Abstract
Damages produced by plant roots are one of the biological processes that may modify or destroy vertebrate remains (such as bones, scutes, scales, and teeth) during the biostratinomic stage of fossilization. These damages can be produced in fresh remains (pre-fossilization or pre-diagenesis phase) and/or in fossil remains (post-fossilization or post-diagenesis phase) and differentiate the traces (biological modification of the remains) produced in these different stages is not an easy task. In this contribution, we describe four morphotypes of traces on vertebrate remains collected in the Eocene San Juan Formation (northeastern New Mexico, USA), some of which had recent roots adhered in their surface. The morphological differences between traces of each morphotype are related to the tissue organization of the substrates. Since we could relate the morphology to a specific producer, the traces described here can be used as proxies to recognize recent root damages of vertebrate remains found in other localities and time. Recent root traces made in fossils indicate that these remains suffered at least one cycle of exhumation-modification-burial, being important signatures that allow to better understanding the taphonomic history of a fossil assemblage.
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Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Asher J. Lichtig and the “Friends of Paleontology” group for the fieldwork assistance. This study was possible due to the grants aided by CNPq (Process: 150623/2018-6) and CAPES (Process: PDSE-88881.133764/2016-01; Finance Code 001) to HF.
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Francischini, H., Lucas, S.G., Dentzien-Dias, P., Schultz, C.L. (2020). Recent Root Damages of Fossilized Vertebrate Remains from New Mexico, USA. In: Martínez, S., Rojas, A., Cabrera, F. (eds) Actualistic Taphonomy in South America. Topics in Geobiology, vol 48. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20625-3_8
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