Home / Preservation & Taphonomy / Pyrite Preservation

Rainer Albert, Steinkern.de: Die Konservierung sulfidisierter Fossilien mittels Ethanolaminthioglycolat und Paraloid B67. In German.

! P.A. Allison (1990): 3.8.3 Pyrite. PDF file, scroll to page 253! Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Article in: Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.): Paleobiology: A Synthesis. Navigate from the contents file (PDF).

Uwe Buschschlüter, Steinkern: Konservierung sulfidisierter Fossilien - zwei Methoden im Vergleich. In German.

U. Bajpai et al. (2001): Nature and composition of pyrite framboids and organic substrate from degraded leaf cuticles of Late Tertiary sediments, Mahuadanr Valley, Palamu, Bihar. PDF file. Current Science, 81. 102-106.
See also here.

! N. Barling et al. (2023): A unique record of prokaryote cell pyritization. Open access, Geology, 51: 1062–1066, https://doi.org/10.1130/G51352.1.
"... We propose that spheroidal structures scattered across the surface of Crato Formation insect fossils are fossilized prokaryotes, likely coccoid bacterial body fossils
[...] These microorganisms were pyritized, covering decaying carcasses, 1.14 ± 0.01 ìm in size, hollow with smooth surfaces, and can be found as aggregates resembling modern prokaryotes, particularly, coccoid bacterial colonies ..."

! N. Barling (2018): The Fidelity of Preservation of Insects from the Crato Formation (Lower Cretaceous) of Brazil. In PDF, Thesis, University of Portsmouth.
See also here.
"... The Nova Olinda Member fossil insects have a broad range of preservational fidelities.
[...] At their highest-fidelity, they are complete, fully-articulated, high-relief specimens with submicron-scale replication of both external and internal morphology. Cuticular structures (setae, scales, ommatidia, etc.) are sometimes replicated to the submicron-scale
[...] The remaining tissues are obliterated by pseudomorphed pseudoframboids (or pseudoframboid-like aggregates), which also protected the carcass from compaction ..."

A.R. Bashforth (1999): Descriptive taxonomy, biostratigraphic correlation and paleoenvironmental reconstruction of an Upper Carboniferous macrofloral assemblage, Bay St. George Basin, Southwestern Newfoundland. Thesis, Memorial University of Newfoundland. See also here (in PDF).

J.C. Benedict (2015): A new technique to prepare hard fruits and seeds for anatomical studies. In PDF, Appl. Plant Sci., 3.

Sylvain Bernard et al. (2010): Multiscale characterization of pyritized plant tissues in blueschist facies metamorphic rocks. Abstract, Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 74: 5054-5068.

T.R.R. Bontognali et al. (2012): Sulfur isotopes of organic matter preserved in 3.45-billion-year-old stromatolites reveal microbial metabolism. In PDF, PNAS, 109: 15146-15151. See also here.

! P.S. Borkow and L.E. Babcock (2003): Turning Pyrite Concretions Outside-In: Role of Biofilms in Pyritization of Fossils. PDF file, The Sedimentary Record, 1.

! The Botanical Society of America: The American Journal of Botany Cover Images Index. The collection on the page holding the cover images of the American Journal of Botany. A great set of images! Now provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Go to:
Three-dimensional reconstruction of the pyritized fossil fruit Palaeorhodomyrtus subangulata.

Dee Breger, Mgr. SEM/EDX Facility, Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory, Palisades, NY: Earth Images, Black Sea pyrite. A beautiful pyrite framboid SEM picture.
Still available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

D.W. Brett and N. Edwards (1970): Pyrite Crystals in the Parenchyma Cells in Wood of Fossil Root. Abstract, Nature, 227: 836-837.

! D.E.G. Briggs and S. McMahon (2016): The role of experiments in investigating the taphonomy of exceptional preservation. Abstract, Palaeontology, 59: 1–11. See also here (in PDF).

