3D Focused Ion Beam Microscopy of Fossilized Albertosaurus sarcophagus reveals Nano to Microscale Structures

Abstract

Osteohistological investigations of fossilized bone can reveal details about the specimens biological, geological and environmental conditions. Micro-to-nanoscale imaging provides insight into the structural organization of bone and can also reveal indicators of the fossilization process. We examined a petrographic thin section of the left fibula of a [~]71.5 million-year-old Albertosaurus sarcophagus (Canadian Museum of Nature [CMN] catalogue number FV 11315) using nanoscale scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and focused ion beam (FIB)-SEM tomographic imaging to study the arrangement of mineral and organic components of fossil bone in multidimensions. Here, we present evidence of permineralization in Haversian canals by energy dispersive X-ray spectroscopy. Nanoscale 3D FIB-SEM imaging revealed that the characteristic 67 nm banding periodicity of collagen fibrils was remarkably well preserved over 70M years, and 3D imaging allowed for the detection of collagen fibril bundles in parallel fibered and lamellar bone arrangements. A newly discovered structure in modern bone, the ellipsoidal mineral cluster, was tiled throughout the 3D space of fibrolamellar fossil bone. These observations, afforded by the high-resolution and site-specific nature of FIB-SEM, link key fossilized features with the micro-nanoscale structure of modern-day bone. This investigation highlights the persistence of bone formation and organization persisting for over millions of years.