Even if fossilized footprints are common in the study of paleontology, establishing the ancient creature which made the particular track has proven to be quite difficult for researchers in this field. Recently, this problem of figuring out has been answered by a team of researchers as reported by the Journal of Vertebrae Paleontology.
In this publication, the team of researchers was able to find the solution to this dilemma for the first time. Their method is able to connect a fossil footpath to a well-known fossil animal.
A trackway expert from the Institute of Geology, Freiberg University of Mining and Technology in Germany, Sebastian Voigt, and researchers of fossil skeletons from the the Carnegie Museum of Natural History in Pittsburgh, David Berman and Amy Henrici, closely examined the exceptional fossil collection that originated from sediments of the Tambach Formation in central Germany. This collection dates back to 290 million years and the Bromacker locality in the Tambach Formation is famous for its fossil footprints for well over a century.
The Bromacker locality provided essential hints to solving the aforementioned dilemma of paleontologists. Outstandingly detailed trackways were discovered in the same sediments, as well as remarkably preserved skeletons.
Berman remarked that having beautifully preserved tracks with skeletons at the same site are exceptional situations for paleontologists because they offer a great opportunity for better understanding of how such extinct animals had once lived.
In order to match up the most common tracks with their makers, the team shared their expertise in anatomy and ichnology, which is the study of tracks. Comprehensive measurements of the tracks, pooled with measurements of the legs, feet and backbones of the skeletal material enabled the researchers to identify which creature made the tracks.
In order to better study fossil specimens, such as these fossilized trackways, the use of a stereo binocular microscope is recommended. Minute composition of fossilized track marks and pathways are made clear because of the strong magnification and transmitted light that this type of microscope delivers. Not only that, a stereo binocular microscope provides the researcher a three dimensional view of the fossil subject placed under it which is better compared to the two-dimensional image given by a compound microscope. Images are vibrant, permitting the scientist to better observe and appreciate the fossil specimen because of the erect and upright image that a stereo binocular microscope provides.
In observing a fossil specimen with the use of a stereo binocular microscope, the fossil sample must first be sliced into thin segments. The specimen must be fine because a stereo binocular microscope functions with incident light. Because of this, the fossil sample has to be thin enough in order to allow the light to pass.
Stereo binocular microscope is not only limited in the investigation of fossils. In fact, this type of microscope has a wide array of applications. A stereo binocular microscope may be engaged in examinations of other natural specimens, such as plants, minerals, and insects, among other. Moreover, a stereo binocular microscope may be employed in technical applications. Coins, textiles, and electronic components may be observed with the use of a stereo binocular microscope. Aside from said applications, dissection and precision assembly can be accomplished through the use of a stereo binocular microscope. A biologist or a circuit board technician can use a stereo binocular microscope for dissection or for repair, respectively.