Dear all,
I'm wondering if the "Annelida" community might be able to help and
advise me. I am a micropaleontologist with scientific interests that
include the study of modern cold seep carbonate bodies and through the
geologic time, especially in terms of the microbial fossils that can be
preserved in these carbonate rocks.
Recently, I have studied a Miocene-aged cold seep which is characterized
by the abundance of tubular-shaped structures. These tubes are embedded
in a carbonate rock with very negative delta C13 values, as it is
typical of cold seep-generated carbonates. The size of these tubes is
about 200-300 microns in diameter and up to 2-3 mm in length. They are
often densely packed, although they can also be less densely spread in
the rock. My first interpretation for these "things" is that they would
be mineralized filamentous bacteria, such as giant Beggiatoa. Now, for
several reasons (including size and lack of visible segmentation), I
think that they could be nematode or polichaete worms, or products of
their metabolism (i.e. fecal remains).
May be someone in your biological community can help me in their
interpretation or can point me in the direction of someone who is. In
this case I can also forward light microscope and SEM photographs of
these bugs.
Thanks to all of you,
Roberto
Roberto Barbieri
Dipartimento di Scienze della Terra e Geologico-Ambientali
Universita' di Bologna
Via Zamboni 67, 40126 Bologna, Italy
Voice: +39 051 2094575
Fax: +39 051 2094522
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