ArticleProceedings. Biological sciences2011
Infrared mapping resolves soft tissue preservation in 50 million year-old reptile skin.
Article in Proceedings. Biological sciences, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 21 papers.
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Who cites it
21 citing papers in PubMed.
- From melanogenesis to melanin technologies.Communications chemistry · 2025Review
- Infrared Free-Electron Laser: A Versatile Molecular Cutter for Analyzing Solid-State Biomacromolecules.ACS omega · 2025Article
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- Taphonomic experiments resolve controls on the preservation of melanosomes and keratinous tissues in feathers.Palaeontology · 2020Article
- Applications of chemical imaging techniques in paleontology.National science review · 2019Review
- Tissue-specific geometry and chemistry of modern and fossilized melanosomes reveal internal anatomy of extinct vertebrates.Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America · 2019Article
- Carbon speciation in organic fossils using 2D to 3D x-ray Raman multispectral imaging.Science advances · 2019Article
- Pheomelanin pigment remnants mapped in fossils of an extinct mammal.Nature communications · 2019Article
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- Biochemistry and adaptive colouration of an exceptionally preserved juvenile fossil sea turtle.Scientific reports · 2017Article
- Cellular preservation of musculoskeletal specializations in the Cretaceous bird Confuciusornis.Nature communications · 2017Article
- Elemental characterisation of melanin in feathers via synchrotron X-ray imaging and absorption spectroscopy.Scientific reports · 2016Article
- Fossilization of melanosomes via sulfurization.Palaeontology · 2016Article
- Molecular composition and ultrastructure of Jurassic paravian feathers.Scientific reports · 2015Article
- Preserved Proteins from Extinct Bison latifrons Identified by Tandem Mass Spectrometry; Hydroxylysine Glycosides are a Common Feature of Ancient Collagen.Molecular & cellular proteomics : MCP · 2015Article
- Synchrotron imaging reveals bone healing and remodelling strategies in extinct and extant vertebrates.Journal of the Royal Society, Interface · 2014Article
- Trace elemental imaging of rare earth elements discriminates tissues at microscale in flat fossils.PloS one · 2014Article
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8 authors.
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Abstract
Non-destructive Fourier Transform InfraRed (FTIR) mapping of Eocene aged fossil reptile skin shows that biological control on the distribution of endogenous organic components within fossilized soft tissue can be resolved. Mapped organic functional units within this approximately 50 Myr old specimen from the Green River Formation (USA) include amide and sulphur compounds. These compounds are most probably derived from the original beta keratin present in the skin because fossil leaf- and other non-skin-derived organic matter from the same geological formation do not show intense amide or thiol absorption bands. Maps and spectra from the fossil are directly comparable to extant reptile skin. Furthermore, infrared results are corroborated by several additional quantitative methods including Synchrotron Rapid Scanning X-Ray Fluorescence (SRS-XRF) and Pyrolysis-Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (Py-GC/MS). All results combine to clearly show that the organic compound inventory of the fossil skin is different from the embedding sedimentary matrix and fossil plant material. A new taphonomic model involving ternary complexation between keratin-derived organic molecules, divalent trace metals and silicate surfaces is presented to explain the survival of the observed compounds. X-ray diffraction shows that suitable minerals for complex formation are present. Previously, this study would only have been possible with major destructive sampling. Non-destructive FTIR imaging methods are thus shown to be a valuable tool for understanding the taphonomy of high-fidelity preservation, and furthermore, may provide insight into the biochemistry of extinct organisms.
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