Exceptionally preserved Cambrian trilobite digestive system revealed in 3D by synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy.

ABSTRACT: The Cambrian 'Orsten' fauna comprises exceptionally preserved and phosphatised microscopic arthropods. The external morphology of these fossils is well known, but their internal soft-tissue anatomy has remained virtually unknown. Here, we report the first non-biomineralised tissues from a juvenile polymerid trilobite, represented by digestive structures, glands, and connective strands harboured in a hypostome from the Swedish 'Orsten' fauna. Synchrotron-radiation X-ray tomographic microscopy enabled three-dimensional internal recordings at sub-micrometre resolution. The specimen provides the first unambiguous evidence for a J-shaped anterior gut and the presence of a crop with a constricted alimentary tract in the Trilobita. Moreover, the gut is Y-shaped in cross section, probably due to a

SUBMITTER: Eriksson ME 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3338417 | biostudies-literature | 2012

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature