在基部海绵动物纤细沃氏海绵中发现5亿5千万年前的几丁质。
Discovery of 505-million-year old chitin in the basal demosponge Vauxia gracilenta.
作者信息
Ehrlich H, Rigby J Keith, Botting J P, Tsurkan M V, Werner C, Schwille P, Petrášek Z, Pisera A, Simon P, Sivkov V N, Vyalikh D V, Molodtsov S L, Kurek D, Kammer M, Hunoldt S, Born R, Stawski D, Steinhof A, Bazhenov V V, Geisler T
机构信息
Institute of Experimental Physics, TU Bergakademie Freiberg, D-09599 Freiberg, Germany.
1] Museum of Paleontology, Brigham Young University, Provo, Utah, USA 84602-3300 [2].
出版信息
Sci Rep. 2013 Dec 13;3:3497. doi: 10.1038/srep03497.
Sponges are probably the earliest branching animals, and their fossil record dates back to the Precambrian. Identifying their skeletal structure and composition is thus a crucial step in improving our understanding of the early evolution of metazoans. Here, we present the discovery of 505-million-year-old chitin, found in exceptionally well preserved Vauxia gracilenta sponges from the Middle Cambrian Burgess Shale. Our new findings indicate that, given the right fossilization conditions, chitin is stable for much longer than previously suspected. The preservation of chitin in these fossils opens new avenues for research into other ancient fossil groups.
海绵动物可能是最早分支的动物，它们的化石记录可以追溯到前寒武纪。因此，识别它们的骨骼结构和组成是增进我们对后生动物早期进化理解的关键一步。在这里，我们展示了在来自中寒武世布尔吉斯页岩、保存异常完好的纤细沃氏海绵中发现的5亿年前的几丁质。我们的新发现表明，在合适的化石形成条件下，几丁质的稳定性比之前认为的要长得多。这些化石中几丁质的保存为研究其他古老化石类群开辟了新途径。
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