Derek E. G. Briggs (hosted by chembytes e-zine): Death and construction. The chemical secrets of some of the world's most spectacular fossils. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! Derek Briggs and Peter Crowther (eds.), Earth Pages, Blackwell Publishing: Paleobiology: A Synthesis (PDF files). Series of concise articles from over 150 leading authorities from around the world. Navigate from the content file. Excellent! Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine. Go to:
Pyrite (page 253).

F. Brock et al. (2006): EXPERIMENTAL PYRITE FORMATION ASSOCIATED WITH DECAY OF PLANT MATERIAL. Abstract, PALAIOS, 21: 499-506.

P.L. Broughton (2022): Fruit taphonomy and origin of hollow goethite spherulites in lacustrine sediments of the Maastrichtian Whitemud Formation, western Canada. Abstract, PalZ.

! H. Brunner and K.-P. Kelber (1988): Eisenerzkonkretionen im württembergisch-fränkischen Unterkeuper - Bemerkungen zum fossilen Environment. PDF file, in German. In: Hagdorn, H. (ed.): Neue Forschungen zur Erdgeschichte von Crailsheim. Sonderbände d. Ges. f. Naturk. in Württemberg, 1: 185-205.
Anatomical views of the Triassic horsetail Neocalamites merianii in pyrite/goethite preservation.

J. Cao et al. (2023): Pyritization and Preservation Model of Chrysophyte Cyst Fossils in Shales during the Triassic Carnian Pluvial Episode, Ordos Basin, China: Evidence from Cyclostratigraphy, Radiometric Dating and Geochemical Analyses. Open access, Minerals, 13, 991; https://doi.org/10.3390/min13080991.
Note figure 9: A model explaining the preservation of chrysophyte cysts under anoxic conditions in the CPE [the Carnian Pluvial Episode], the fossilization process of chrysophyte cysts in the sulfate reduction zone, and steps of chrysophyte cysts pyritization.
"... Pyritization was initiated on the walls of the chrysophyte cysts by the formation of microcrystalline pyrite ..."

Graeme Caselton (?), UK: Jurassic Cliffs, Pyritisation. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

B. Cavalazzi et a. (2014): The Formation of Low-Temperature Sedimentary Pyrite and Its Relationship with Biologically-Induced Processes. Abstract, Geology of Ore Deposits, 56: 395–408. See also here (in PDF).

Shya Chitaley, Paleobotany group, The Cleveland Museum of Natural History, Cleveland, Ohio Preserving pyritized fossils by wax impregnation (now via wayback archive).

T. Clements and S. Gabbott (2022): Exceptional Preservation of Fossil Soft Tissues. In PDF, eLS, 2: 1–10.

Fred Clouter, Sheppey Fossils: Plant material. Partly pyritized Nipa fruits. See also:
The trouble with pyrite. In PDF.

! M.E. Collinson et al. (2016): X-ray micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) of pyrite-permineralized fruits and seeds from the London Clay Formation (Ypresian) conserved in silicone oil: a critical evaluation. In PDF, Botany, 94: 697–711 (part of a Special issue entitled "Mesozoic and Cenozoic Plant Evolution and Biotic Change").
See also here and there (abstract).

Margaret E. Collinson: Pyrite Conservation from Fossil Plants of the London Clay. In PDF.

! L. Cornet et al. (2012): A Devonian Callixylon (Archaeopteridales) from Ronquières, Belgium. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 183: 1-8.
See also here.

L. Cornish and A. Doyle, Discovering Fossils (an education resource dedicated to British Fossils, Fossil Collecting Locations and the Geology of the UK):
! Treating Pyrite Fossils. The use of Ethanolamine Thioglycollate in the conservation of pyritized fossils. Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

L. Cornish and A. Doyle (1984): Use of ethanolamine thioglycollate in the conservation of pyritized fossils. PDF file, Palaeontology, 27. 421-424.

S. Cotroneo et al. (2016): A new model of the formation of Pennsylvanian iron carbonate concretions hosting exceptional soft-bodied fossils in Mazon Creek, Illinois. In PDF, Geobiology, 14: 543-555. See also here (abstract).

