Pterosaur
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Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Oxidative Fossilization and Pterosaur Preservation
The Core Concept: A 113-million-year-old pterosaur wing from Brazil was exceptionally preserved through oxidative processes driven by ancient marine bacteria, sealing both its physical structure and chemical biomarkers in stone.
Key Distinction/Mechanism: Contrary to the traditional paleontological paradigm that oxygen destroys organic material during fossilization, this discovery demonstrates that oxygen-driven processes orchestrated by ancient microbiomes can actively trigger rapid mineralization to protect soft tissues.
Major Frameworks/Components:
- Molecular Paleontology: The extraction and analysis of ancient biomarkers to determine the dietary habits and biological chemistry of extinct organisms.
- Microbially Induced Mineralization: The action of sulfur-oxidizing bacteria breaking down soft tissues and fats to trigger localized mineral precipitation.
- Lagerstätten Mechanisms: The unique environmental, biological, and chemical redox shifts that interact to produce exceptionally preserved fossil deposits.
Branch of Science: Paleontology, Geochemistry, Microbiology, and Earth Science.
Future Application: Advanced geochemical and molecular techniques will be increasingly applied to other deep-time fossils, allowing researchers to uncover hidden biochemical data, identify localized preservation pathways, and map ancient food webs.
Why It Matters: This research fundamentally rewrites the rules of fossil preservation by proving microbes and oxygen can protect rather than destroy organic remains. Furthermore, the recovered steroids offer direct chemical evidence that these prehistoric flying reptiles fed on fish or squid.
An international study led by Curtin University has revealed new insights into how an ancient flying reptile was preserved in extraordinary detail for 113 million years—offering a rare glimpse into a vanished world.
That the fossilized wing phalanx of a prehistoric pterosaur, found in northeastern Brazil, was so remarkably preserved in three dimensions—even retaining chemical traces hinting at its diet—is thanks to the action of special bacteria and a unique ancient marine environment.
Lead author Kliti Grice, a John Curtin Distinguished Professor and founding director of the Western Australian Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre at Curtin, said the findings open a new window into fossil formation.
“This fossil is a true time capsule—not only is it beautifully preserved, but for the first time we’ve detected traces of steroids in a pterosaur, providing further evidence that these creatures likely fed on fish or squid,” Professor Grice said.
“It also marks the first time molecules have been recovered from a pterosaur fossil, revealing new clues about its diet and highlighting the growing potential of molecular paleontology to unlock secrets from deep time.
“Steroid preservation in fossils is exceptionally rare, but what’s even more fascinating is that our findings challenge long-held ideas about fossil preservation itself. Rather than being destroyed by oxygen, some fossils are preserved because of it, through oxidative processes carried out by ancient microbiomes.
“After this pterosaur died and sank to the seabed, a perfect storm of chemistry, biology, and the environment worked to seal its story in stone. Microbes, including sulfur-oxidizing bacteria, began breaking down the soft tissue and fats and triggered mineralization around the body—a process that, over time, helped preserve its structure in incredible detail for more than 100 million years.”
Pterosaurs were flying reptiles that lived alongside dinosaurs and were the first vertebrates to master powered flight, with some species reaching wingspans of up to 12 meters. Like modern birds, they had hollow bones, which in certain environmental conditions increased the chances of exceptional fossil preservation.
Professor Grice said the team’s research reveals a new pathway for remarkable fossil preservation, offering fresh insights into ancient life and the unique environmental conditions that enable such remarkable fossilization.
“It adds to the growing evidence that tiny microbes played a big role in this process—something we are now identifying at other fossil sites—presenting a new global Lagerstätten mechanism—the special conditions that make exceptional preservation possible,” Professor Grice said.
The study, conducted in collaboration with researchers from Brazil, Germany, and the US, including colleagues from the Regional University of Cariri and Museu Nacional/Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, used advanced imaging and geochemical techniques at Curtin’s John de Laeter Centre and WA-Organic and Isotope Geochemistry Centre to unravel how the pterosaur lived and how it was preserved in such remarkable detail.
Funding: This research was supported by a prestigious ARC Laureate Fellowship awarded to Professor Grice.
Published in journal: Iscience
Authors: Kliti Grice, Stephen F. Poropat, Lorenz Schwark, Maria A. Diaz Mateus, Paul F. Greenwood, Luke M. Brosnan, Madison Tripp, Amy L. Elson, Andrew J. Y. Jian, Antônio A. F. Saraiva, Renan A. M. Bantim, Julien Demore, Alex I. Holman, Michael E. Böttcher, Adele H. Pentland, Robert H. C. Madden, Peter Hopper, Xiao Sun, Aaron Dodd, Arthur V. de Oliveira, Pieter T. Visscher, William D. A. Rickard, Juliana M. Sayão, Hossein Rahimpour-Bonab, Iris Schmiedinger, Victor O. Leshyk, and Alexander W. A. Kellner
Source/Credit: Curtin University | Lucien Wilkinson
Edited by: Scientific Frontline
Reference Number: pal061826_01
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