text: In exceptionally preserved fossils, such as those of the Burgess shale, soft parts of organisms may be preserved. Since these fossils are often compressed into a planar film, it can be difficult to distinguish the features: a famous example is the triangular extensions in Opabinia, which were interpreted as either legs or extensions of the gut. Elemental mapping showed that their composition was similar to the gut, favoring that interpretation. Because of the thinness of carbon films, only low voltages (5-15 kV) can be used on them.