New insights into the relationship between Tasmanites and tricyclic terpenoids

Extraordinarily well-preserved Tasmanites and Leiosphaeridia prasinophytes from a new Silurian-Devonian sedimentary sequence in South-East Turkey were hand picked from different stratigraphic levels, cleaned and analysed using Curie point pyrolysis-gas chromatography/mass spectrometry (GC/MS). Tricyclic terpenoids in the pyrolysates (e.g., mono- and diunsaturated terpenes and monoaromatics) were detected for the genus Leiosphaeridia, but not for the genus Tasmanites. These results suggest that an inherent source/biomarker relationship between taxa of Tasmanites and tricyclic terpenoids may not always exist. Moreover, the detection of tricyclic terpenoid compounds from pyrolysis of Leiosphaeridia indicates that these pyrolysis products are not exclusive to the genus Tasmanites.