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Isolation of fossil osteocytes
Author(s) -
NEVES R.,
TARLO L. B. HALSTEAD
Publication year - 1965
Publication title -
journal of the royal microscopical society
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.569
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1365-2818
pISSN - 0368-3974
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2818.1965.tb02123.x
Subject(s) - carboniferous , vertebrate , paleontology , genus , pollen , geology , biology , zoology , botany , biochemistry , structural basin , gene
During routine maceration of shales for the extraction of fossil spores, a number of unusual structures appeared which were eventually identified as osteocytes from scales belonging to a palaeoniscid, a primitive bony fish. No vertebrate tissues had been expected, since the technique employed destroys virtually all substances with the exception of carbon, chitin and cellulose. It thus appears that certain vertebrate tissues are far more resistant than was generally believed. The specimen comes from rocks of Upper Carboniferous age (Namurian, Arnsbergian Stage, zone E 2 b), which outcrops at Hollywood Dingle, near Endon, Staffordshire (Grid ref. SJ.945509), and the palaeoniscid was kindly identified by Mr. H. A. Toombs of the British Museum (Natural History) as Elonichthys semi‐striatus Traquair.