Figure 4 | Scientific Reports

Figure 4

From: Exceptional preservation of a Cretaceous intestine provides a glimpse of the early ecological diversity of spiny-rayed fishes (Acanthomorpha, Teleostei)

Figure 4

Synchrotron micro-X-ray fluorescence (µXRF) maps of major-to-trace elements of MHNM-KK-OT 09a. (A) Iron (red), yttrium (green) and potassium (blue) distributions of the anterior part of the specimen; (B) Distributions of the same elements at a greater lateral resolution of the intestinal tract, reconstructed from a full spectral decomposition of the XRF data (information depth typically 50 µm for Fe and K and 150 µm for Y). Acquisition parameters: 100 × 100 µm2 scan step, 28,951 pixels in (A); 30 × 30 µm2 scan step, 18,018 pixels in (B). Scale bars, 5 mm (A) 1 mm (B). (C–F) Mean XRF spectra and main elemental contributions from the box areas in (A) (mean spectra from 65 pixels) and (B) (mean spectra from 40 pixels), respectively. From top to bottom, spectra are respectively characteristic of the sedimentary matrix, a skull bone, an iron-rich grain and the intestine. Note that the vertical scale differs in (E).

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