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Overgrowths of large authigenic apatite crystals on the surface of conodonts from Cantabrian limestones (Spain)

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Abstract

Conodonts from the middle to upper Paleozoic limestones of the Cantabrian zone commonly show apatite overgrowths. A large crystal microtexture observed under the SEM corresponds to local rims of euhedral to subhedral apatite crystals, which were preceded by the neoformation of smaller crystals. Four types of this microtexture (blocky, columnar, fan, and denticular) are described on different areas of the oral surface of conodonts, whereas dissolution features may be present in the basal cavity area. The distribution of these types of microtexture in different areas of conodont morphology suggests a general trend to neocrystallization, where crystal size increases towards the top of the conodont ornamentation and a chemical gradient controls the crystalline growth. This arrangement is widely related to the surface morphology and to the general conodont histology. The large crystal microtexture grows during early diagenesis from near surface to moderate burial and is linked to the known secondary apatite cement present in natural fused clusters of conodonts. The features described here are also compared to microtextures developed on conodonts during low- to medium-grade metamorphic conditions, where phosphate in solution is available.

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Acknowledgments

This work was finished during a PhD thesis completed by SBF at the University of Oviedo. It has been supported by Spanish project CGL-2009-09109 funded by the ‘Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación’ and ‘Fondo Europeo de Desarrollo Regional’ (FEDER).The authors would like to express their gratitude to Ada Castro, Catalina Sueiro and Belén López (Research Support Services, University of A Coruña) for their assistance with the scanning electron microscope, and John Hardwick for his comments and suggestions in the language review. We are extremely grateful to Maurice E. Tucker (main-Editor of FACIES) and to referee Graciela N. Sarmiento for useful comments on the manuscript.

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  1. Departamento de Geología, Universidad de Oviedo, Arias de Velasco s/n, 33005, Oviedo, Spain

    Javier Sanz-López & Silvia Blanco-Ferrera

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  1. Javier Sanz-López
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  2. Silvia Blanco-Ferrera
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Correspondence to Silvia Blanco-Ferrera.

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Sanz-López, J., Blanco-Ferrera, S. Overgrowths of large authigenic apatite crystals on the surface of conodonts from Cantabrian limestones (Spain). Facies 58, 707–726 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10347-012-0295-3

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