Petrified Specimens Research Articles

The petrified corpse: First study on the preservation status of the skin

To the Editor: Petrification is a particular method for the artificial preservation of bodies that found wide application in Italy, notably in the 19th century. This technique allowed researchers to maintain the exact features of the deceased, preserve tissue, internal organs, and hair, mostly in a state of stone hardness. This mechanism was based on the replacement of biologic liquids with chemical preservatives mainly obtained through intravascular injections.1Carli A. Piombino-Mascali D. I preparati anatomici lombardi tra Otto- e Novecento. Paolo Gorini e Giuseppe Paravicini.Med Secoli. 2015; 27: 413-425Google Scholar Each scientist, such as Efisio Marini, Girolamo Segato, and Paolo Gorini, developed a different formula to petrify bodies. Paolo Gorini (1813-1881) was one of the most important experts and performed petrification on hundreds of cadavers, including that of Giuseppe Mazzini.2Luzzato S. La mummia della Repubblica. Storia di Mazzini Imbalsamato (1872-1946). Rizzoli, Milano, Italy2001Google Scholar He used 2 formulas, hereby reported as “a sulfuric acid solution in the proportion of 10% or an alcohol-saturated solution of mercuric bichloride and muriate of calcium in the proportion that the volume of the first is 10 times that of the second.”3Carli A. Storia di uno scienziato. La collezione anatomica Paolo Gorini. Bolis, Azzano San Paolo, Italy2005Google Scholar The purpose of this work is to verify for the first time the preservation status of tissues following petrification by Gorini's method. Our study was carried out on an already petrified body of an unknown individual affected by a widespread bullous skin manifestation (Fig 1, A and B) held in the Paolo Gorini Museum of Lodi (northern Italy). A superficial fragment of skin free of lesions was taken from the lateroplantar region of the right foot (Fig 1, C). The material was similar to a skin biopsy acquired by using the shave biopsy technique and, therefore, consisted mainly of a thin layer of hyperkeratotic epidermis with little underlying dermis. The analysis was performed on microscopic slides after the inclusion of samples in epoxy resin.4Fulcheri E. Boano R. Grilletto R. et al.Ancient Egyptian mummies: histological examinations to assess the presence of contaminations or pollutants.in: Lynnerup N. Andreasen C. Berglund J. Mummies in a New Millennium. Greenland National Museum and Archives and Danish Polar Center, Nuuk, Copenhagen2003: 89-92Google Scholar Resin embedding is an alternative technique used in the study of mummified tissues, the other technique being rehydration of samples and inclusion in paraffin. After resin embedding, a stain with hematoxylin-eosin and Masson trichrome was performed. Other sections were immunohistochemically stained with cytokeratin antibodies (AE1, AE3) and vimentin. Histologic investigations (Fig 2) revealed a discretely preserved epithelial tissue, with a structure that is still recognizable on the tangential sections (Fig 2, A, D, G). In particular, the epithelial layers are hyperkeratotic, partly consisting of the easily detachable epithelia of the stratum corneum and, to a lesser extent, epithelia of the deeper, more cohesive layers of the stratum granulosum and spinosum, which are still possible to distinguish, especially because of the hematoxylin-eosin stain (the shadow of the nuclei). From the histochemical investigations, the epithelial tissue was found to be positive for cytokeratins and negative for vimentin (Fig 2, B, H, I). In the literature, the preservation status of natural or embalmed mummified bodies has often been discussed.5Aufderheide A.C. The Scientific Study of Mummies. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge2003Google Scholar In this respect, however, historic petrified specimens have never been analyzed. This first study demonstrates that petrification guaranteed good tissue preservation, maintaining the skin's histologic, histochemical, metachromatic, and antigenic characteristics. Positivity for cytokeratin alone and negativity for vimentin demonstrate the reliability of immunohistochemical results, which often in paleopathology show false positives. With a good level of skin preservation, histologic investigations can be carried out on fragments of skin affected by lesions and used to diagnose the dermatologic pathology, possibly smallpox or pellagra, that the person once had.

A comparison between Giovan Battista Rini and Paolo Gorini

This short paper aims to explore analogies between the two famous embalmers from Lombardy, Giovan Battista Rini and Paolo Gorini. These extraordinary figures are wellknown due to their petrified specimens and are compared on the basis of preparation typologies, materials employed and the shroud of mystery that characterized their stories.