! G. Császár et al. (2009): A possible Late Miocene fossil forest PaleoPark in Hungary.
! Permineralized tree stumps in situ!
In PDF, in: Jere H. Lipps and Bruno R.C. Granier (eds.) 2009, (e-book, hosted by Carnets): PaleoParks - The protection and conservation of fossil sites worldwide.

Géza Császár et al. (2009): A possible Late Miocene fossil forest PaleoPark in Hungary. PDF file, Carnets de Géologie / Notebooks on Geology, Brest, Book 2009/03, Chapter 11. Lignified tree trunks in situ, partially covered by a fine-grained pyritic sandstone crust.
See also here.

! S. Dai et al. (2020): Recognition of peat depositional environments in coal: A review. Free access, International Journal of Coal Geology, 219.

! S. Dai et al. (2021): Modes of occurrence of elements in coal: A critical evaluation. Free access, Earth-Science Reviews, 222.

R.N. DeKoster et al. (2023): Characterization of a pyritized fossil pollen cone from Clarkia, Idaho. Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 318.
"... One specimen was examined using scanning electron microscopy (SEM) and energy-dispersive x-ray analysis (EDS). The only pyrite textures observed on this specimen were framboids and framboidal microcrystals.
[...] Underneath the pyrite coating, both the cones and stem were carbon-rich, indicating organic preservation ..."

F.E. de Sousa Filho et al. (2011): Combination of Raman, Infrared, and X-Ray Energy-Dispersion Spectroscopies and X-Ray Diffraction to Study a Fossilization Process. In PDF, Braz. J. Phys., 41: 275-280.
Available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.
See also here.

M.L. DeVore et al. (2006): Utility of high resolution x-ray computed tomography (HRXCT) for paleobotanical studies: An example using london clay fruits and seeds. Open access, American journal of botany, 93: 1848-1851.

! A.M. Doyle (2003): A large scale ‘Microclimate’ enclosure for pyritic specimens. In PDF, starting on PDF page 10. The Geological Curator, 7: 329-335.

N.P. Edwards et al. (2014): Leaf metallome preserved over 50 million years. In PDF, Metallomics, 6. See also here.

Neil Ferguson, Cardiff sulphide research group, Department of Earth Sciences, Cardiff University: earth >> research >> sulphide. Kinetics and mechanism of metal-sulphide chemistry at ambient temperatures. Scroll down to: "pyritisation in fossilisation".

R.L. Folk (2005): Nannobacteria and the formation of framboidal pyrite: Textural evidence. PDF file, Journal of Earth System Science, 114: 369-374.

! Y. Fors (2008): Sulfur-Related Conservation Concerns in Marine Archaeological Wood: The Origin, Speciation and Distribution of Accumulated Sulfur with Some Remedies for the Vasa. Doctoral thesis.

Fossil Preparation (American Museum of Natural History and The Paleontology Portal). Go to: Pyrite "Disease".

! J. Garcia-Guinea et al. (1998): Cell-Hosted Pyrite Framboids in Fossil Woods. In PDF, Naturwissenschaften 85, 78–81.

R.A. Gastaldo and A.-Y. Huc (1992): Sediment facies, depositional environments, and distribution of phytoclasts in the Recent Mahakam River delta, Kalimantan, Indonesia. PDF file, Palaios, 7: 574-590.
See also here.
Framboidal pyrite in fig. 8B, 9B.

J. Garcia-Guinea, J. Martinez-Frías, M. Harffy, Museo Nacional de Ciencias Naturales, Madrid: Cell-Hosted Pyrite Framboids in Fossil Woods. PDF file, Naturwissenschaften 85, 78-81 (1998). Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

B.M. Gibson et al. (2023): The role of iron in the formation of Ediacaran ‘death masks’. Free access, Geobiology.
"... In this study, we perform decay experiments
[...] we demonstrate the first convincing “death masks” produced under experimental laboratory conditions ..."

M.L. Gomes et al. (2021): Sedimentary pyrite sulfur isotope compositions preserve signatures of the surface microbial mat environment in sediments underlying low-oxygen cyanobacterial mats. Open access, Geobiology, 20: 60-78. See also here (in PDF).

