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Taphonomy of Animal Organic Skeletons Through Time

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Taphonomy

Part of the book series: Aims & Scope Topics in Geobiology Book Series ((TGBI,volume 32))

Abstract

Investigations of organically preserved invertebrate fossils have focused on abundant taxa such as graptolites and arthropods. Analyses have shown that their composition cannot be explained either as a result of decay resistance, or the introduction of macromolecular material from surrounding sediment. The fossilization of organic materials is a result of the diagenetic transformation of lipids in the organism itself by a process of in situ polymerization which generates a composition with a significant aliphatic component. While this process causes the fossilized remains of different taxa, even plants and animals, to converge in composition they may still retain differences following diagenesis. Such chemosystematic signatures have the potential to be used in the identification of organic materials that lack diagnostic morphology. The diagenetic transformation of organic materials in macrofossils is similar to the formation of kerogen – the final composition depends on original chemistry, decay and diagenesis. A better understanding of rates and controls on this process will require more experimental investigation of decay and maturation, as well as analyses of fossils of different ages and from different environmental settings.

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Acknowledgments

DEGB’s research in this area has been supported by Natural Environment Research Council (UK) grants and mass spectrometry facilities, and by the American Chemical Society Petroleum Research Fund. We are grateful for collaboration and discussions with M.E. Collinson, G. Eglinton, R.P. Evershed, R. Michels, R.D. Pancost, R.J. Parkes, B.A. Stankiewicz and R.E. Summons.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, 208109, New Haven, CT, 06520-8109, USA

    Neal S. Gupta & Derek E. G. Briggs

  2. Geophysical Laboratory, 5251 Broad Branch Road NW, Washington, DC, 20015, USA

    Neal S. Gupta

  3. Peabody Museum of Natural History, Yale University, 208118, New Haven, CT, 06520-8118, USA

    Derek E. G. Briggs

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  1. Neal S. Gupta
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Earth Science & Engineering, Imperial College London, South Kensington Campus, SW7 2AZ, London, UK

    Peter A. Allison

  2. Department of Earth Sciences, University of Southern California, 90089-0740, Los Angeles, California, USA

    David J. Bottjer

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Gupta, N.S., Briggs, D.E.G. (2011). Taphonomy of Animal Organic Skeletons Through Time. In: Allison, P.A., Bottjer, D.J. (eds) Taphonomy. Aims & Scope Topics in Geobiology Book Series, vol 32. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-90-481-8643-3_5

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