Pinuxylon woolardii Sp. Nov., A New Petrified Taxon of Pinaeae from the Miocene Basalts of Eastern Oregon

Specimens of the new species Pinuxylon woolardii have been collected from Miocene strata near Durkee, OR. These petrified specimens are unique in that, due to weathering, individual tracheids and ray cells can be separated for detailed SEM studies. This species is characterized by its high number of ray cells; numerous rays; large resin ducts which are commonly paired; primarily uniseriate pitting, two to five (usually three) small, oval or circular pinoid pits per crossfield; and smooth walls on its transverse (ray) tracheids. The latter character relates this species to taxa in the subgenus Haploxylon of Pinus. Pinuxylon woolardii is most similar to the fossil species Pinuxylon parryoides and the extant species Pinus aristata, P. cembroides, P. edulis, P. monophylla and P. balfouriana. These modern species live in dryer environments and at higher elevations than that suggested by the Miocene leaf floras which occur near the locality of P. woolardii.

PINUXYLON WOOLARDII SP. NOV., A NEW PETRIFIED TAXON OF PINACEAE FROM THE MIOCENE BASALTS OF EASTERN OREGON

Specimens of the new species Pinuxylon woolardii have been collected from Miocene strata near Durkee, OR. These petrified specimens are unique in that, due to weathering, individual tracheids and ray cells can be separated for detailed SEM studies. This species is characterized by its high number of ray cells; numerous rays; large resin ducts which are commonly paired; primarily uniseriate pitting, two to five (usually three) small, oval or circular pinoid pits per crossfield; and smooth walls on its transverse (ray) tracheids. The latter character relates this species to taxa in the subgenus Haploxylon of Pinus. Pinuxylon woolardii is most similar to the fossil species Pinuxylon parryoides and the extant species Pinus aristata, P. cembroides, P. edulis, P. monophylla and P. balfouriana. These modern species live in dryer environments and at higher elevations than that suggested by the Miocene leaf floras which occur near the locality of P. woolardii.

PETRIFIED NEUROPTERID FOLIAGE FROM A MIDDLE PENNSYLVANIAN COAL BALL

Petrified specimens of pteridosperm foliage assignable to Reticulopteris muensteri (Eichwald) Gothan and Neuropteris rarinervis Bunbury were found in a Middle Pennsylvanian age coal ball from central Iowa. The presumed close affinity of these two foliage taxa is supported by various anatomical similarities including hydathode‐like vein terminations and non‐papillate lower epidermises with high stomatal density. Comparison of the foliar anatomy of these neuropterids to that of the xeromorphic taxa Alethopteris sullivanti (Lesquereux) Schimper and A. lesquereuxi Wagner show striking differences which suggest that these neuropterid and alethopterid taxa were adapted to markedly different habitats.

Petrified Neuropterid Foliage from a Middle Pennsylvanian Coal Ball

Petrified specimens of pteridosperm foliage assignable to Reticulopteris muensteri (Eichwald) Gothan and Neuropteris rarinervis Bunbury were found in a Middle Pennsylvanian age coal ball from central Iowa. The presumed close affinity of these two foliage taxa is supported by various anatomical similarities including hydathode-like vein terminations and non-papillate lower epidermises with high stomatal density. Comparison of the foliar anatomy of these neuropterids to that of the xeromorphic taxa Alethopteris sullivanti (Lesquereux) Schimper and A. lesquereuxi Wagner show striking differences which suggest that these neuropterid and alethopterid taxa were adapted to markedly different habitats.

Lower Carboniferous pteridosperm cupules and the origin of angiosperms

SynopsisFour new petrified specimens of cupules assigned toHydraspermacf.tenuisLong are described from the Cementstone Group of Oxroad Bay, East Lothian. In one of these specimens four ovules are present. Three of the specimens are interpreted as representing a pair of cupules derived from a single megasporophyll showing dichotomy so that each cupule is termed a hemi-cupule and has two lobed halves which represent quarters of the entire megasporophyll. In the fourth specimen five cupules are present, each possessing two lobed halves not sub-divided into quarters.Hydraspermais thus interpreted as showing two kinds of cupules designated mega-cupules and paired hemi-cupules. The theory is developed that angiosperm carpels have evolved from the two kinds of pteridosperm cupules.

CUTICLES OF TWO SPECIES OF ALETHOPTERIS

Specimens of Alethopteris sullivanti (Lesquereux) Schimper and Alethopteris lesqueieuxi Wagner were found in Middle Pennsylvanian coal balls from the Lovilia, Iowa and West Mineral, Kansas localities. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study macerated cuticles of these two foliage types of the pteridosperm, Medullosa. The lower epidermises of both species of Alethopteris possess sunken stomata, papillae, and evidence of multicellular hairs. The upper epidermises are devoid of these features. Critical point drying and subsequent observation with SEM were used to document the structure of the multicellular hairs of A. lesquereuxi. Replicas of the lower epidermal features of an impression‐compression specimen of A. sullivanti were observed with SEM and compared with the petrified specimens.