Y.-M. Gong et al. (2008): Pyrite framboids interpreted as microbial colonies within the Permian Zoophycos spreiten from southeastern Australia. In PDF, Geological Magazine, 145: 95-103. See also here.

! S.T. Grimes et al., (2002): Fossil plants from the Eocene London Clay: the use of pyrite textures to determine the mechanism of pyritization. Abstract, Journal of the Geological Society, 159: 493-501.
"... The highest fidelity of preservation is always associated with microcrystalline pyrite precipitation on wall surfaces with subsequent infilling of cells with framboids or polyhedra
[...] Ultrastructurally, parenchymatous cell walls are coalified, whereas microcrystalline pyrite plus coalified material were observed within lignified cell walls ..."

! S.T. Grimes et al. (2001): Understanding fossilization: Experimental pyritization of plants. In PDF, Geology, 29: 123–126.
See also here.
"... results demonstrate that initial pyritization can be an extremely rapid process (within 80 days) and is driven by anaerobic bacterial-mediated decay. ..."

! Stephen T. Grimes et al. (2001): Understanding fossilization: Experimental pyritization of plants. Abstract, Geology, 29: 123-126.

Stephen Grimes et al. (2000): Pyritisation of Plant Axes from the London Clay: Pyrite Textures and Their Importance to Understanding the Mechanism of Fossilisation. Abstract, PDF file.
Website outdated. The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! S.T. Grimes, D. Rickard, D. Edwards, A. Oldroyd, L. Axe, and K. Davies, Department of Earth Sciences, Cardiff University, Wales, UK EXPERIMENTAL PYRITISATION OF PLANT CELLS. PDF file, Ninth Annual V.M. Goldschmidt Conference, Cambridge, Massachusetts, 1999.

C. Guan et al. (2016): Controls on fossil pyritization: Redox conditions, sedimentary organic matter content, and Chuaria preservation in the Ediacaran Lantian Biota. Abstract, Palaeogeography, Palaeoclimatology, Palaeoecology, 474: 26-35. See also here (in PDF).

A.E.S. Högström et al. (2009): A pyritized lepidocoleid machaeridian (Annelida) from the Lower Devonian Hunsrück Slate, Germany. PDF file, Proc. R. Soc. B, 276: 1981-1986. This paper is exemplary in its combination of X-ray and CT of animal body fossils.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

K. Janssen et al. (2022): The complex role of microbial metabolic activity in fossilization. Open access, Biol. Rev., 97: 449–465.
See also here.

D. Khan et al. (2022): Genesis and Distribution of Pyrite in the Lacustrine Shale: Evidence from the Es3x Shale of the Eocene Shahejie Formation, Zhanhua Sag, East China. Free access, ACS Omega, 7: 1244-1258.
Note figure 8: Formation of the mechanism of different types of pyrites under variable bottom water conditions.

K.-P. Kelber, Würzburg (2007): Die Erhaltung und paläobiologische Bedeutung der fossilen Hölzer aus dem süddeutschen Keuper (Trias, Ladinium bis Rhätium). In German. PDF file, 33 MB! Scroll to fig. 7 on page 49 (PDF page 14): Triassic wood in pyrite preservation.

W.D. Keller, University of Missouri, Columbia, Missouri (page hosted by The Mineralogical Society of America, "From the Archives"): Sulfide replacements of a trigocarpus fossil fern fruit. The American Mineralogist, Volume 32, pages 468-470, 1947.

C.G. Kenchington and P.R. Wilb (2015): Of time and taphonomy: preservation in the Ediacaran. In PDF. See also here.

P. Kenrick et al. (1991): Novel ultrastructure in water-conducting cells of the Lower Devonian plant Sennicaulis hippocrepiformis. PDF file, Palaeontology.

