Reconstruction by Maëva J. Orliac | This is why I love taphonomy. A Miocene (92 Ma) rhinocerotid skull and jaw (Ceratotherium neumayri) was recently found in Turkey, preserved in volcanic rock, specifically, a pyroclastic flow! This is highly unusual, as the best conditions for preservation normally involve rapid burial or burial in low energy aqueous environments, in sedimentary rocks. Certainly not in a 1000°C pyroclastic flow, which appeared to be the case for this poor C. neumayri. So what happened? Antoine et al. (2012) examined the fossil and found evidence of 'baking' such as tooth brittleness and bone surface corrugations and cracks, suggesting the skull and jaw were not already fossilised before burial in the volcanic sediments. |
Antoine, P-O., Orliac, M.J., Atici, G., Ulusoy, I., Sen, E., et al., 2012. A Rhinocerotid Skull Cooked-to-Death in a 9.2 Ma-Old Ignimbrite Flow of Turkey. PLoS ONE 7(11): e49997. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0049997