Analysis of a 30,000-year-old vulture fossil unearthed in Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers.
Discovered near Rome in 1889 by a local landowner, the specimen was considered remarkable even then for its extraordinary three-dimensional preservation, with intricate features such as eyelids and wing feathers still visible. But new research has now uncovered even more astonishing detail: microscopic feather pigment structures, held in time by volcanic minerals.
The findings, published in the journal Geology, reveal that the feathers of this prehistoric bird have been preserved in a mineral called zeolite – a phenomenon never before documented in fossils.
"Fossil feathers are usually preserved in ancient mudrocks laid down in lakes or lagoons," says lead author Dr Valentina Rossi from the University College Cork (UCC), Ireland.
"The fossil vulture is preserved in ash deposits, which is extremely unusual. When analysing the fossil vulture plumage, we found ourselves in uncharted territory. These feathers are nothing like what we usually see in other fossils”.
Using advanced electron microscopes and chemical analysis, the team determined that the feathers had been preserved at the nanoscale by zeolites – minerals rich in silicon and aluminium, typically associated with volcanic and hydrothermal environments.
These minerals formed as the volcanic ash altered over time, locking the delicate structures of the feathers in place.
"We used to think that volcanic deposits are associated with hot, fast-moving pyroclastic currents that will destroy soft tissues," explains Professor Dawid A. lurino (University of Milan), who also worked on the study. "However, these geological settings are complex and can include low temperature deposits that can preserve soft tissues at the cellular level.”
Rossi adds that "the fine preservation of the feather structures indicates that the vulture carcass was entombed in a low temperature pyroclastic deposit."
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Professor Maria McNamara (UCC) says that "the fossil record is continually surprising us, be it new fossil species, strange new body shapes, or in this case, new styles of fossil preservation.
"We never expected to find delicate tissues such as feathers preserved in a volcanic rock. Discoveries such as these broaden the range of potential rock types where we can find fossils, even those preserving fragile soft tissues.”
This breakthrough suggests that volcanic rocks could be hiding more ancient treasures than we ever imagined, and should be the focus of new paleontological research, say the authors.
Main image: fossilised vulture feather/Edoardo Terranova
Find out more about the study: Fossil feathers from the Colli Albani volcanic complex (Late Pleistocene, Central Italy)
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