K.P. Krajewski and B. Luks (2003), Instytut Nauk Geologicznych PAN, Warszawa, Poland: Origin of "cannon-ball" concretions in the Carolinefjellet Formation (Lower Cretaceous), Spitsbergen (PDF file). Polish Polar Research, 24: 217-242. Macroscopic wood fragments in concretion bodies, consisting of a massive matrix composed of clastic compo- nents, organic detritus, dispersed pyrite, and carbonate cement.

! M.J. Kraus and S.T. Hasiotis (2006): Significance of different modes of rhizolith preservation to interpreting paleoenvironmental and paleohydrologic settings: examples from Paleogene paleosols. In PDF, Journal of Sedimentary Research, 76: 633-646.
The link is to a version archived by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

Microgeodynamics Laboratory, School of Earth Sciences, Leeds University: Pyritisation of fossil wood.
This expired link is now available through the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.
See also here.

A.G. Liu (2017): Framboidal pyrite shroud confirms the "death mask" model for moldic preservation of Ediacaran soft-bodied organisms - a reply. Abstract, Palaios, 32: 197-198. Please take notice:
G.J. Retallack (2017): COMMENT TO LIU (2016) "FRAMBOIDAL PYRITE SHROUD CONFIRMS THE "DEATH MASK" MODEL FOR MOLDIC PRESERVATION OF EDIACARAN SOFT-BODIED ORGANISMS". In PDF.

A.G. Liu (2016): Framboidal pyrite shroud confirms the "death mask" model for moldic preservation of Ediacaran soft-bodied organisms. Abstract, Palaios 31: 259-274. See also: Supplementary information (Word file).
Now recovered from the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

E.R. Locatelli et al. (2022): Leaves in Iron Oxide: Remarkable Preservation of a Neogene Flora from New Caledonia. In PDF, Palaios, 37: 622–632.
See also here.
"... Leaf tissues are preserved three-dimensionally in multiple ways including casts/molds, permineralization/petrifaction, and replacement. [...] We propose a taphonomic model in which the fossil leaves, like their modern counterparts, were permeated by iron oxides due to the high availability of iron ..."

! E.R. Locatelli (2014): The exceptional preservation of plant fossils: a review of taphonomic pathways and biases in the fossil record. PDF file, In: M. Laflamme et al. (eds.): Reading and Writing of the Fossil Record: Preservational Pathways to Exceptional Fossilization. The Paleontological Society Papers, 20.

Naomi Lubick, Geotimes 2004: Pyrite fossil preservation.

! L.C.W. MacLean et al. (2008): A high-resolution chemical and structural study of framboidal pyrite formed within a low-temperature bacterial biofilm. In PDF, Geobiology 6: 471-480.
See also here.
"... A novel, anaerobically grown microbial biofilm, scraped from the inner surface of a borehole, 1474 m below land surface within a South African, Witwatersrand gold mine, contains framboidal pyrite
[...] Growth of individual pyrite crystals within the framboid occurred inside organic templates confirms the association between framboidal pyrite and organic materials in low-temperature diagenetic environments ..."

J. Marin-Carbonne et al. (2022): Early precipitated micropyrite in microbialites: A time capsule of microbial sulfur cycling. In PDF, Geochemical Perspectives Letters, European Assoication of Geochemistry, 21: 7-12.
See also here.

! R.E. Martin (1999): Taphonomy: A Process Approach (provided by Google Books). Cambridge Paleobiology Series, Cambridge University Press.

A. Martín-González et al. (2009): Double fossilization in eukaryotic microorganisms from Lower Cretaceous amber. Open access, BMC Biol., 7.

! A.K. Martins et al. (2022): Exceptional preservation of Triassic-Jurassic fossil plants: integrating biosignatures and fossil diagenesis to understand microbial-related iron dynamics. In PDF, Lethaia, 55.
See also here.
! Note figure 8: Inferred biogeochemical cycle for the chemical stabilization of iron oxides into goethite.
! Figure 9: Inferred fossil diagenetic history for fossil plants, sunken into iron-rich lakes or small ponds of fresh water.
Worth checking out: ! Chapter "Fossil diagenesis" (on PDF-page 12).

