Systematic analysis of exceptionally preserved fossils: correlated patterns of decay and preservation
Systematic analysis of exceptionally preserved fossils: correlated patterns of decay and preservation
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DOI：
10.1111/pala.12571
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发表时间：
2021-08-24
期刊：
影响因子：
2.6
通讯作者：
Purnell, Mark A.
中科院分区：
文献类型：
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作者：
Gabbott, Sarah E.;Sansom, Robert S.;Purnell, Mark A.
非生物矿化动物和组织的化石记录为深入了解深层进化事件提供了重要的见解。对这些高度可变的遗骸的解释需要了解腐烂和保存如何导致化石化。在这里，我们建立了一种定量方法，将现存类群的腐烂实验数据与化石保存模式结合起来，从而可以评估非生物矿化化石中的信息丢失和信息保留及其相互作用。我们使用来自两个具有不同埋藏学体系的拉格斯塔滕的化石数据来说明我们的方法，其中一个以磷酸化为特征，另一个以非生物矿化组织的黄铁矿化为特征。这表明化石类群中性状的出现频率与现存比较生物体中观察到的性状衰退序列显着相关，并且易腐烂和抗腐烂性状具有不同的保存模式；前者是矿化的，后者是有机保存的。这里应用于非生物矿化脊椎动物的方法和原理也适用于其他保存完好的化石，并允许识别化石标本完整性、特征保留及其保存模式方面的系统偏差。此外，我们的分析验证了实验衰变，以支持对非生物矿化化石的解剖学解释。
The fossil record of non-biomineralized animals and tissues provides important insight into deep-time evolutionary events. Interpretation of these highly variable remains requires an understanding of how both decay and preservation lead to fossilization. Here we establish a quantitative approach that unites data from decay experiments of extant taxa with preservation mode of fossils, allowing evaluation of both information loss and information retention, and their interaction, in non-biomineralized fossils. We illustrate our approach using fossil data from two Lagerstatten with distinct taphonomic regimes, one characterized by phosphatization, and the other by pyritization of non-biomineralized tissues. This demonstrates that frequency of occurrence of characters in fossil taxa is significantly correlated with sequences of character decay observed in extant comparator organisms, and that decay prone and decay resistant characters have distinct preservation modes; the former are mineralized and the latter are organically preserved. The methods and principles applied here to non-biomineralized vertebrates are applicable to other exceptionally-preserved fossils and allow for identification of systematic biases in fossil specimen completeness, character retention and the mode of their preservation. Furthermore, our analyses validates experimental decay in supporting the interpretation of anatomy in non-biomineralized fossils.