Reply to Head's comment on “The Volyn biota (Ukraine) – indications of 1.5 Gyr old eukaryotes in 3D preservation, a spotlight on the `boring billion' ” by Franz et al. (2023)
Gerhard Franz,Vladimir Khomenko,Peter Lyckberg,Vsevolod Chournousenko,and Ulrich Struck
Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
Vladimir Khomenko
Institut für Angewandte Geowissenschaften, Technische Universität Berlin, 10587 Berlin, Germany
M.P. Semenenko Institute of Geochemistry, Mineralogy and Ore Formation, The National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine, 34, Palladina av., Kyiv, 03142, Ukraine
Peter Lyckberg
Luxembourg National Museum of Natural History, 25 Rue Münster, 2160 Luxembourg, Luxembourg
The Volyn biota (Ukraine), previously assumed to be an extreme case of natural abiotic synthesis of organic matter, is more likely a diverse assemblage of fossils from the deep biosphere. Although contamination by modern organisms cannot completely be ruled out, it is unlikely, considering all aspects, i.e., their mode of occurrence in the deep biosphere, their fossilization and mature state of organic matter, their isotope signature, and their large morphological diversity.
The Volyn biota (Ukraine), previously assumed to be an extreme case of natural abiotic synthesis...