2015 Fiscal Year Final Research Report
High-resolution micro-CT analysis of the oldest animal embryo and larva fossils: Implications for the early evolution of Metazoa
| Project/Area Number |
25610148
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| Research Category |
Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
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| Allocation Type | Multi-year Fund |
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| Research Field |
Geology
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| Research Institution | The University of Tokyo |
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Principal Investigator |
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| Project Period (FY) |
2013-04-01 – 2016-03-31
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| Keywords | 放射光X線Micro-CT / カンブリア紀 / カンブリア爆発 / 後生動物化石 / 微小硬骨格動物化石 / 化学古生物学 / エディアカラ紀 / 動物胚 |
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| Outline of Final Research Achievements |
It is difficult to investigate the origins of fossils whose structures are very simple or have no modern equivalents based on their morphology. We try to establish chemopaleontology and micro-CT analyses of small globular fossils to identify the oldest, Ediacaran and early Cambrian, egg and embryo fossils, and investigate evolution of tissues.
We obtained trace element mapping of extant cnidarian eggs and embryos to find unique signatures of the distribution and abundances of the trace elements over the eggs and embryos, and compare them with the Ediacaran globular microfossils and identify their phylum. We conducted synchrotron and conventional X-ray Micro-CT analyses of the oldest cnidarian polyp fossils to observe the internal structures. We found clear some original tissue structures in the three dimensional images.
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| Free Research Field |
地質学、古生物学
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