soft tissue respresentation in the fossil record 2

[michael schmidt]

The French Jurassic ammonite plate with soft tissue preservation didn't come through on the last post.

is there a limit to the number of pics on a post?

here are the pics

more to follow

 

[um...]

Yeah, you only get three attachments per post.

 

[Phil]

Michael,

Thanks for the images. I just wondered if you could kindly clarify what we are looking at here. Are the lighter brown smudges extruded stomach contents, or the animal itself? I must admit that I am somewhat confused by the images.

It seems to me that a definitive ammonite fossil displaying soft-bodied preservation at the head is pretty much a holy grail amongst invertebrate palaeontologists. Finally defining the structure of the animal would answer so many questions (though doubtless would raise many more!).

Please help!