ABSTRACT

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.

摘要

越来越多的关于岩石生物生命的深层但也是表面的化石遗骸的文献，通常与火成岩有关，需要在古生物学中展开一个子学科。在这里，我们引入古岩石生物学这个术语作为处理化石岩石生物学的新辅助分支学科。我们提出了区分古岩石生物学档案与传统档案的关键标准，并讨论了样本策略和科学观点。大多数古岩石生物材料由深层生物圈化石组成，为了强调这些的相关性，我们提供了关于洛克恩撞击坑真菌化石的新数据。Lockne 钻芯中的真菌化石之前已经描述过，但在这里我们提供了对生殖结构存在的新见解，这些结构表明真菌是本土的。我们还表明，这些真菌经常溶解并渗透次生方解石，描绘了岩石生物在地球生物循环中的作用。我们希望亚学科古岩石生物学的正式化不仅能突出古生物学中一个被忽视的领域，简化未来对内和上石化石材料的研究，而且能提高我们对深层生物圈历史的理解。