From dolphins to dinosaurs -- how fine detail is preserved in fossils
Wednesday, September 22, 2010 - 16:07
in Paleontology & Archaeology
(PhysOrg.com) -- Why do some fossils preserve soft tissue in very fine detail while others most of the detail is lost? After death there is a race against time between soft tissue destruction and mineralisation of the carcass. In some cases soft tissue becomes mineralised in a state similar to the living animal; in others, only bone survives. One theory is that if the body is allowed to dehydrate, for example during a period of drought, and later rehydrated, for example during a flood, the soft tissue may be very well preserved.