Fossilized Microbe Discovered in 200 Million Year Old Leach Cocoon
Summary:
This article talks about how palaeobiologists at the University of Kansas have discovered a ciliate fossil that was embedded in the wall of a fossilized leech cocoon in rock that has been dated to 200 million years ago. The microbe is part of the Vorticella family and is an unicellular protozoan that moved in the water with the help of the cilia on its body. It is the first fossil found for the Vorticellidase family and the chances of it being fossilized were very slim. The specimen was found in rock samples from Timber Peak in the Eisenhower Mountain Range in Antarctica and was extracted using a technique called cuticular analysis where scientists analyze the cuticle to classify the organism and then destroy the rock using many different acids. The organic content is then put on a slide and observed through a microscope. Leeches cocoon themselves just before laying their eggs, then their eggs in the cocoon are left in area close to the parent. The team of scientist think that the microbe got stuck in the wall of the cocoon and was fossilized. This discovery suggests that researchers should look closer into cocoon fossils that act like conservation traps, much like amber.
Relevance to Class:
In our previous unit, microbes, one of our topics were protists, specifically animal-like protists called protozoans. We learned that some protists have cilia to help them move in the water. The microbe in the article, as previously mentioned, is a single celled protozoan that moved in water by using cilia. We also talked about fossils and how organism may be fossilized in amber or rock, but we never talked about organisms being fossilized in leech cocoons.
Article Information:
URL: http://www.labnews.co.uk/news/fossilised-microbe-discovered-in-200-million-year-old-leech-cocoon/
Author: Laboratory News
Date of Publication: January 4, 2013
Why don't the acids that destroy the rock destroy the organic material as well?
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