! Lawrence C. Matten (1973): Preparation of pyritized plant petrifactions: "a plea for pyrite". Abstract, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 16: 165-173.

K.R. Moore et al. (2017): Pyritized Cryogenian Cyanobacteria Fossils From Arctic Alaska. In PDF, Geosciences: Faculty Publications, Smith College, Northampton, MA.

A. Mozer (2010): Authigenic pyrite framboids in sedimentary facies of the Mount Wawel Formation (Eocene), King George Island, West Antarctica. In PDF, Pol. Polar Res., 31: 255-272.

! G. Mustoe (2018): Mineralogy of non-silicified fossil wood. Open access, Geosciences, 8.

! G.E. Mustoe (2018): Non-Mineralized Fossil Wood. Open access, Geosciences, 8.
Note fig. 23: Silification of charred wood.

The Natural Sciences Collections Association (NatSCA).
NatSCA's mission is to promote and support natural science collections, the institutions that house them and the people that work with them, in order to improve collections care, understanding, accessibility and enjoyment for all. Worth checking out:
! Care and Conservation of Geological Specimens (in PDF). About pyrite-containing specimens.

! A. Newman (1998): Pyrite oxidation and museum collections: a review of theory and conservation treatments. In PDF, Geological Curator 6: 363-371.

John Nudds and Paul Selden (2008): Fossil-Lagerstätten. In PDF, Geology Today, Vol. 24.

G.L. Osés et al. (2017): Deciphering pyritization-kerogenization gradient for fish soft-tissue preservation. Sci Rep., 7: 1468.

A. Pakhnevich et al. (2023): Global Crystallographic Texture of Pyrite in Fossil Wood (Jurassic, Oryol Region, Russia). Free access, Minerals, 13.

J. Parnell et al. (2022): Trace element geochemistry in the earliest terrestrial ecosystem, the Rhynie Chert. Open access, Geochemistry, Geophysics, Geosystems, 23: e2022GC010647.
Note figure 2: Schematic cross-section showing contribution of elements to Devonian chert-forming environment.
Figure 8: Contrast between plant-bearing chert and layers of phytodebris.
"... The Lower Devonian Rhynie Chert shows evidence for extensive phosphorus mobilization in plant debris that was pervasively colonized by fungi. Sandy sediment entrapped with fungi-rich phytodebris contains grains of the phosphate mineral monazite [...]
Abundant pyrite framboids in the Rhynie Chert indicate that plant decomposition included microbial sulphate reduction. ..."

! L.A. Parry et al. (2018): Soft-Bodied Fossils Are Not Simply Rotten Carcasses – Toward a Holistic Understanding of Exceptional Fossil Preservation. Exceptional Fossil Preservation Is Complex and Involves the Interplay of Numerous Biological and Geological Processes.
Abstract, BioEssays, 40: 1700167. See also here (in PDF).
Note figure 1: The long journey from live organism to fossil. "... soft-bodied fossils have passed through numerous filters prior to discovery that remove, modify, or preserve anatomical characters. ..."
"... Although laboratory decay experiments reveal important aspects of fossilization, applying the results directly to the interpretation of exceptionally preserved fossils may overlook the impact of other key processes that remove or preserve morphological information".

A.A. Picard (2016): What do we really know about the role of microorganisms in iron sulfide mineral formation? In PDF, Front. Earth Sci., 4. See also here.

! I. Poole and Geoffrey E. Lloyd (2000): Alternative SEM techniques for observing pyritised fossil material. PDF file, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology 112: 287-295.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

Imogen Poole, School of Earth Sciences, University of Leeds: Pyritized fossil plant, Eocene, Isle of Sheppy, England.
See also: Pyritisation of fossil wood (Microgeodynamics Laboratory, School of Earth and Environment, University of Leeds).
Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

P.K. Pufahl and E.E. Hiatt (2012): Oxygenation of the Earth's atmosphere–ocean system: a review of physical and chemical sedimentologic responses. In PDF, Marine and Petroleum Geology, 32: 1-20.
See also here.
Note table 1: Geochemical proxies used to understand the Great Oxidation Event.
Figure 1: Seawater chemistry and Earth events as related to the three stages of ocean-atmosphere oxygenation.

