Immaculate Feather Fossil Reveals the Unlikely Preserving Power of Volcanoes

Fossilized feathers discovered 136 years ago are still revealing new secrets. Researchers found that the volcanic rock preserving the feather holds microscopic details preserved within the fossil. The team’s research—published today in Geology—found that the feathers are preserved in zeolite, a mode of preservation that hasn’t been reported for soft tissues until now. “Fossil feathers are usually preserved in ancient mudrocks laid down in lakes or lagoons,” said Valentina Rossi, a researcher at University College Cork and lead author of the study, in a university release. “The fossil vulture is preserved in ash deposits, which is extremely unusual. When analyzing the fossil vulture plumage, we found ourselves in uncharted territory. These feathers are nothing like what we usually see in other fossils.” Rossi told Gizmodo in an email that the finding “expands on what it’s possible in the fossil record,” and that low temperature flows from volcanoes are “very good media to preserve so ... Read full article.