Discovery of giant and conventional magnetofossils bookending Cretaceous Oceanic Anoxic Event 2

Conventional magnetofossils are the remains of magnetotactic bacteria and giant magnetofossils are the remains of iron biomineralizing organisms that have not yet been identified. We report the oldest robust conventional and giant magnetofossil records, ~97 Ma, from marine sediments drilled in Holland Park, Virginia, USA. The Holland Park core records the Cenomanian-Turonian boundary and Oceanic-Anoxic Event 2 (OAE2). Magnetic datasets indicate single domain magnetite within the clay-rich sediments bookending OAE2. Electron microscopy images from these intervals highlight conventional and giant magnetofossil morphologies, including three potentially new giant magnetofossil morphologies: seeds, squash, and spades. There is an overall high abundance and morphological disparity of magnetofossils at Holland Park. However, we observe abundance, disparity, and preservation changes between the magnetofossil assemblages bookending OAE2. Our observations provide clues toward understanding the ecological thresholds of the enigmatic organisms that produce giant magnetofossils and evidence that magnetofossils may be widely distributed in the geologic record.

Courtney L. Wagner, Ioan Lascu, Jean M. Self-Trail, Tim Gooding, Kenneth J. T. Livi, Gianna Greger, Kristina Gardner, Jody Wycech, Mark Dreier, Tom Oliver