A press release from the University of Manchester, England, which also appeared in the latest update of the scientific journal Zootaxa, showed a side of prehistoric life virtually unseen up to this point. Using a highly complex system known as Very High Resolution X-Ray Computed Tomography, or VHR-CT, a group of scientists was able to reveal the full spectrum of a fossil, including its internal organs.
Dr. David Penney of The School of Earth, Atmospheric and Environmental Sciences, along with his co-workers at Belgium’s Ghent University, used the VHR-CT to do what is called a digital dissection of a 53 million year old spider fossil, a newly discovered species named Cenotextricella simoni.
The tiny insect, a male specimen just a bit over one millimeter in length, was loaned to Dr. Penney by the Musee National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris, France’s national history museum. It was recovered from amber found in the Le Quesney region of Creil, near Paris.
A montage of the photos taken with the VHR-CT shows the tiny critter from various angles, along with a stunningly complete cross section of its body that shows the internal organs in vivid detail. The spider lived in the Eocene era, a period that saw the rise of large mammals following the demise of the dinosaurs.
The amber encasing the animal helped solidify the knowledge that plant life over fifty million years ago was very similar to what we have growing today. The yellow hardened plant sap is an exceptional source for the study of insects since it surrounds and traps them without destroying their bodies. We became highly conscious of fossil amber preservation when the movie Jurassic Park told of mosquito fossils enabling scientists to recover dinosaur DNA from the preserved blood trapped in the mosquitoes’ bodies.
VHR-CT is normally used for medical diagnostic procedures. Dr. Penney credits his colleagues at Ghent’s Department of Subatomic and Radiation Physics with tweaking the system and greatly augmenting the device’s resolution. This was the first time that the system was used for fossil analysis, and it created amazing 3D views of the spider fossil, even exposing its internal organs.
Dr. Penney says the results will revolutionize future studies of complete specimens. He added “(Amber) retains an incredible amount of information, not just about the spiders themselves, but also about the environment in which they lived”. He is currently adding to his knowledge of spiders by spending time in an African jungle.
Digital dissection may even some day enable us to analyze leaves, bark, and other plant fossils, which will be invaluable in finally figuring out what the air that dinosaurs breathed was like, currently a point of argument among scientists. Small lizards and insects have also become stuck in amber, and the same process can be applied to their fossils. This will write new chapters in the history and evolution of planet Earth.
System of a Down is a very unique band. They have always had a way…
Dogs can form bad habits just as people do. When they engage in a bad…
If you're like me, you've had moments where your craft room was a complete disaster!…
Clay pots are easily broken. If terracotta planters are bumped with something heavy or dropped,…
Batter up! If someone is having a birthday in your family that loves baseball, then…
Are you looking for science career ideas? Do you want a job that pays well…
This website uses cookies.