Microstructure and Raman Spectra Characteristics of Dinosaur Eggs from Qiyunshan, Anhui Province
HE Qing1, JIANG Qin1, XING Li-da2, 3, AN Yan-fei1, HOU Jie4, HU Yi5
1. School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Anhui University, Hefei 230601, China
2. State Key Laboratory of Biogeology and Environmental Geology, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
3. School of the Earth Sciences and Resources, China University of Geosciences, Beijing 100083, China
4. Anhui Institute of Geo-Environment Monitoring, Hefei 230000, China
5. Qiyun Mountain Administrative Committee, Huangshan 245451, China
Abstract：The dinosaur eggs from Qiyunshan, Anhui Province, are the newly discovery which can provide new information for researching the formation mechanisms of dinosaur eggshell. Polarizing microscope and Laser Raman spectroscopy were used to analyze the inner mineral composition and structure characteristics of Qiyunshan dinosaur eggshell in this paper. The results showed that the main minerals of eggshells composed of calcite, organic matter and little quartz, opal, muscovite, dolomite, glauconite and goethitewere formed by permineralization and carbonization. Polarizing microscope results revealed that primary calcite and secondary calcite appeared graphic structure. The crystalline degree of primary calcite was poor, which was the product of eggshell petrification, while the crystallinity of secondary calcite was better and there were little quartz in secondary calcite. Raman spectra analysis indicated that the Raman peaks of primary calcite and secondary calcite both appeared near 1087, 282, 713 and 155 cm-1, but the Raman intensity and crystallinity of secondary calcite with coarser particles were higher than primary calcite, which was consistent with the microscopic observations. Raman peaks appearing near at 1 360 and 1 600 cm-1were related to the tiny crystal vibration and C—C stretching vibration of organic matter. All of Raman peaks near 466, 209, 130, 357 and 404 cm-1were the characteristic peaks of quartz. In addition, the Raman peaked near 898, 629, 1 458, 654 and 481 cm-1represent opal, muscovite, dolomite, glauconite and goethite respectively, which suggested that minerals in the surrounding rock hadentered the inside of the eggshell. The conclusion provided important data for studying the mineral formation of eggshell and sedimentary environment of the dinosaur-egg-bearing strata.
