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The role of microarchitecture and microstructure in the preservation of taxonomic closely related scleractinians

Die Bedeutung der Mikroarchitektur und Mikrostruktur in der Fossilüberlieferung taxonomisch eng verwandter Steinkorallen

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Summary

The scleractiniansAcropora palmata andAcropora cervicornis are common framebuilders in the various Pleistocene fringing reefs of Barbados. Both exihit the same diagenetic fabrics, but the rate of diagenetic alteration varies considerably.A. cervicornis is dominated by dissolution with minor calcite precipitation or neomorphism. This leads to a drastic reduction of the fossil record in older terraces. In contrast,A. palmata still has relics of unaltered microstructure in the older reefs. This difference in record potential is a result of the genetically fixed diameter of the polycrystalline fibers comprising the spherulitic trabecular microstructure; these are distinctly thicker inA. palmata.

Zusammenfassung

Die in verschieden alten Saumriffen im Pleistozän von Barbados auftretenden, riffbildenden KorallenAcropora palmata undA. cervicornis weisen entsprechende Diagenesemuster auf. Die Rate der diagenetischen Veränderung ist jedoch deutlich verschieden. BeiA. cervicornis überwiegt Lösung mit geringer Kalzitsprossung und Neomorphose; diese führt zu einer drastischen Abnahme dieser Art in älteren Riffterrassen.A. palmata hingegen zeigt bis in den ältesten Vorkommen Relikte der ursprünglichen Mikrostruktur. Diese Unterschiede werden auf die durch die genetische Information auf Artniveau festgelegte Dimension der sich aus einzelnen polykristallin zusammmengesetzten Aragonitnadeln zurückgeführt, die inA. palmata deutlich größer ist.

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  1. Institut für Paläontologie der Universität Erlangen, Loewenichstr. 28, D-8520, Erlangen

    Wolf-Christian Dullo

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Dullo, WC. The role of microarchitecture and microstructure in the preservation of taxonomic closely related scleractinians. Facies 16, 11–21 (1987). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF02536746

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