The 3D submicron-scale skeletal reconstruction of <i>Nannoconus</i> (Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil) – Insights into biomineralization

Chowdhury, Rajkumar; Boudjehem, Redhouane; Suchéras-Marx, Baptiste; Dupraz, Maxime; Kulow, Anico; da Silva, Julio Cesar; Hazemann, Jean Louis; Aubry, Marie-Pierre; Pérez, Javier; Fernandez-Martinez, Alejandro; Giraud, Fabienne

doi:10.5194/bg-23-2023-2026

Articles | Volume 23, issue 5

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2023-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

https://doi.org/10.5194/bg-23-2023-2026

© Author(s) 2026. This work is distributed under
the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Articles | Volume 23, issue 5

Research article

|

18 Mar 2026

Research article |

| 18 Mar 2026

The 3D submicron-scale skeletal reconstruction of Nannoconus (Cretaceous calcareous nannofossil) – Insights into biomineralization

Rajkumar Chowdhury, Redhouane Boudjehem, Baptiste Suchéras-Marx, Maxime Dupraz, Anico Kulow, Julio Cesar da Silva, Jean Louis Hazemann, Marie-Pierre Aubry, Javier Pérez, Alejandro Fernandez-Martinez, and Fabienne Giraud

Model code and software

Code (Python script) for the 3D submicron-scale skeletal reconstruction of Nannoconus Rajkumar Chowdhury et al. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.14925063

Short summary

Nannoconus, a major marine planktonic biocarbonate producer of the Early Cretaceous (150–120 Ma), biomineralized heavy (200–1400 picogram) skeletons (5–20 μm) of interlocking lamellae spanned around a central canal, by an unknown process. With the first-ever application of synchrotron-based ptychographic X-ray computed tomography (PXCT) of nanometric resolution, we reconstructed the 3D skeleton by combining segments of lamellae and inferred its possible biomolecule(s)-“templated” calcification.