临夏盆地晚中新世鸵鸟化石的特异保存
Exceptional preservation of an extinct ostrich from the Late Miocene Linxia Basin of China
摘要
Abstract
Here we report a new avian fossil from the Late Miocene Linxia Basin,Northwest China,with exceptional soft-tissue preservation.This specimen preserves parts of cervical vertebrae and tracheal rings that are typically ostrich-like,but cannot be diagnosed at the species level.Therefore,the fossil is referred to Struthio sp.The new specimen was preserved in association with a partial skull of Hipparion platyodus.To explore the soft tissue preservation in a fossil deposited in a terrestrial setting,we applied a combination of analytic methods to investigate the microscopic features of the fossilized avian bone.Bacterial alterations(bone bioerosion)were revealed by light microscopy and petrographic sections under SEM imaging.Soft-tissues(fossilized remnants of endogenous blood vessels and red blood cells)were preserved in one demineralized bone fragment and also observed in the in-situ ground-section.These are the first records of soft-tissue preservation in vertebrate remains from the Late Miocene Linxia Basin.Associated geological and sedimentological evidence combined with our new data provide insights into the postmortem taphonomic conditions of this ostrich specimen.A seasonal monsoon might have facilitated the microbial erosion penecontemporaneous with the burial of the specimen.This study encourages interdisciplinary research involving morphology,sedimentology,geochemistry,and histological soft-tissue analyses to better understand the Late Miocene faunal turnovers,climates,and fossil preservation in the Liushu Formation in northwestern China.关键词
临夏盆地/中新世/三趾马/鸵鸟/软组织/血管/细菌/微观聚焦破坏Key words
Linxia Basin/Miocene/Hipparion/Struthio/soft-tissues/blood vessels/bacteria/microscopic focal destructions分类
生物科学引用本文复制引用
李志恒,艾莉达,Thomas A.STIDHAM,王敏,邓涛..临夏盆地晚中新世鸵鸟化石的特异保存[J].古脊椎动物学报,2021,59(3):229-244,16.基金项目
中国科学院百人计划(编号:KC217113)、国家自然科学基金面上项目(批准号:41772013)、中国科学院战略性先导科技专项(编号:XDA9050102,XDA20070203,XDB26000000)、第二次青藏高原科考项目(编号:2019QZKK0705)和中国科学院院长奖学金资助.Funding from CAS One Hundred Talents Project(KC217113)to ZL （编号:KC217113）
the National Natural Science Foundation of China(NSFC41772013)to ZL and TAS （NSFC41772013）
and the Strategic Priority Research Program of the Chinese Academy of Sciences(Grant No.XDA 9050102,XDA20070203,and XDB26000000),and CAS-PIFI(President's International Fellowship Initiative)to AMB are thanked.This study was also funded by Second Tibetan Plateau Scientific Expedition and Research Grant 2019QZKK0705.We also thank Liu Xinzheng for preparing the sample,Gao Wei for photographs,and Zhang Shukang and Jiang Zhengcheng for preparing the ground sections.We also thank Zhou Zhonghe,Pan Yanhong,and Yinmai O'Connor for their comments that helped improve the manuscript. （Grant No.XDA 9050102,XDA20070203,and XDB26000000）
