X-ray nanotomography and electron backscatter diffraction demonstrate the crystalline, heterogeneous and impermeable nature of conodont white matter
Conodont elements, microfossil remains of extinct primitive vertebrates, are commonly exploited as mineral archives of ocean chemistry, yielding fundamental insights into the palaeotemperature and chemical composition of past oceans. Geochemical assays have been traditionally focused on the so-called lamellar and white matter crown tissues; however, the porosity and crystallographic nature of the white matter and its inferred permeability are disputed, raising concerns over its suitability as a geochemical archive. Here, we constrain the characteristics of this tissue and address conflicting interpretations using ptychographic X-ray-computed tomography (PXCT), pore network analysis, synchro…
Table S1. from X-ray nanotomography and electron backscatter diffraction demonstrate the crystalline, heterogeneous and impermeable nature of conodont white matter
Quantification and pore distribution derived from the Pore Network analysis of a cross section of the cusp of the eucondont Teriodontus nakamurai.