Cuticles of Two Species of Alethopteris

Specimens of Alethopteris sullivanti (Lesquereux) Schimper and Alethopteris lesqueieuxi Wagner were found in Middle Pennsylvanian coal balls from the Lovilia, Iowa and West Mineral, Kansas localities. Light microscopy and scanning electron microscopy (SEM) were used to study macerated cuticles of these two foliage types of the pteridosperm, Medullosa. The lower epidermises of both species of Alethopteris possess sunken stomata, papillae, and evidence of multicellular hairs. The upper epidermises are devoid of these features. Critical point drying and subsequent observation with SEM were used to document the structure of the multicellular hairs of A. lesquereuxi. Replicas of the lower epidermal features of an impression-compression specimen of A. sullivanti were observed with SEM and compared with the petrified specimens.

Intercalary growth in the fossil arthrophyte, Sphenophyllum

Petrified specimens of Sphenophyllum preserved in a coal ball from the Middle Pennsylvanian of Kansas provide conclusive evidence of intercalary growth. Several well-preserved specimens of these small articulated stems exhibit an intercalary or “detached” meristem at the base of each internode. These meristematic regions are evident in the hypodermal tissue of the cortex as horizontal layers of isodiametric or transversely elongate cells. In the internodal regions above each meristem the hypodermal cells show a successive acropetal increase in length indicating that the meristems cut off new cells only in an apical direction. The intercalary meristems of Sphenophyllum are compared to those in the extant genus Equisetum and with certain fossil specimens of Calamites.

Further contribution to our knowledge of Dicotylirhizos sahnii Rao

The paper gives additional information about the root anatomy of Dicotylirhizos sahnii Rao based on a study of three petrified specimens collected from Mohgaonkalan beds of the Deccan Intertrappean series of India. The secondary wood is described in detail from transverse, radial and tangential sections.

A new species of Williamsonia from the Rajmahal Hills, India

The description of Williamsonia harrisiana sp. nov. is based on a few petrified specimens of ‘flowers’ and ‘fruits’ collected from Amarjola, Rajmahal hills, India. The species is characterized by the presence of a large number of irregularly distributed and transversely orientated stomata on the lower side of the bracts; a small dome-shaped receptacle with seminiferous and interseminal scales of which the former are much less in number than the latter; long stalked ovules with micropylar ends protruding out of the surface formed by the tips of sterile scales and a ring of interseminal scales forming a sort of sterile disc all round the base of the receptacle.

ANATOMY OF SIGILLARIA APPROXIMATA

SINCE IT IS not always possible to correlate compressions and impressions with petrifactions, the names assigned to specimens showing external features only are often different from those given to petrified specimens of the same taxon. Sigillaria is one of the few genera in which the specific epithet given to a fragment with internal preservation has always been one which had previously been assigned to a compressed fossil with leaf bases similar to those in the petrifaction. Much can be said for and against such a practice. It is obviously a much more natural system of naming fossil plants and it avoids a multiplication of species names. In addition, since several of the species of Sigillaria are so similar as far as internal features are concerned, differentiating species on the basis of histological details alone would be impossible. A drawback of this system, however, would be encountered if stem fragments lacking leaf bases were found. Such a situation confronted the author in the present study of Sigillaria since none of the several woody axes available had cortex and leaf bases attached. Petrified Sigillaria stems are not especially common, and they are even rarer in North America than in Europe. In 1935, Graham described a crushed specimen of Sigillaria app,roximata Fontaine and White (1880), a clathrarian species of the genus, from a coal ball found in a coal mine near the town of Calhoun, in Richland County, Illinois. Darrah (1941) listed the same species from Iowa coal balls, but there is no description, nor does he cite a paper referring to its discovery in Iowa. Fisher and Noe (1939) indicated that S. elegans also occurs in Richland County, Illinois, but again there are no further details. MATERIALS.-Coal balls have recently become available in a creek bed about two and three-quarters miles east of Calhoun, Illinois, on the prpoerty of Mr. Lowell Steuber (NE 1/4 sec. 32, T3N, R 14 W, Sumner Quadrangle, Richland County). Coal was mined from the creek bed in the past, but operations have since been discontinued. The coal appears to be a continuation of the seam exposed in other nearby places (Graham, 1935; Schopf, 1941). Several coal balls from the recently discovered locality have yielded sigillarian remains in an excellent state of preservation. For reasons mentioned later in the paper, the species of Sigillaria present has been identified as S. approximata, and because of the quality of preservation of the material, a detailed study of the anatomy of that species could be made.

