Home / Palaeobotanical Tools / Imaging Fossils Using UV-Light (Black-Light Photography)

Categories Preparation and Conservation Managing Fossil Collections Artificial intelligence in paleontology Transfer Technique Palynological Preparation Techniques Cellulose Peel Technique Photography and Scanning Microscopy Fluorescence Microscopy and Fluorescence Microspectroscopy Scanning- (SEM) and Environmental Scanning Electron Microscopy (ESEM) Digital Cameras on the Microscope Cameras With Focus Bracketing or Built-In Focus Stacking Focus Stacking (Photography, Extended Depth of Field) Superresolution (SR)

High Dynamic Range Imaging (HDR) Image Processing X-ray Transmission Electron Microscopy (TEM) Microtomography (CT Scanning, XTM) including Synchrotron X-ray Tomographic Microscopy (SRXTM) Raman Spectroscopy Writing, Translating and Drawing Geostatistics Making Thin Sections ! Three-Dimensionally Preserved Plant Compression Fossils@

R. Amme (2006): UV Lampen – auch für Fossiliensammler ein unentbehrliches Hilfsmittel. In PDF, Arbeitskreis Paläontologie Hannover, 34: 97-112.

! M. Boderau et al. (2024): Morphological and palaeoecological aspects of fossil insects unveiled by UV-A light. In PDF, MethodsX, 13. ff10.1016/j.mex.2024.102794ff. ffinsu-04625219ff.
Note likewise here.
"... we propose a user-friendly and simple methodology based on UV-light to study insect fossils
[...] Our approach allows the investigation of fossils using an affordable, compact, and portable UV-light source, along with a simple and replicable low-cost protocol ..."

P. Debertolis and N. Earl (2014): Forensic Imaging in Anthropology. In PDF, Human And Social Sciences at the Common Conference, 2014.

P. Debertolis and N. Earl (2014): Forensic Imaging in Anthropology. In PDF, Human And Social Sciences at the Common Conference, 2014.

M. Frese et al. (2017): Imaging of Jurassic fossils from the Talbragar Fish Bed using fluorescence, photoluminescence, and elemental and mineralogical mapping. Open access, PLoS ONE, 12: e0179029.
"... Closer inspection of a plant leaf (Pentoxylon australicum White, 1981) establishes fluorescence as a useful tool for the visualisation of anatomical details that are difficult to see under normal light conditions".

! Ø. Hammer et al. (2002): Imaging Fossils Using Reflectance Transformation and Interactive Manipulation of Virtual Light Sources. Palaeontologia Electronica, 5.
Also available in PDF.

J.T. Haug et al. (2013): Demecology in the Cambrian: synchronized molting in arthropods from the Burgess Shale. Open access, BMC Biology.

J.T. Haug et al. (2011): Autofluorescence imaging, an excellent tool for comparative morphology. Abstract, Journal of Microscopy. See also here.

! C. Haug et al. (2009): New Methods to Document Fossils from Lithographic Limestones of Southern Germany and Lebanon. PDF file, Palaeontologia Electronica, 12.

D.W.E. Hone et al. (2010): The Extent of the Preserved Feathers on the Four-Winged Dinosaur Microraptor gui under Ultraviolet Light. Open access, PLoS ONE, 5: e9223.
See also: UV, You See? Black Light Reveals Secrets in Fossils.

! T.G. Kaye et al. (2015): Laser-Stimulated Fluorescence in Paleontology. Open access, PLoS ONE 10(5): e0125923.

! H. Kerp and B. Bomfleur (2011): Photography of plant fossils - New techniques, old tricks. In PDF, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 166: 117-151.
See also here (abstract with reduced figures and plates).

