法國國家科研中心日前發(fā)表公報稱,，該中心與法國國家自然歷史博物館合作,，在一批形成于白堊紀時期的琥珀中發(fā)現(xiàn)了稀有的海洋浮游生物,，這一成果將有助于人們加深對這些生物和當(dāng)時海洋環(huán)境的認識。
國家科研中心在公報中說，這批琥珀在法國夏朗德省被發(fā)現(xiàn),，據(jù)分析,，它們都形成于距今一億年到9800萬年間,。研究人員表示,，他們對千余塊琥珀進行了分析，發(fā)現(xiàn)其中幾塊包含有海洋浮游生物,。雖然數(shù)量稀少,，但種類卻很豐富，其中有單細胞藻類,，如已經(jīng)消失了的硅藻,，還有一些諸如放射蟲和有孔蟲之類的浮游動物以及棘皮動物的尖刺等。
在諸多發(fā)現(xiàn)中,，以含有硅藻的琥珀最為珍貴,。研究人員稱，硅藻的進化過程十分復(fù)雜,，這一發(fā)現(xiàn)對于該海洋生物的研究具有“不可估量的價值”,。
國家科研中心介紹說，琥珀是松柏科植物的樹脂經(jīng)過長時間地質(zhì)作用而形成的化石,，其中可能會包裹一些植物的葉子,、花粉以及昆蟲等，它能夠保證這些物質(zhì)歷經(jīng)久遠而不發(fā)生變形,，因此具有重要的科研價值,。由于琥珀由松柏的樹脂形成，因此含有海洋生物的可能性微乎其微,。不過如果這些樹木生長在濱海地區(qū),，當(dāng)海水漲潮時被淹沒在含有浮游生物的海水中，就可能形成包含有海洋浮游生物的琥珀,。
這項研究成果已經(jīng)發(fā)表在最新一期美國《國家科學(xué)院院刊》（PNAS）上,。（生物谷Bioon.com）
生物谷推薦原始出處：
PNAS，vol. 105 no. 45 17426-17429,，Vincent Girard,，Didier Néraudeau
Evidence for marine microfossils from amber
Vincent Girarda,1, Alexander R. Schmidtb,c,1, Simona Saint Martind,e, Steffi Struwec, Vincent Perrichotf, Jean-Paul Saint Martind, Danièle Groshenyg, Gérard Bretona, and Didier Néraudeaua
aUniversité de Rennes 1, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 6118, 263 avenue du Général Leclerc, F-35042 Rennes Cedex, France;
bCourant Research Centre Geobiology, Georg-August-Universit?t G?ttingen, Goldschmidtstrasse 3, D-37077 G?ttingen, Germany;
cMuseum für Naturkunde der Humboldt-Universit?t zu Berlin, Invalidenstrasse 43, D-10115 Berlin, Germany;
dMuséum National d'Histoire Naturelle, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 5143, 8 rue Buffon, F-75231 Paris Cedex 05, France;
eFacultatea de Geologie si Geofizica, Universitatea din Bucuresti, bulevardul N. Balcescu no. 1, Bucuresti, Romania;
fPaleontological Institute, University of Kansas, Lindley Hall, 1475 Jayhawk Boulevard, Lawrence, KS 66045; and
gUniversité Louis Pasteur, Strasbourg 1, Ecole et Observatoire des Sciences de la Terre, Unité Mixte de Recherche Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique 7517, 1 rue Blessig, F-67084 Strasbourg Cedex, France
Abstract
Amber usually contains inclusions of terrestrial and rarely limnetic organisms that were embedded in the places were they lived in the amber forests. Therefore, it has been supposed that amber could not have preserved marine organisms. Here, we report the discovery amber-preserved marine microfossils. Diverse marine diatoms as well as radiolarians, sponge spicules, a foraminifer, and a spine of a larval echinoderm were found in Late Albian and Early Cenomanian amber samples of southwestern France. The highly fossiliferous resin samples solidified ≈100 million years ago on the floor of coastal mixed forests dominated by conifers. The amber forests of southwestern France grew directly along the coast of the Atlantic Ocean and were influenced by the nearby sea: shells and remnants of marine organisms were probably introduced by wind, spray, or high tide from the beach or the sea onto the resin flows.
