Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-gxg78 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-29T11:00:46.310Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The role of anoxia in the decay and mineralization of proteinaceous macro-fossils

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 February 2016

Peter A. Allison
Peter A. Allison*
Affiliation:
Geology Department, University of Bristol, Wills Memorial Building, Bristol BS8 1RJ, United Kingdom.
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Actualistic experiments have quantified rate of anaerobic decay and associated mineralization around proteinaceous macro-organisms. Carcasses of the polychaete worm Nereis and the eumalacostracans Nephrops and Palaemon were buried in airtight glass jars filled with sediment and water from marine, brackish, and lacustrine environments. Over a period of 25 weeks the contents were examined to determine the state of decay and were chemically analyzed to monitor early diagenetic mineralization (two methods for such analysis are reviewed). Decay processes were active in the experimental conditions despite anoxia and had virtually destroyed the carcasses within 25 weeks. However, decay-rate in the sulfate-reducing marine system was greater than in the methanogenic freshwater environments. Petrological and geochemical analyses of the organic remains identified discrete layers of authigenic iron monosulfide (a pyrite precursor) on the surface of the decaying Nephrops cuticle within weeks of initiating the experiment. Chemical analysis of decomposing flesh showed a marked increase in pore-water calcium content with time.

The results clearly show that anoxia is ineffective as a long-term conservation medium in the preservation of soft-bodied fossils. However, decay-induced mineralization can be very rapid so that even a slight reduction in decay rate can lead to improved levels of fossil preservation. Traditionally, stagnation and rapid burial are considered to be the main prerequisites for the preservation of soft-bodied fossils and the formation of Konservat-Lagerstätten. Clearly these factors are only important in that they promote early diagenetic mineralization. This is the only way to halt information loss through decay.

Type
Articles
Information
Paleobiology , Volume 14 , Issue 2 , Spring 1988 , pp. 139 - 154
Copyright
Copyright © The Paleontological Society 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Literature Cited

