Department of Geosciences, Princeton University, Princeton, United States; Institute of Deep-Sea Science and Engineering, Chinese Academy of Sciences, Sanya, China
Royal Tyrrell Museum of Palaeontology, Drumheller, Canada
Nicholas R Longrich
Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom; Milner Centre for Evolution, University of Bath, Bath, United Kingdom
Thomas G Kaye
Foundation for Scientific Advancement, Sierra Vista, United States
Department of Biomedical Engineering, Center for Computational Biology, McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States; Department of Computer Science, Center for Computational Biology, McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States; Department of Biostatistics, Center for Computational Biology, McKusick-Nathans Institute of Genetic Medicine, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, United States
Mark A Norell
Division of Paleontology, American Museum of Natural History, New York, United States
Geoffrey D Abbott
School of Natural and Environmental Sciences, Newcastle University, Newcastle upon Tyne, United Kingdom
Marc R Dickinson
Department of Chemistry, University of York, York, United Kingdom
School of Earth Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom; School of Biological Sciences, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Ian D Bull
School of Chemistry, University of Bristol, Bristol, United Kingdom
Fossils were thought to lack original organic molecules, but chemical analyses show that some can survive. Dinosaur bone has been proposed to preserve collagen, osteocytes, and blood vessels. However, proteins and labile lipids are diagenetically unstable, and bone is a porous open system, allowing microbial/molecular flux. These ‘soft tissues’ have been reinterpreted as biofilms. Organic preservation versus contamination of dinosaur bone was examined by freshly excavating, with aseptic protocols, fossils and sedimentary matrix, and chemically/biologically analyzing them. Fossil ‘soft tissues’ differed from collagen chemically and structurally; while degradation would be expected, the patterns observed did not support this. 16S rRNA amplicon sequencing revealed that dinosaur bone hosted an abundant microbial community different from lesser abundant communities of surrounding sediment. Subsurface dinosaur bone is a relatively fertile habitat, attracting microbes that likely utilize inorganic nutrients and complicate identification of original organic material. There exists potential post-burial taphonomic roles for subsurface microorganisms.
