Vibrational Spectroscopy: A New Approach to Paleobiology

(C. P. Marshall)

Acritarchs are organic walled microfossils of unknown biological affinities. They are conventionally interpreted as algal cysts but most probably include a larger range of organisms such as prokaryotic sheaths, heterotroph protists or even parts of multicellular beings. Biologists easily differentiate between prokaryotic and eukaryotic organisms using molecular and cell biology, but these characters rarely survive fossilization. Identifying the biological affinities of these microscopic organisms will clarify Proterozoic (2.5 Ga to 5.5 Ma) microbial paleobiology. It will also contribute to phylogenetic reconstructions, and improve our understanding of early evolutionary mechanisms and patterns, and the early interactions between environment and life. New approaches are necessary to elucidate their paleobiology. Single microfossils will be characterized by vibrational spectroscopy.