The Rise of Skeletal Biominerals

Research Article| February 01, 2010 The Rise of Skeletal Biominerals Patricia M. Dove Patricia M. Dove *Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA E-mail: dove@vt.edu Search for other works by this author on: GSW Google Scholar Author and Article Information Patricia M. Dove *Department of Geosciences, Virginia Tech Blacksburg, VA 24061, USA E-mail: dove@vt.edu Publisher: Mineralogical Society of America First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Online ISSN: 1811-5217 Print ISSN: 1811-5209 © 2010 by the Mineralogical Society of America Elements (2010) 6 (1): 37–42. https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.6.1.37 Article history First Online: 09 Mar 2017 Cite View This Citation Add to Citation Manager Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn Email Permissions Search Site Citation Patricia M. Dove; The Rise of Skeletal Biominerals. Elements 2010;; 6 (1): 37–42. doi: https://doi.org/10.2113/gselements.6.1.37 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Refmanager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex toolbar search Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentBy SocietyElements Search Advanced Search Abstract The ability of organisms to synthesize skeletons and functional biomineral structures is one of the most remarkable events in the timeline of mineral evolution. The relatively abrupt rise of such forms in the fossil record marks the beginning of a new type of chemistry whereby biology develops a playbook of mineralization processes whose strategies scientists are only beginning to decipher. The first outlines of an impressive picture are emerging, in which the biochemical machinery and sequence of instructions that pass forward to subsequent generations are being defined. Yet, skeletons are anything but static in the transfer. The fossil record shows the dynamic responses of skeletal structures to shifts in environmental conditions over geologic time. You do not have access to this content, please speak to your institutional administrator if you feel you should have access.