A JURASSIC CUTTLEFISH WITH PRESERVED INK FROM THE SOLNHOFEN LAGERSTATTE

A Trachyteuthid Cephalopod recovered in 2015 has preserved ink in the ink sac which is examined to determine its composition and for comparison with other living and fossil cephalopod inks. The ink is fresh enough to produce a deep purple stain when wetted with distilled water. Previous fossil ink was noted at the Carnegie Museum in Pittsburgh when fire in a warehouse where Solnhofen fossils from the Baron Bayet collection were stored was doused with water causing the ink to run and stain the bottoms of other slabs in the tray. The fire occurred in the early 1900s. Other cephalopod ink has been recorded in the literature from Solnhofen and other Mesozoiclocalities. This fossil is a remarkable example of preservation of biological materials in what may be close to an un-altered state.