An Unexpected Twist: What Really Makes Golden Fossils Shine? scitechdaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from scitechdaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Researchers say exceptionally well-preserved fossils, dated 183 million years ago and found in today's Germany, receive their golden color from a mixture of chemicals and exposure to oxygen
A recent study by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and collaborators found that many of the fossils from Germany’s Posidonia shale do not get their gleam from pyrite, commonly known as fool’s gold, which was long thought to be the source of the shine. Instead, the golden hue is from a mix of minerals that hints at the conditions in which the fossils formed. The discovery is important for understanding how the fossils which are among the world’s best-preserved specimens of sea life from the Early Jurassic came to form in the first place, and the role that oxygen in the environment had in their formation.
Golden fossils reveal origins of exceptional preservation sciencedaily.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from sciencedaily.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.