Mineralization of soft-part anatomy and invading microbes in the horseshoe crab Mesolimulus from the Upper Jurassic Lagerstätte of Nusplingen, Germany.
A remarkable specimen of Mesolimulus from the Upper Jurassic (Kimmeridgian) of Nusplingen, Germany, preserves the musculature of the prosoma and associated microbes in three dimensions in calcium phosphate (apatite). The musculature of Mesolimulus conforms closely to that of modern horseshoe crabs. Associated with the muscles are patches of mineralized biofilm with spiral and coccoid forms. This discovery emphasizes the potential of soft-bodied fossils as a source for increasing our knowledge of the diversity of fossil microbes in particular settings.
Briggs
Derek E G
DE
Department of Geology and Geophysics, Yale University, PO Box 208109, New Haven, CT 06520-8109, USA. derek.briggs@yale.edu
Moore
Rachel A
RA
Shultz
Jeffrey W
JW
Schweigert
Günter
G
D000818:Animals; D018441:Biofilms; D002130:Calcium Phosphates / Q000737:chemistry*; D005580:Fossils; D005858:Germany; D006737:Horseshoe Crabs / Q000033:anatomy & histology* / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000382:microbiology*; D010163:Paleontology
D002130:Calcium Phosphates; C020243:calcium phosphate