• Su-Ping Li, Pei-Yi Yao, Jin-Feng Li, David Kay Ferguson, Long-Rui Min, Zhen-Qing Chi, Yong Wang, Jian-Xin Yao, and Jin-Geng Sha.
• Institute of Geology, Chinese Academy of Geological Sciences, Beijing, P. R. China.
• Plos One. 2016 Jan 1; 11 (10): e0164083.

AbstractFossil blister pearls attached to the shells of an Anodonta mollusk from China, early Early Pleistocene, are reported here for the first time. The pearls were investigated in detail using a variety of methods. Micro-CT scanning of the fossil pearls was carried out to discover the inner structure and the pearl nucleus. Using CTAn software, changes in the gray levels of the biggest pearl, which reflect the changing density of the material, were investigated. The results provide us with some clues on how these pearls were formed. Sand grains, shell debris or material with a similar density could have stimulated the development of these pearls. X-ray diffraction analysis of one fossil pearl and the shell to which it was attached reveals that only aragonite exists in both samples. The internal structures of our fossil shells and pearls were investigated using a Scanning Electron Microscope. These investigations throw some light on pearl development in the past.

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