Article
Soft Tissue and Biomolecular Preservation in Vertebrate Fossils from Glauconitic, Shallow Marine Sediments of the Hornerstown Formation, Edelman Fossil Park, New Jersey
Biology
(2022)
Abstract
Original organics and soft tissues are known to persist in the fossil record. To date, these discoveries derive from a limited number of ancient environments, (e.g., rivers, floodplains), and fossils from rarer environments remain largely unexplored. We studied Cretaceous–Paleogene fossils from a peculiar marine environment (glauconitic greensand) from Jean and Ric Edelman Fossil Park in Mantua Township, NJ. Twelve samples were demineralized in acid to remove the mineral component of bone. This treatment frequently yielded products that are visually consistent with bone cells, blood vessels, and bone matrix from modern animals. Fossil specimens that are dark in color exhibit excellent microscopic bone preservation and yielded a greater recovery of original soft tissues, whereas light-colored specimens exhibit poor microscopic preservation and yielded few to no soft tissues. Additionally, a well-preserved femur of a marine crocodilian was found to retain original bone protein by reactions with antibodies. Our results: (1) corroborate previous findings that original soft tissue and proteins can be recovered from fossils preserved in marine environments, and (2) expand the range of ancient environments documented to preserve original organics and soft tissues. This broadens the suite of fossils that may be fruitful to examine in future paleomolecular studies.
Disciplines
Publication Date
August 2, 2022
DOI
10.3390/biology11081161
Publisher Statement
This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Citation Information
Kristyn K. Voegele, Zachary M. Boles, Paul V. Ullmann, Elena R. Schroeter, et al.. "Soft Tissue and Biomolecular Preservation in Vertebrate Fossils from Glauconitic, Shallow Marine Sediments of the Hornerstown Formation, Edelman Fossil Park, New Jersey" Biology Vol. 11 Iss. 8 (2022) Available at: http://works.bepress.com/kristyn-voegele/17/
Creative Commons license
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons CC_BY International License.