Department of Biological and Environmental Sciences, Georgia College & State University, Milledgeville, Georgia 31062-0001, USA.
Am J Bot. 2006 Dec;93(12):1848-51. doi: 10.3732/ajb.93.12.1848.
High resolution x-ray computed tomography (HRXCT) was used to image pyritized fossil fruits from the Lower Eocene London Clay flora to test the utility of this technique for paleobotanical application. The combination of carbon-pyrite preservation and void spaces between fruit and seed layers within fossils provides differences in density and composition that enable excellent imaging. Fossil fruits of Palaeorhodomyrtus subangulata (Bowerbank) Reid & Chandler (Myrtaceae) were investigated in situ within their silicone fluid conservation medium, which protects these unstable fossils from oxygen and humidity. HRXCT recovers taxonomically informative anatomical and morphological detail and provides a means of nondestructive examination of delicate type materials and other important specimens. These results suggest that HRXCT will be applicable to a broad spectrum of pyritized fossils to record structural details in inherently unstable materials.
高分辨率 X 射线计算机断层扫描（HRXCT）被用于对始新世伦敦黏土植物群中的石化果进行成像，以测试该技术在古植物学应用中的效用。化石中果和种皮层之间的碳-黄铁矿保存和空隙的组合提供了密度和成分的差异，从而实现了出色的成像效果。原位研究了 Palaeorhodomyrtus subangulata（Bowerbank）Reid & Chandler（桃金娘科）的化石果实，这些果实被保存在硅胶流体中，以保护这些不稳定的化石免受氧气和湿度的影响。HRXCT 可恢复具有分类学意义的解剖学和形态学细节，并提供了一种非破坏性检查精细型材料和其他重要标本的手段。这些结果表明，HRXCT 将适用于广泛的黄铁矿化化石，以记录固有不稳定材料中的结构细节。
