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Coatings on shells from hydrothermal vents

Shells of marine gastropods from hydrothermal vent environments are coated with inorganic materials of unknown composition. Conversely, their fossil equivalents are known exclusively from outer moulds in pyrite (FeS2), with no shell material left.

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Science News

Methanogenic carbonates

Methane (CH4) is largely built from the light carbon isotope (12C). When emitted from the seabed, methane is oxidized by sediment-dwelling microorganisms, with one of the byproducts being methanogenic carbonate cements, themselves with large amounts of the 12C.

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Science News

Ammonites survived across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary

Ammonites, extinct cephalopods dominant in Mesozoic marine ecosystems, are often listed amongst victims of the end-Cretaceous mass extinction (66 Ma). Claims of their local survival across the Cretaceous–Paleogene boundary have faced scepticism from parts of the palaeontological community.

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Science News

Enigmatic microfossils from southern Poland

Spirotubus are puzzling microfossils from southern Poland, dating from the Devonian period, around 380 million years ago. The Spirotubus skeletons are tiny calcareous (calcitic) tubes with a spiral pattern on their outer surface.

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Science News

Life in a Devonian marine lagoon

The article presents an overview of marine environments that existed in the area of present-day Poland around 380–360 million years ago, during the Devonian period, when this region was covered by an extensive shallow and warm sea. This sea was oversaturated with calcium, a component of the common biomineral calcite.

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Science News

A Miocene sedge from Hungary

The authors performed a taxonomic revision (in other words, a restudy) of silicified plant remains from the Miocene of Tokaj Mountains (Hungary). These are rhizomes, roots, and pseudostems, classified as Rhizocaulon huberi H.-J.Gregor.

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