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169-7 Phosphatized Eurypterid Muscles from the Williamsville Formation (Silurian Bertie Group; New York)
Session: Phantastic Phosphorus and Its Historical Biogeochemistry
Presenting Author:
Thomas Hegna
Authors:
Hegna, Thomas Arthur1, Bicknell, Russell D. C.2
(1) Department of Geology and Environmental Sciences, SUNY Fredonia, Fredonia, NY, USA, (2) College of Science and Engineering, Flinders University, Bedford Park, South Australia, Australia,
Abstract:
Phosphatized muscle tissue was first identified in fossil fish in 1888 by Otto Reis. In the nearly 150 years since, phosphatized muscle tissue has been identified in a number of other fossil organisms. Fossil eurypterids, however, have never been observed to have phosphatized muscles—the only examples of fossil eurypterid muscles are preserved in pyrite and clays.
We report here on the first eurypterid with phosphatized muscles from the Williamsville Formation in the Buffalo area of New York State. The specimen, belonging to the species Eurypterus dekayi, displays clear phosphatized muscle fibers in the basal podomeres of limb VI. Structureless phosphatic deposits are also found near the base of limbs II-V, interpreted to represent the location of coxal muscles. EDS analyses not only confirmed the calcium phosphate composition, but also revealed ‘shadows’ in the silicon map that may correspond to the position of limbs II-V. Though the phosphatization pathway is fairly well understood, the cause of the silica shadows is not yet known.