T298 Unlocking Lilliput: New Approaches to Microscopy in Paleontology

Tuesday, 29 October 2013
1:00 PM - 5:00 PM
Mile High Ballroom 1AB

NOT QUITE FROZEN IN TIME: WINDOWS INTO THE INTERNAL TAPHONOMY OF FOSSILS IN AMBER VIA MICROCT-SCAN TECHNOLOGY

Paper number: T298-11
Program: Technical Sessions
Time: 3:35 PM – 3:50 PM

Authors

Abstract

Preservation in amber yields animals that appear so exquisitely preserved . . . so exquisitely preserved that they appear as if they could walk right out of their amber prison if only someone would let them out. This perception is completely understandable when studying amber, and has led, for example, to the premise in the movie “Jurassic Park”—where perfectly preserved insects in amber still have perfectly preserved innards that contain perfectly preserved dinosaur blood. Such a scenario is, sadly, too perfect to be true.

Unfortunately, without early replacement by stable minerals, all things are fated to decay—albeit at different rates. Amber is no exception. However, without slicing into the beautiful amber-preserved fossil, it is impossible to know exactly what is going on inside.

Micro-CT scanning provides an excellent way to see inside the fossil without destroying it. Without the amber stabilizing the internal tissue, it is subject to the forces of microbial decay, dehydration, and resin infiltration. Using fossil amphipods (Crustacea, Amphipoda) from the Chiapas Amber of Mexico, we show how a superficially perfect specimen can have a surprising lack of correspondence between the preserved insides and the original internal anatomy. Micro-CT scanning offers a new way to think about the microenvironment inside of an amber-preserved fossil.