Introducing palaeolithobiology

作者：Magnus Ivarsson, Henrik Drake, Anna Neubeck, Oona Snoeyenbos-West, Veneta Belivanova, Stefan Bengtson · 发表于：GFF · 年份：2021 · DOI：10.1080/11035897.2021.1895302 · 被引用次数：26 · 研究领域：Building materials and conservation、Geology and Paleoclimatology Research、Lichen and fungal ecology

A growing literature of deep but also surficial fossilized remains of lithobiological life, often associated with igneous rocks, necessitates the unfolding of a sub-discipline within paleobiology. Here, we introduce the term paleolithobiology as the new auxiliary sub-discipline under which fossilized lithobiology should be handled. We present key criteria that distinguish the paleolithobiological archive from the traditional one and discuss sample strategies as well as scientific perspectives. A majority of paleolithobiological material consists of deep biosphere fossils, and in order to highlight the relevance of these, we present new data on fungal fossils from the Lockne impact crater. Fungal fossils in the Lockne drill cores have been described previously but here we provide new insights into the presence of reproductive structures that indicate the fungi to be indigenous. We also show that these fungi frequently dissolve and penetrate secondary calcite, delineating the role lithobionts plays in geobiological cycles. We hope that the formalization of the sub-discipline paleolithobiology will not only highlight an overlooked area of paleobiology as well as simplify future studies of endo- and epilithic fossil material, but also improve our understanding of the history of the deep biosphere.