Abstract
The chemical structure of isolated chitinozoan specimens extracted from early Silurian marine rocks has been investigated by micro-FTIR, laser micro-Raman spectroscopy and laser micropyrolysis-gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (LmPy-GC-MS). The samples were subjected to relatively low thermal stress as attested by several indices. LmPy-GC-MS and micro-FTIR indicate that chitinozoans consist mostly of a kerogen network dominated by aromatic groups with a low contribution of aliphatics and oxygen- or nitrogen-bearing compounds. No chitin-related product was found in the pyrolysate of the chitinozoans, confirming previous findings on the occurrence of this biopolymer in the fossil record.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1782-1788 |
Number of pages | 7 |
Journal | Organic Geochemistry |
Volume | 38 |
Issue number | 10 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - Oct 2007 |