Magnetic vector tomography reveals giant magnetofossils are optimised for magnetointensity reception
Giant magnetofossils are unusual, micron-sized biogenic magnetite particles found in sediments dating back at least 97 million years. Their distinctive morphologies are the product of biologically controlled mineralisation, yet the identity of their biomineralising organism, and the biological function they serve, remain a mystery. It is currently thought that the organism exploited magnetite's mechanical properties for protection. Here we explore an alternative hypothesis, that it exploited magnetite's magnetic properties for the purpose of magnetoreception. We present a three-dimensional magnetic vector tomography study of a giant magnetofossil and assess its magnetoreceptive potential. Our results reveal a single magnetic vortex that displays an optimised response to spatial variations in the intensity of Earth's magnetic field. This magnetic trait may have conferred an evolutionary advantage to mobile marine organisms, providing an upper age limit on the development of navigational magnetoreception and raising the possibility that earlier evidence of this sense may yet be preserved in the fossil record. More broadly, this work provides a blueprint for assessing the morphological and magnetic evidence for putative biogenic iron oxide particles, which are a key component in the search for early life on Earth and Mars.
Authors
- Po‐Yen Tung (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2338-1219)
- Liao Chang (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0165-1310)
- Jeffrey Neethirajan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5806-7262)
- Burkhard Kaulich (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2932-7942)
- R. J. Harrison (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3469-762X)
- S. València (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3912-5797)
- Emilie Ringe (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3743-9204)
- Zhaowen Pei (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4614-0730)
- Luís Carlos Colocho Hurtarte (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1791-2298)
- Radu Abrudan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9335-4929)
- Claire Donnelly (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9942-2419)
- Majid Kazemian Abyaneh (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3754-8654)
- Venkata S. C. Kuppili (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3979-0217)
- Lourdes Marcano (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9397-6122)
- Benedikt J. Daurer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-1887-7551)
- Pengfei Xue (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2438-7082)
Institutions
- Hiroshima University (JP)
- Tongji University (CN)
- Chongqing University (CN)
- Universidad de Oviedo (ES)
- Peking University (CN)
- University of Cambridge (GB)
- Helmholtz-Zentrum Berlin für Materialien und Energie (DE)
- Diamond Light Source (GB)
- CIC biomaGUNE (ES)
- Max Planck Institute for Chemical Physics of Solids (DE)
- Canadian Light Source (Canada) (CA)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Communications Earth & Environment
- Published
- 2025-10-20
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-025-02721-3
- Citations
- 1
- Primary Topic
- Geomagnetism and Paleomagnetism Studies
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.81
Funders
- Diamond Light Source
- International Max Planck Research School for Environmental, Cellular and Molecular Microbiology
- European Commission
- National Natural Science Foundation of China
- Max-Planck-Gesellschaft
- Paul Scherrer Institut
- HORIZON EUROPE Framework Programme