A Study of the Vegetative Anatomy of the Genus Sphenophyllum from American Coal Balls

Although the genus Sphenophyllum has been described in some of the earliest paleobotanical works and Seward (1898) lists it as one of the best-known fossil plants, the rich source of petrified specimens in the American coal balls has been very largely ignored. The works of Renault and Williamson (1878) did much to make known the inner structure of the stems, roots and leaves of the English and European forms, although gaps were left concerning our knowledge of branching, the attachment of roots, and other anatomical points. It was with the hope, therefore, of contributing to our knowledge of the internal structure of the plants, as well as the desire to make better known the American fossils and to correlate them in so far as possible with the English and French species, that this study was undertaken. The material on which this study was based was obtained from two sources as follows: The Pyramid mine, two miles south of Pinckneyville, Perry County, Illinois, this horizon being at the base of the McLeansboro series (coal No. 6) and of upper-middle Pennsylvanian age; and The What Cheer Clay Products Co. coal mine, one-half mile west of What Cheer, Iowa. This horizon lies in the Des Moines series of the Pennsylvanian.

X.—On Some Undescribed Species from the Lower Carboniferous Flora of Berwickshire; together with a Note on the Genus Stenomyelon Kidston

The publication by Kidston and Gwynne-Vaughan ïn 1912 of a memoir on Stenomyelon tuedianum Kidston marked the beginning of a proposed series, which was never continued by them, on the Carboniferous Flora of Berwickshire, based upon material collected during 1900 and 1901 from rocks of the Calciferous Sandstone Series (Cementstone Group) at various localities in Berwickshire while Kidston was working with Mr A. Macconochie of the Geological Survey. Brief notes on this material, with identifications of some of the plants found in compression form, were contributed by Kidston to the “Summary of the Progress of the Geological Survey” (Kidston, 1901, 1902 a), where he commented upon the interest and importance of the material; but beyond recording the occurrence of petrified specimens, no further description of these was given at the time. An incomplete list of anatomical species identified from this Berwickshire material was also given by Kidston at a later date (Kidston, 1923, p. 19). Some of the petrifactions, in addition to the Stenomyelon tuedianum already referred to (Kidston and Gwynne-Vaughan, loc. cit.), have been described by various writers, mostly from specimens in the Kidston Collection of Fossil Plant Slides in the Botany Department of Glasgow University, where the majority of the sections is to be found.

Contributions to the Anatomy of Mesozoic Conifers No. I. Jurassic Coniferous Woods from Yorkshire1

DURING been investigated the last few anatomically, years, a large and number found to of throw Cretaceous considerable woods have light e investigated anatomically, and f und to throw considerable light on the inter-relationships of the various families of Conifers. Structurally preserved material from the Jurassic is comparatively rarer and less known, but seems to be of even greater value than the Cretaceous from this standpoint. Especially interesting are those specimens described by Professor Seward from Yorkshire, England (1), by Gothan from King Karl's Land (2) and the island of Spitzbergen (3), and by Lignier from Normandy (4). The woods to be described in this article are all from the Jurassic of Yorkshire. They are in two conditions of preservation petrified and lignitic. With a few exceptions, the petrified material was sent by Mr. James Lomax to Professor Jeffrey, to whom the writer is indebted for an opportunity to study it. All the lignite, on the other hand, and a small number of petrified specimens, were obtained by the writer from various localities on the Yorkshire coast. All the sections from Mr. Lomax, and representative ones of the lignitic material, are now at the University Museum, Harvard College, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Before entering on the descriptive part, it will be apposite to consider briefly those features which have been found to be of greatest significance in diagnosing woods, especially in differentiating between the two great groups of Conifers Araucarian and nonAraucarian, or Abietineous. The earliest classification, that of Kraus (5), was based entirely on the character of the radial pitting of the tracheides the pits being alternating and compressed in the Araucarineae, and opposite and separated in the Abietineae and other tribes. This is the criterion used by both Seward and Lignier. Jeffrey (6), however, has shown that in the Cretaceous there were woods which combined the Araucarian type of pitting with that characteristic of

XXXII.—Jurassic Plants from Cromarty and Sutherland, Scotland.

In an account of the Jurassic flora of Sutherland, published in 1911, it was stated that a few petrified specimens from Eathie Bay, Cromarty, and from Helmsdale on the coast of Sutherland, would be dealt with in a subsequent paper. One of the best preserved of them forms the subject of a recent communication to the Royal Society of London. The majority of the specimens described in the following pages are from the Hugh Miller collection in the Royal Scottish Museum, Edinburgh. We take this opportunity of expressing our thanks to the Director of the Museum for the loan of the fossils, and for permission to have sections prepared for microscopical examination. For the loan of the section reproduced in Plate II. fig. 19 we are indebted to the generosity of Dr Kidston.

I. Further observations on the organisation of the fossil plants of the coal-measures. Part I. Calamites, Calamostachys , and Sphenophyllum

1. Catamites .—The first part of the paper gives a detailed account of the vegetative structure of Calamites , on the basis of a renewed investigation, in which special attention has been directed to developmental questions. The petrified specimens which have formed the chief material for our observations have their structure preserved in great perfection, and it has been possible to make a thorough study of their organisation at various stages of development.