Solving Paleobotany's 200-year problem with fluorescence and artificial intelligence
- 1School of Life Sciences, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, China
Abstract
Paleobotany has a 200-year problem: leaf fossils are often too poorly preserved to make proper taxonomic identification. Though they are the most abundant, and well-studied macroscopic fossil plant organ, many fossil leaves-- including specimens held in museum and university collections-- appear to lack the detailed features needed to take crucial next steps, like placement into phylogenetic context, generation of ecological interpretations, or reconstruction of paleoclimate. However, we have discovered that under UV and laser light [~]50% of leaves across a diverse survey of fossil deposits fluoresce in a way that reveals spectacularly detailed leaf venation and gross morphology that is invisible under white light. These 'Fossil Ciphers' bring new life into each step of the paleobotanical method, unlocking previously unattainable taxonomic classifications, quantitative morphometrics, and promising new avenues for the incorporation of AI into fossil leaf analyses. With the aid of fluorescence techniques, we can help solve paleobotany's 200-year problem.
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BibTeX
@misc{maccracken2026solving,
title = {{Solving Paleobotany's 200-year problem with fluorescence and artificial intelligence}},
author = {S. A. Maccracken and R. S. Barclay and T. G. Kaye and M. J. Butrim and B. Koger and T. R. Lyson and K. R. Johnson and I. M. Miller and S. S. Robertson and A. D. Bercovici and M. A. Gandolfo and M. Pittman},
howpublished = {bioRxiv},
year = {2026},
month = oct,
doi = {10.64898/2026.10.12.758007},
url = {https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758007v1},
note = {CC BY-NC-ND},
}
RIS
TY - UNPB
TI - Solving Paleobotany's 200-year problem with fluorescence and artificial intelligence
AU - S. A. Maccracken
AU - R. S. Barclay
AU - T. G. Kaye
AU - M. J. Butrim
AU - B. Koger
AU - T. R. Lyson
AU - K. R. Johnson
AU - I. M. Miller
AU - S. S. Robertson
AU - A. D. Bercovici
AU - M. A. Gandolfo
AU - M. Pittman
PY - 2026
DA - 2026/10/12
PB - bioRxiv
DO - 10.64898/2026.10.12.758007
UR - https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.64898/2026.10.12.758007v1
AB - Paleobotany has a 200-year problem: leaf fossils are often too poorly preserved to make proper taxonomic identification. Though they are the most abundant, and well-studied macroscopic fossil plant organ, many fossil leaves-- including specimens held in museum and university collections-- appear to lack the detailed features needed to take crucial next steps, like placement into phylogenetic context, generation of ecological interpretations, or reconstruction of paleoclimate. However, we have discovered that under UV and laser light [~]50% of leaves across a diverse survey of fossil deposits fluoresce in a way that reveals spectacularly detailed leaf venation and gross morphology that is invisible under white light. These 'Fossil Ciphers' bring new life into each step of the paleobotanical method, unlocking previously unattainable taxonomic classifications, quantitative morphometrics, and promising new avenues for the incorporation of AI into fossil leaf analyses. With the aid of fluorescence techniques, we can help solve paleobotany's 200-year problem.
ER -