Memorias de la RSEHN (segunda época)

Los graptolitos silúricos de la Zona Centroibérica suelen conservarse aplastados en pizarras negras, pero en algunos yacimientos los rabdosomas pueden retener parte de su relieve original o conservarse incluso en tres dimensiones. La mayoría de las veces existe una piritización temprana de los rabdosomas por la acción de bacterias sulforreductoras en ambiente anóxico, a la que se suma la génesis de nódulos. La alteración posterior de la pirita deja los graptolitos en forma de moldes, que pueden ser estudiados mediante vaciados en látex. Otros fenómenos de piritización multifásica en sedimentos gruesos conducen a la formación de nódulos de pirita que incluyen en su interior graptolitos huecos y en tres dimensiones, con el peridermo replicado delicadamente en óxidos de hierro. En otras ocasiones, los graptolitos preservados en nódulos generados en sedimentos pelágicos incluyen el recrecimiento de fosfatos sobre el peridermo de los graptolitos, que llegan a conservarse huecos y con estructuras de rellenos geopetales. Finalmente, se presenta el único caso de calizas con graptolitos conocido en el Silúrico centroibérico.

Silurian graptolites form the Central-Iberian Zone are often preserved as flattened moulds in black shales, but in some cases rhabdosomes can maintain a part of its original relief, and even can appear three-dimensionally preserved. The majority of these cases can be related to an early pyritisation of the periderm favoured by bacterial activity under anoxic conditions, which also led to the genesis of nodules on the same beds. Further oxidation and dissapearance of iron minerals limited the preservation of graptolites to external moulds, that can be studied through latex casts. A different way of preservation of 3-D graptolites occurs in coarse sandstone that enhanced multiphase pyritisation fenomena, where ferruginous nodules enclosing rhabdosomes reveal that the framboidal pyrite that mineralized the periderm during very early diagenesis was remarkably resilient not only to subsequent deformation, but also to the differential weathering of the massive overpyrite that constitute the nodules. The pyritised graptolite periderm was finally replicated by iron-oxides with a minor proportion of phyllosilicates. The occurrence of “hollow” graptolites is also known from silico-phosphatic nodules, where the organic periderm was finely replicated by phosphatic overgrowths that coated the inner and outer surfaces of the rhabdosome. Occasional pseudostalactites of phosphatic minerals and colloidal silica partially occupied the empty spaces. Graptolite internal moulds occurring in limestone are very rare and are restricted to a single locality within the studied region.