The role of volcanic-derived clays in the preservation of Ediacaran biota from the Itajaí Basin (ca. 563 Ma, Brazil).

The early evolution of metazoans has been reconstructed by studies on exceptionally preserved molds in siliciclastic rocks from the Ediacaran Period. However, there remains considerable controversy regarding the formation mechanisms of this unusual 'Ediacaran-style' preservation. Proposed hypotheses usually include early authigenesis of minerals, but evidence for this is scarce.

filamentous communities from the Ediacaran (approx. 563 Ma) of Brazil.

Precambrian filamentous microfossils are common and diverse. Nevertheless, their taxonomic assignment can be difficult owing to their overall simple shapes typically lacking in diagnostic features. Here, we report communities of well-preserved, large filamentous impressions from the Ediacaran Itajaí Basin ( 563 Ma) of Brazil.

Deciphering pyritization-kerogenization gradient for fish soft-tissue preservation.

Soft-tissue preservation provides palaeobiological information that is otherwise lost during fossilization. In Brazil, the Early Cretaceous Santana Formation contains fish with integument, muscles, connective tissues, and eyes that are still preserved. Our study revealed that soft-tissues were pyritized or kerogenized in different microfacies, which yielded distinct preservation fidelities.

New occurrences of fossilized feathers: systematics and taphonomy of the Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin (Cretaceous), NE, Brazil.

Here we describe three fossil feathers from the Early Cretaceous Santana Formation of the Araripe Basin, Brazil. Feathers are the most complex multiform vertebrate integuments; they perform different functions, occurring in both avian and non-avian dinosaurs. Despite their rarity, fossil feathers have been found across the world.