! L. Luthardt et al. (2023): Cycadodendron galtieri gen. nov. et sp. nov.: An Early Permian Gymnosperm Stem with Cycadalean Affinity. Free access, International Journal of Plant Sciences, 184.
Note figure 10: Details of cycad-specific stem-anatomical features.
"... Cycadodendron galtieri gen. nov. et sp. nov. represents a petrified cycad stem of early Permian age providing the oldest-known evidence of cycad anatomy.
[...] The broad anatomical similarities of C. galtieri with other fossil and extant cycads demonstrate the early evolution of various cycad-specific anatomical features in the lower Permian ..."

S. Musson: An Introduction to Black Light Photography. In PDF.

! A. Nel et al. (2023): Description of a new fossil genus of conifer sawfly (Hymenoptera: Diprionidae) revealed by UV light. In PDF, Palaeoentomology, 6: 313-320.
See also here.
"... UV light (365 nm) was used to find different visible fluorescence contrasts with the sedimentary matrix and reveal hidden structures and putative ornamentations
[...] UVA (365 nm rather than 390 nm) used for fossil insect studies is a new promising technique for enhancing observation with a simple, portable, and economical device ..."

R. Pan and V. Skala (2013): Normal map acquisition of nearly flat objects using a flatbed scanner. In PDF, 2013 International Conference on Virtual Reality and Visualization.
See also here.

! R. Pintus et al. (2019): State-of-the-art in Multi-Light Image Collections for Surface Visualization and Analysis In PDF, Computer Graphics Forum, 38. See also here.
"... Multi-Light Image Collections (MLICs), i.e., stacks of photos of a scene acquired with a fixed viewpoint and a varying surface illumination
[...] We [...] review techniques that improve object understanding by using illustrative approaches
[...] We also review how these methods are applied in several, main application domains, and what are the available tools to perform MLIC visualization and analysis. We finally point out relevant research issues, analyze research trends, and offer guidelines for practical applications ..."

! A. Richards (2010): Reflected Ultraviolet Imaging for Forensics Applications. In PDF, Santa Barbara, 2010.

! M. Schädel, University of Tuebingen: Multi Light Imaging of small compression fossils – proper tools and a neat shortcut. In PDF, Conference poster: The Palaeontological Association 67th Annual Meeting, University of Cambridge, UK.
About Multi Light Imaging with focus stacking or panoramic stitching.

! L.J. Seyfullah et al. (2024): Detection of in situ resinous traces in Jurassic conifers from floras lacking amber. Free access, Fossil Imprint, 80: 68–76.
See likewise here.
"... We identified [...] resin traces in leaves that were only visible via autofluorescence with UV light. These resinous traces likely define the former position of resin canals in the leaves, but the resin is not preserved as in situ rods. Instead, it has impregnated the coalified mesophyll, likely during fossilization, to form thin lines (chemical ‘ghosts’ of preserved resin) within the conifer leaf remains ..."

C.S. Shi et al. (2013): Characterization of the stem anatomy of the Eocene fern Dennstaedtiopsis aerenchymata (Dennstaedtiaceae) by use of confocal laser scanning microscopy. Free access, American Journal of Botany, 100: 1626–1640.

M. Slodownik et al. (2023): Chasing a ghost through Gondwana's history–the fossil record of the 'seed fern' Komlopteris. Open access, Australasian Systematic Botany Society Newsletter, 196: 9-12.
! Note figure 1B, C: UV fluorescence image of a frond.

M. Slodownik et al. (2023): Komlopteris: A persistent lineage of post-Triassic corystosperms in Gondwana. Free access, Review of Palaeobotany and Palynology, 317.
! Note figure Plate 1, fig. 3, 4: UV- fluorescence photographs.
! Plate 2: UV fluorescence images.

B.L. Teece et al. (2020): Mars Rover Techniques and Lower/Middle Cambrian Microbialites from South Australia: Con.struction, Biofacies, and Biogeochemistry. In PDF, Astrobiology, 20: See also here.

! K. Wolkenstein and G. Arp (2021): Taxon- and senescence-specific fluorescence of colored leaves from the Pliocene Willershausen Lagerstätte, Germany. Open access, PalZ.