G.J. Retallack (2007): Growth, decay and burial compaction of Dickinsonia, an iconic Ediacaran fossil. In PDF, Alcheringa, 31: 215-240. See also here.

D. Rickard (2019): How long does it take a pyrite framboid to form? In PDF, Earth and Planetary Science Letters, 513: 64-68. See also here.
"... The results show that sedimentary pyrite framboids take around 5 days to form on average. Rare larger framboids ( = 80 µm in diameter) take years to form whereas smaller syngenetic framboids average 3 days. ..."

G.W. Rothwell and S.R. Ash (2015): Internal anatomy of the Late Triassic Equisetocaulis gen. nov., and the evolution of modern horsetails. Abstract, Journal of the Torrey Botanical Society, 142: 27-37.
See also here (in PDF).

T. Särkinen et al. (2018): A new commelinid monocot seed fossil from the early Eocene previously identified as Solanaceae. In PDF, American Journal of Botany, 105: 95–107. See also here.

F.-J. Scharfenberg et al. (2022): A possible terrestrial egg cluster in driftwood from the Lower Jurassic (Late Pliensbachian) of Buttenheim (Franconia, Germany). In PDF, Zitteliana, 96: 135–143.

! J. Schieber (2002): Sedimentary pyrite: A window into the microbial past. In PDF, Geology, 30: 531-534. See also here (abstract).

! J.D. Schiffbauer et al. (2014): A unifying model for Neoproterozoic–Palaeozoic exceptional fossil preservation through pyritization and carbonaceous compression. Open access, Nature Communications, 5. See also here.

! J.W. Schneider et al. (2021): Sedimentology and depositional environment of the Kinney Brick Quarry fossil Lagerstätte (Missourian, Late Pennsylvanian), central New Mexico. PDF file. In: Lucas, S.G., DiMichele, W.A. and Allen, B.D. (eds.): Kinney Brick Quarry Lagerstätte. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science Bulletin 84. See also here.

! M.A.A. Schoonen (2004) starting on page 117: Mechanisms of sedimentary pyrite formation. PDF file. In: Sulfur Biogeochemistry - Past and Present. Geological Society of America Special Paper 379. See also here (abstract).

! A.C. Scott and M.E. Collinson (2003): Non-destructive multiple approaches to interpret the preservation of plant fossils: implications for calcium-rich permineralisations. PDF file, Journal of the Geological Society, 160: 857-862. See also here.
"Specimens were observed using transmitted light, polarized light, reflected light under oil, and cathodoluminescence. Selected areas were studied using a variable pressure SEM in backscattered electron mode. [...] Results reveal that anatomical interpretations based merely on observations of thin sections in transmitted light can be very misleading ..."

A.C. Scott (2001): Federico Cesi and his field studies on the origin of fossils between 1610 and 1630. Abstract, Endeavour, vol. 25.
Early descriptions of fossil wood and of decaying pyrite!

Herbert Seiler: Mikrobiologie und mehr, Pyritisierte Fossilien - Nährstoff für Bakterien? In German.

Sally Shelton, San Diego Natural History Museum: Pyrite Preservation.
Still available via Internet Archive Wayback Machine.

O. Shilovsky and R. Khasanov (2020): Geochemical features of pyrite pseudomorphs according to plant residues from the Upper Jurassic deposits of the Middle Volga river area (Russian Federation). Open access, IOP Conf. Series: Earth and Environmental Science, 516.

A. Shinya and L. Bergwall: Pyrite Oxidation: Review and Prevention Practices. PDF file. Provided by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

! S. Simon (2016): Sedimentology of the Fluvial Systems of the Clear Fork Formation in North-Central Texas: Implications for Early Permian Paleoclimate and Plant Fossil Taphonomy. In PDF, Thesis, Dalhousie University, Halifax, Nova Scotia.
See especially PDF page 185: "Taphonomy and Preservation of Plant Material".
Goethite petrification of cellular structure of plant remains on PDF page 188.

