Exceptional soft-tissue preservation of Jurassic Vampyronassa rhodanica provides new insights on the evolution and palaeoecology of vampyroteuthids.

ABSTRACT: Although soft tissues of coleoid cephalopods record key evolutionary adaptations, they are rarely preserved in the fossil record. This prevents meaningful comparative analyses between extant and fossil forms, as well as the development of a relative timescale for morphological innovations. However, unique 3-D soft tissue preservation of Vampyronassa rhodanica (Vampyromorpha) from the Jurassic Lagerstätte of La Voulte-sur-Rhône (Ardèche, France) provides unparalleled opportunities for the observation of these tissues in the oldest likely relative of extant Vampyroteuthis infernalis. Synchrotron X-ray microtomography and reconstruction of V. rhodanica allowed, for the first time, a high-resolution re-examination of external and internal morphology, and comparison with other fossil and extant

SUBMITTER: Rowe AJ 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC9225997 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Jun

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature