title: When a 520 million-year-old Chengjiang fossil meets a modern micro-CT--a case study.
abstract: The 520 million-year-old Chengjiang biota of China (UNESCO World Heritage) presents the earliest known evidence of the so-called Cambrian Explosion. Studies, however, have mainly been limited to the information exposed on the surface of the slabs. Thus far, structures preserved inside the slabs were accessed by careful removal of the matrix, in many cases with the unfortunate sacrifice of some "less important" structures, which destroys elements of exceptionally preserved specimens. Here, we show for the first time that microtomography (micro-CT) can reveal structures situated inside a Chengjiang fossil slab without causing any damage. In the present study a trilobitomorph arthropod (Xandarella spectaculum) can be reliably identified only with the application of micro-CT. We propose that this technique is an important tool for studying three-dimensionally preserved Chengjiang fossils and, most likely, also those from other biota with a comparable type of preservation, specifically similar iron concentrations.
authors.affiliation: 1] Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China [2] Department Biology II, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, Großhaderner Str. 2, 82152 Planegg-Martinsried, Germany [3] GeoBio-Center LMU, Richard-Wagner-Straße 10, Munich, 80333, Germany.
authors.forename: Yu
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: Institut für Biologie/Vergleichende Zoologie, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Philippstr. 13, 10115 Berlin, Germany.
authors.forename: Gerhard
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Scholtz
authors.affiliation: Yunnan Key Laboratory for Palaeobiology, Yunnan University, Kunming 650091, People's Republic of China.
authors.forename: Xianguang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Hou