An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers -- the first ever record of such a ...

Scientists have finally solved the mystery of how the fossilized feathers of a 30,000-year-old vulture were preserved with such unprecedented levels of detail. The griffon vulture (Gyps fulvus ...

The discovery provides the first evidence that volcanic ash can preserve soft tissues in exquisite detail, challenging previous assumptions about fossilization in such environments. The fossil ...

Discovered in Rome in 1889, the vulture fossil was found completely intact, with fine detailing on parts of its eyelids and ...

Radioisotopic dating of volcanic layers Argon–Argon method can help establish the age of fossils embedded within the layers. Credit: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (2025). DOI ...

“We never expected to find delicate tissues such as feathers preserved in a volcanic rock.” Using electron microscopes and chemical tests, the researchers analysed samples of the fossil ...

A 30,000-year-old vulture feather represents a “two-for-the-price-of one” discovery: the fossil itself, and the first evidence that volcanic ash can preserve such soft tissues in exquisite detail. The ...

This would mark the first time that fossilized soft tissues, like feathers, have ever been found preserved in volcanic ash, the scientists said. "Fossil feathers are usually preserved in ancient ...

An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers - the first ever record of such a ...

An analysis of a 30,000-year-old fossil vulture from Central Italy has revealed for the first time that volcanic rock can preserve microscopic details in feathers—the first ever record of such a ...