Overview

• The 30,000-year-old vulture fossil, found in Italy, is the first known instance of soft tissue preserved in volcanic rock through mineralization.
• Volcanic ash transformed into zeolite, a mineral that replicated the feathers' microscopic structures, including pigment organelles called melanosomes.
• The fossil, originally unearthed in 1889, was preserved in a low-temperature pyroclastic deposit, overturning the belief that volcanic environments destroy soft tissues.
• This discovery broadens the range of geological settings paleontologists might explore for exceptionally preserved fossils, including volcanic deposits.
• The preserved melanosomes may allow scientists to reconstruct the vulture's original feather coloration, offering insights into ancient biology.