Fossils of Hydrothermal Vent Worms from Cretaceous Sulfide Ores of the Samail Ophiolite, Oman

Abstract

Fossil worm tubes of Cretaceous age preserved in the Bayda massive sulfide deposit of the Samail ophiolite, Oman, are apparently the first documented examples of fossils embedded in massive sulfide deposits from the geologic record. The geologic setting of the Bayda deposit and the distinctive mineralogic and textural features of the fossiliferous samples suggest that the Bayda sulfide deposit and fossil fauna are remnants of a Cretaceous sea-floor hydrothermal vent similar to modern hot springs on the East Pacific Rise and the Juan de Fuca Ridge.

Tubes of deep sea hydrothermal vent worms Riftia pachyptila (Vestimentifera) and Alvinella pompejana (Annelida)

“…Fossilized worm tubes have been found in areas of ancient extinct hydrothermal vent activity (Haymon et al 1984, Oudin & Constantinou 1984, Banks 1985. Such tubes are coated with concentric layers of amorphous silica intercalated with thin sulfide laminae.…”

Specific and genetic diversity at deep-sea hydrothermal vents: an overview

“…On the basis of these data, they have also proposed that these bivalves evolved from coastal and shallow-water environments and have progressively invaded deep-sea vents and seeps as they acquired endosymbionts. Conversely, alvinellid species seem to represent living fossils which have evolved from deep-sea hydrothermal vents since the early Palaeozoic time (Haymon et al, 1984;Banks, 1985;Kuznetsov et al, 1991). Genetic distances between species ranged from 0.6 ( Paralvinella pandorae pandorae versus Paralvinella pandorae irlandei) to 4.2 (Alvinella versus Paralvinella) and confirmed their ancient origin (Jollivet, 1993).…”

Hydrothermal Alteration of Organic Matter in Marine and Terrestrial Systems

“…The geochemistry of vent fluids, interstitial fluids in sediments, and organic matter associated with hydrothermal systems is also a major area of research effort (e.g., Edmond and Von Damm, 1983; Gieskes et al, 1982aGieskes et al, , b, 1988Simoneit, 1990;Von Damm, 1990). Because there is extensive geological evidence for the occurrence of hydrothermal systems back to Archean time (e.g., Haymon et al, 1984;de Wit et al, 1982), the hypothesis of a relationship between such systems and the origin of life has merit (Corliss et al, 1981). Some authors propose that life could not have originated in high-temperature hydrothermal systems, but only that the latter provided reduced compounds and chemical recycling in the Archean (Miller and Bada, 1988;Or6 et a1., 1990).…”