganisms.
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Affiliation(s)
- M H Schweitzer
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA.
- North Carolina Museum of Natural Sciences, Raleigh, NC, USA.
- Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA.
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden.
| | - W Zheng
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - E Dickinson
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
- Department of Anatomy, New York Institute of Technology College of Osteopathic Medicine, Old Westbury, NY, USA
- Department of Anthropology and Archaeology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - J Scannella
- Museum of the Rockies, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
- Department of Earth Sciences, Montana State University, Bozeman, MT, USA
| | - A Hartstone-Rose
- Department of Biological Sciences, North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA
| | - P Sjövall
- Materials and Production, RISE Research Institutes of Sweden, Borås, Sweden
| | - J Lindgren
- Department of Geology, Lund University, Lund, Sweden
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Wu Q, Weppe R, Lezin C, Pan Y, Bailleul AM. Report of bioerosions and cells in Cainotheriidae (Mammalia, Artiodactyla) from the phosphorites of Quercy (SW France). Sci Rep 2024; 14:23708. [PMID: 39390074 PMCID: PMC11467181 DOI: 10.1038/s41598-024-74301-y] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 03/25/2024] [Accepted: 09/25/2024] [Indexed: 10/12/2024] Open
Abstract
The phosphorites of the Quercy from SouthWest France are well known for fossils preserved in 3D with phosphatized soft-tissues. Given that phosphatization is known to favor fine cellular preservation, the present study delves into the histological analysis of white and brown bones of Cainotheriidae (Artiodactyla) recently excavated from the DAM1 site near Caylus. Microscopy revealed that the white bones were completely filled with bacterial erosions, while the brown bones showed a pristine histology and intralacunar content resembling fossilized osteocytes in some areas. After decalcification, a brown bone revealed an abundance of blood vessel-like structures, innumerable osteocyte-like structures with canaliculi and a few chondrocyte-like structures, while a white bone revealed only blood vessel-like structures that looked eaten away. All the data combined suggest the brown bones were shielded from bacterial attacks and were filled with fossilized organic matter and original biological structures. The data taken all together do not support that these structures are casts, but indeed original and endogenous cells. This study encourages further histochemical and mineralogical analyses on Quercy fossils and the unique taphonomy of DAM1 to better understand fossilization processes and their impact on the color of bones, the chemistry of skeletal tissues, soft tissues, and cells.
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Affiliation(s)
- Qian Wu
- University of Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
| | - Romain Weppe
- Institut des Sciences de l'Évolution de Montpellier, Univ Montpellier, CNRS, IRD, Montpellier, France
| | - Carine Lezin
- Observatoire Midi Pyrénées, Géosciences Environnement Toulouse (GET), UMR 5563, CNRS-CNES-IRD-Université Toulouse III, 14 Avenue E. Belin, 31400, Toulouse, France
| | - Yanhong Pan
- State Key Laboratory for Mineral Deposits Research, School of Earth Sciences and Engineering, Centre for Research and Education on Biological Evolution and Environment and Frontiers Science Center for Critical Earth Material Cycling, Nanjing University, Nanjing, 210093, China
| | - Alida M Bailleul
- Key Laboratory of Vertebrate Evolution and Human Origins, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Beijing, China.
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Soft Tissue and Biomolecular Preservation in Vertebrate Fossils from Glauconitic, Shallow Marine Sediments of the Hornerstown Formation, Edelman Fossil Park, New Jersey. BIOLOGY 2022; 11:biology11081161. [PMID: 36009787 PMCID: PMC9405258 DOI: 10.3390/biology11081161] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 06/18/2022] [Revised: 07/18/2022] [Accepted: 07/22/2022] [Indexed: 11/17/2022]
Abstract
Endogenous biomolecules and soft tissues are known to persist in the fossil record. To date, these discoveries derive from a limited number of preservational environments, (e.g., fluvial channels and floodplains), and fossils from less common depositional environments have been largely unexplored. We conducted paleomolecular analyses of shallow marine vertebrate fossils from the Cretaceous–Paleogene Hornerstown Formation, an 80–90% glauconitic greensand from Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park in Mantua Township, NJ. Twelve samples were demineralized and found to yield products morphologically consistent with vertebrate osteocytes, blood vessels, and bone matrix. Specimens from these deposits that are dark in color exhibit excellent histological preservation and yielded a greater recovery of cells and soft tissues, whereas lighter-colored specimens exhibit poor histology and few to no cells/soft tissues. Additionally, a well-preserved femur of the marine crocodilian Thoracosaurus was found to have retained endogenous collagen I by immunofluorescence and enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays. Our results thus not only corroborate previous findings that soft tissue and biomolecular recovery from fossils preserved in marine environments are possible but also expand the range of depositional environments documented to preserve endogenous biomolecules, thus broadening the suite of geologic strata that may be fruitful to examine in future paleomolecular studies.
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