ArticleScientific reports2023
Rapid encapsulation of true ferns and arborane/fernane compounds fossilised in siderite concretions supports analytical distinction of plant fossils.
Article in Scientific reports, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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3 citing papers in PubMed, 5 citations in OpenAlex.
- Palaeocampa anthrax, an armored freshwater lobopodian with chemical defenses from the Carboniferous.Communications biology · 2025Article
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8 authors at 5 institutions in 3 countries.
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No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fossilised true ferns (Pecopteris sp.) preserved in siderite concretions from the Mazon Creek Lagerstätte (Illinois) presented a unique opportunity to characterise the organic signatures of these late Carboniferous plants. Localised analyses of true fern fossils showed several highly abundant phytohopanoids and fernane/arborane derived aromatic products, which were present only negligibly within their siderite matrix, as well as from other types of fossilised plants. These terpenoids had been recognised in some extant ferns, but scarcely in sedimentary organic matter and their exact source remained ambiguous. The present fossil biomarker data confirms an ancient true fern origin. Furthermore, the excellent concretion preservation of a series of related terpenoid products provided a rare insight into their diagenetic formation. The benign properties of carbonate concretions could be exploited further for biomarker evidence of other fossilised organisms, with one important caveat being that biomarker signals attributed to isolated fossils be significantly distinct from background organic matter pervading the concretion matrix. For instance, hydrocarbon profiles of seed ferns (pteridosperms) and articulates (horsetails) also preserved in Mazon Creek concretions were indistinguishable from separate analysis of their concretion matrix, preventing biomarker recognition.
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