S.S.T. Simon et al. (2016): An abandoned-channel fill with exquisitely preserved plants in redbeds of the Clear Fork Formation, Texas, USA: an Early Permian water-dependent habitat on the arid plains of Pangea. In PDF, J. Sed. Res., 86, 944–964. See also here.
Note fig. 11: Goethite petrification of cellular structure of plant remains.

B.J. Slater et al. (2015): A high-latitude Gondwanan lagerstätte: The Permian permineralised peat biota of the Prince Charles Mountains, Antarctica. In PDF, Gondwana Research, 27: 1446-1473. See also here (abstract).

! A.R.T. Spencer et al. (2017): New insights into Mesozoic cycad evolution: an exploration of anatomically preserved Cycadaceae seeds from the Jurassic Oxford Clay biota. PeerJ 5.
Description of a new genus of anatomically preserved gymnosperm seed from the Callovian–Oxfordian (Jurassic) Oxford Clay Formation (UK), using a combination of traditional sectioning and synchrotron radiation X-ray micro-tomography (SRXMT).

! W.E. Stein et al. (1982): Techniques for preparation of pyrite and limonite permineralizations. PDF file.

C. Strullu-Derrien (2014): The earliest wood and its hydraulic properties documented in c. 407-million-year-old fossils using synchrotron microtomography. Abstract, Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society, 175: 423-437.

! G.W. Stull et al. (2016): Revision of Icacinaceae from the Early Eocene London Clay flora based on X-ray micro-CT. Free access, NRC Research Press.

S. Teare and D. Measday (2018): Pyrite Rehousing – Recent Case Studies at Two Australian Museums. Free access, Biodiversity Information Science and Standards 2: e26343.

J.N. Thiel (2020): Pyrite Formation from FeS and H₂S. In PDF, Doctoral thesis, University of Konstanz.

! A.M.F. Tomescu et al. (2016): Microbes and the fossil record: selected topics in paleomicrobiology. Abstract, in: Hurst C. (ed.) Their World: A Diversity of Microbial Environments. Advances in Environmental Microbiology, vol 1: 69-169. See also here (in PDF).

Kyle Trostle (2009), Franklin and Marshall College, Earth and Environment Department, Lancaster, PA: Diagenetic History of Fossil Wood from the Paleocene Chickaloon Formation, Matanuska Valley, Alaska. Snapshot taken by the Internet Archive´s Wayback Machine.

D. Uhl (2013); article start on page 433:
The paleoflora of Frankenberg/Geismar (NW-Hesse, Germany) - a largely unexplored "treasure chest" of anatomically preserved plants from the Late Permian (Wuchiapingian) of the Euramerican floral province. PDF file; In: Lucas, S.G., et al. eds., The Carboniferous-Permian Transition. New Mexico Museum of Natural History and Science. Bulletin, 60, 433-443. See also here.
Note Fig. 6c: Fine-grained pyrite in cell lumina and granular pyrite replacing former cell walls in a fragment of a pyritized needle of Pseudovoltzia liebeana.

! L.A. Vietti et al. (2015): Rapid formation of framboidal sulfides on bone surfaces from a simulated marine carcass-fall. In PDF, Palaios.

B. Wang et al. (2012): Widespread pyritization of insects in the Early Cretaceous Jehol Biota. In PDF, Palaios, 27: 707–711. See also here.

W. Wang et al. (2022): Taphonomic study of Chuaria fossils from the Ediacaran Lantian biota of South China. In PDF, Precambrian Research, 369.
See also here.
Note fig. 4: A simplified cartoon showing Chuaria fossilization process and the significance of densely packed pyrite framboids.

E. Zodrow and M. Mastalerz (2009): A proposed origin for fossilized Pennsylvanian plant cuticles by pyrite oxidation (Sydney Coalfield, Nova Scotia, Canada). PDF file, Bulletin of Geosciences, 84: 227-240.

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