Aller, R. C. 1980. Diagenetic processes near the sediment-water interface of Long Island Sound. I. Decomposition and nutrient element geochemistry. Advances in Geophysics 22: 237–350.Google Scholar
Aller, R. C. and Yingst, J. Y.. 1980. Relationships between microbial distributions and the anaerobic decomposition of organic matter in surface sediments of Long Island Sound, USA. Marine Biology 56: 29–42.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Aller, R. C. and Mackin, J. E.. 1984. Preservation of reactive organic matter in marine sediments. Earth and Planetary Science Letters 70: 260–266.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Allison, P. A. 1986. Soft-bodied animals in the fossil record: the role of decay in fragmentation during transport. Geology 14: 979–981.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Antia, D. D. J. 1977. A comparison of diversity and trophic nuclei of live and dead molluscan faunas from the Essex Chenier Plain, England, Paleobiology 3: 404–414.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Baird, G. C., Shabica, C. W., Anderson, J. L., and Richardson, E. S. Jr. 1985. The biota of a Pennsylvanian muddy coast: habitats within the Mazonian delta complex, northeastern Illinois. Journal of Paleontology 59: 253–281.Google Scholar
Behrensmeyer, A. K. 1975. The taphonomy and palaeoecology of Plio-Pleistocene vertebrate assemblages east of Lake Rudolph, Kenya. Bulletin of the Museum of Comparative Zoology 146: 473–578.Google Scholar
Behrensmeyer, A. K. 1984. Taphonomy and the fossil record. American Scientist 72: 558–566.Google Scholar
Behrensmeyer, A. K. and Kidwell, S. M.. 1985. Taphonomy's contributions to paleobiology Paleobiology 11: 105–119.Google Scholar
Berner, R. A. 1968. Calcium carbonate concretions formed by the decomposition of organic matter. Science 159: 195–197.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Berner, R. A. 1970. Sedimentary pyrite formation. American Journal of Science 268: 1–23.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Berner, R. A. 1971. Principles of chemical sedimentology. McGraw Hill; New York. 240 pp.Google Scholar
Berner, R. A. 1980. Early diagenesis: a theoretical approach. Princeton University Press; Princeton. 241 pp.Google Scholar
Berner, R. A. 1981. Authigenic mineral formation resulting from organic matter decomposition in modern sediments. Fortschritte der Mineralogie 59: 117–135.Google Scholar
Berner, R. A. 1984. Sedimentary pyrite, an update. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta 48: 605–615.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bishop, G. A. 1986. Taphonomy of the North American decapods. Journal of Crustacean Biology 6: 326–455.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Carthew, R. and Bosence, D.. 1986. Community preservation in recent shell gravels, English Channel. Palaeontology 29: 45–64.Google Scholar
Cisne, J. L. 1973. Anatomy of Triarthrus and the relationship of the Trilobita. Fossils and Strata 4: 45–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Clark, G. R. and Lutz, R. A.. 1980. Pyritization in the shells of living bivalves. Geology 8: 268–271.2.0.CO;2>CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Conway Morris, S. 1985. Cambrian Lagerstätten: their distribution and significance. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 311B: 49–67.Google Scholar
Conway Morris, S. 1986. The community structure of the Middle Cambrian phyllopod bed (Burgess Shale). Palaeontology 29: 423–458.Google Scholar
Dodson, P., Behrensmeyer, A. K., Barker, R. T., and McIntosh, J. S.. 1980. Taphonomy and paleoecology of the Dinosaur Beds of the Morrison Formation. Paleobiology 6: 183–216.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Dorjes, J. 1972. Distribution and zonation of macrobenthic animals. Senckenbergeana Maritima 4: 183–216.Google Scholar
Driscoll, E. G. and Swanson, R. A.. 1973. Diversity and structure of epifaunal communities on mollusc valves, Buzzard Bay, Massachusetts. Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology 14: 229–247.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Johnson, R. G. and Richardson, E. G. Jr. 1966. A remarkable Pennsylvanian fauna from the Mazon Creek area, Illinois. Journal of Geology 74: 626–631.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Jones, G. F. 1968. The benthic macrofauna of the mainland shelf of Southern California. Allan Hancock Monographs in Marine Biology 4. 219 pp.Google Scholar
Lawrence, D. R. 1968. Taphonomy and information loss in fossil communities. Bulletin of the Geological Society of America 79: 1315–1330.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Lein, A. Y. 1978. Formation of carbonate and sulfide minerals during diagenesis of reduced sediment. Pp. 339–354. In Krumbein, W. E. (ed.), Environmental Biogeochemistry and Geomicrobiology. Ann Arbor Science; Ann Arbor, Michigan.Google Scholar
Love, L. G. 1967. Early diagenetic iron sulphide in recent sediments of the Wash (England). Sedimentology 9: 327–352.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
MacDonald, K. B. 1976. Paleocommunities: toward some confidence limits. Pp. 87–106. In Scott, R. W. and West, R. R. (eds.), Structure and Classification of Paleocommunities. Dowden, Hutchinson & Ross; Stroudsburg, Pennsylvania.Google Scholar
Malcolm, S. J. and Stanley, S. O.. 1982. The sediment environment. Pp. 1–14. In Nedwell, D. B. and Brown, C. M. (eds.), Sediment Microbiology. Academic Press; London.Google Scholar
Meyer, D. L. and Meyer, K. B.. 1986. Biostratinomy of Recent crinoids at Lizard Island, Great Barrier Reef, Australia. Palaois 1: 294–302.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Platnick, R. E. 1986. Taphonomy of a modern shrimp: implications for the arthropod fossil record. Palaois 1: 286–293.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Raiswell, R. 1976. The microbiological formation of carbonate concretions in the Upper Lias of N. E. England. Chemical Geology 18: 227–244.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Redfield, A. C. 1958. The biological control of chemical factors in the environment. American Scientist 48: 206–226.Google Scholar
Richardson, E. S. Jr. and Johnson, R. J.. 1971. Mazon Creek faunas. Proceedings of the First North American Paleontological Convention 1: 1222–1235.Google Scholar
Schäfer, W. 1962. Aktuo-paläontologie nach Studien in der Nordsee. Kramer; Frankfurt am Main. 688 pp.Google Scholar
Schäfer, W. 1972. Ecology and Paleoecology of Marine Environments. University of Chicago Press; Chicago. 588 pp.Google Scholar
Schopf, T. J. M. 1978. Fossilization potential of an intertidal fauna: Friday Harbor, Washington. Paleobiology 4: 261–270.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Seilacher, A. 1970. Begriff and Bedeutung der Fossil-Lagerstätten. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie Abhandlungen 1970:34–39.Google Scholar
Seilacher, A., Reif, W.-E., and Westphal, F.. 1985. Sedimentological, ecological and temporal patterns of Fossil-Lagerstätten. Proceedings of the Royal Society of London 311B: 5–23.Google Scholar
Stürmer, W. and Bergström, J.. 1973. New discoveries on trilobites by X-rays. Paläontologische Zeitschrift 47: 104–141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Warme, J. E. 1969. Live and dead mollusks in a coastal lagoon. Journal of Paleontology 43: 141–150.Google Scholar
Westrich, J. T. and Berner, R. A.. 1984. The role of bacterial sulfate reduction: the G model tested. Limnology and Oceanography 29: 236–249.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Whittington, H. B. 1971. The Burgess Shale: history of research and preservation of fossils. Proceedings of the First North American Paleontological Convention 1: 1176–1201.Google Scholar
Whittington, H. B. 1980. The significance of the fauna of the Burgess Shale, Middle Cambrian, British Columbia. Proceedings of the Geologists' Association 91: 127–148.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wilson, J. B. 1969. Palaeoecological studies on shell beds and associated sediments in the Solway Firth. Scottish Journal of Geology 3: 329–371.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Woodland, B. A. and Stenstrom, R. C.. 1979. The occurrence and origin of siderite concretions in the Francis Creek Shale (Pennsylvanian) of northeast Illinois. Pp. 69–103. In Nitecki, M. H. (ed.), Mazon Creek Fossils. Academic Press; New York.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Wüttke, M. 1983. Aktuopaläontologische Studien über der Zer-fall von Wirbeltieren. Teil 1: Anura. Senckenbergeana Lethaea 64: 529–560.Google Scholar
Zangerl, R. 1971. On the geologic significance of perfectly preserved fossils. Proceedings of the First North American Paleontological Convention 1: 1207–1222.Google Scholar
Zangerl, R. and Richardson, E. S. Jr. 1963. The paleoecological history of two Pennsylvanian black shales. Fieldiana Geology Memoir 4: 1–352.Google Scholar