Latest news with #Gabbott
Yahoo
15-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists Found a 444-Million-Year-Old Inside-Out Fossil With Its Guts Perfectly Intact
Discovered 25 years ago, a 444-million-year-old marine arthropod fossil stumped paleontologists, as they couldn't identify its exact species. Sarah Gabbot, who originally discovered the specimen, realized that the fossil had been preserved inside-out, meaning its muscles, tendons, and guts were exquisitely preserved while its limbs, carapace, and even head had dissolved away. Gabbot named the specimen Keurbos susanae—nickname 'Sue'—in honor of her mother, whom she said always supported her love of paleontology. Arthropods are the most successful animal group on the planet. These varying invertebrates make up roughly 85 percent of all animal life on the planet, and they have one of the most extensive and well-preserved fossil records of any animal group, with examples dating back some 518 million years ago to the Cambrian era—a.k.a. when complex life really boomed for the first time. Fast forward some 73 million years to the end of the next geologic period (the Ordovician), and life meets its first bust. The first of five (or possibly six) mass extinctions in Earth history, the Late Ordovician mass extinction wiped out roughly 85 percent of all life on Earth, making it the second most deadly (after the Permian extinction—you don't get the nickname 'The Great Dying' for nothing). It was during this tumultuous biological period, that a certain arthropod met its end, eventually becoming entombed and fossilized in Soom Shale—a band of silts and clays located 250 miles north of Cape Town, South Africa. Although intense glaciation laid waste to the planet, this small pocket of the world continued to thrive even under icy threat. Some 444 million years later, paleontologists unearthed this particular specimen, but it's appearance didn't match anything in the fossil record. That is, until Sarah Gabbott, a lead author on a study published in the journal Paleontology detailing this new species (named Keurbos susanae after the lead author's mother, Sue), made the surprising discovery—the fossil was actually preserved inside-out. ''Sue' is an inside-out, legless, headless wonder,' Gabbott said in a press statement. 'Remarkably her insides are a mineralised time-capsule: muscles, sinews, tendons and even guts all preserved in unimaginable detail. And yet her durable carapace, legs and head are missing—lost to decay over 440 million years ago.' Although this fossil's resting place included an anoxic environment (a necessary ingredient for fossilization to occur), it also contained hydrogen sulphide dissolved in the water. The researchers believe this chemistry likely dissolved away the carapace. Yet the mineral that perfectly preserved the marine arthropods insides—calcium phosphate—is the same mineral found in our bones and teeth. Gabbott told IFLScience that she's still trying to work out the exact details of how this strange inside-out preservation took place. Although 'Sue'—not to be confused with another famous fossil of the T. Rex persuasion—provides an incredible glimpse at the organs and guts of an ancient arthropod, it's difficult to know where to place the specimen on the tree of life—even 25 years after Gabbott first discovered it. 'This has been an ultramarathon of a research effort,' Gabbott said in a press statement. 'In a large part because this fossil is just so beautifully preserved there's so much anatomy there that needs interpreting. Layer upon on layer of exquisite detail and complexity.' While the mystery remains, the naming of the species at least checks off one to-do on Gabbott's list: 'Recently my mum said to me 'Sarah if you are going to name this fossil after me, you'd better get on and do it before I am in the ground and fossilized myself.'' You Might Also Like The Do's and Don'ts of Using Painter's Tape The Best Portable BBQ Grills for Cooking Anywhere Can a Smart Watch Prolong Your Life?
Yahoo
31-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists discover 'legless, headless wonder' that predated the dinosaurs
Paleontologists are marveling over the unique fossil of a marine species that predated the dinosaurs, according to new research. The fossil, dated to about 444 million years ago, contained a new species of arthropod that fossilized inside-out, earning the description of a "legless, headless wonder," according to a paper published in the journal Palaeontology last week. MORE: Ancient parasitic 'Venus flytrap' wasp found preserved in amber The "exceptionally preserved" euarthropod was found with its muscles, sinews, tendons and guts all preserved in "unimaginable detail," said Sarah Gabbott, a professor at the University of Leicester's school of geology and lead author of the paper, said in a statement. "Remarkably her insides are a mineralised time-capsule," Gabbott said, adding that the specimen's head and legs were lost to decay over hundreds of millions of years. The new species was dubbed "Keurbos susanae," or "Sue" -- after the mother of the woman who discovered it. Researchers are certain it is primitive marine arthropod, but the precise evolutionary relationships remains "frustratingly elusive," Gabbott said. The fossil was located on Soom Shale, a band of silts and clays about 250 miles north of Cape Town, South Africa. At the time the strata was laid down, a "devastating" glaciation had wiped out about 85% of Earth's species -- one of the "big five" mass extinctions in Earth's history, the researchers said. MORE: What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era species But the marine basin where Sue was found was somehow protected from the worst of the freezing conditions and provided shelter for a community of "fascinating" species, according to the paper. "This fossil is just so beautifully preserved there's so much anatomy there that needs interpreting," Gabbott said. "Layer upon on layer of exquisite detail and complexity." The sediments that trapped the specimen were extremely toxic, the researchers said. The water contained no oxygen, but hydrogen sulphide -- described as not only "stinky" but deadly -- was dissolved in the water, the researchers said. An unusual chemical alchemy may have been responsible for the unique way Sue was fossilized, the researchers hypothesized. About 85% of the animals on Earth today are arthropods -- including shrimps, lobsters, spiders, mites, millipedes and centipedes, the paper states. MORE: How the process of de-extinction will be used to restore this fabled species The downside to Sue's unique fossilization is it makes it hard to compare the specimen with other fossils of similar species of the time. "So it remains a mystery how she fits into the evolutionary tree of life," according to the researchers. Scientists discover 'legless, headless wonder' that predated the dinosaurs originally appeared on
Yahoo
29-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Scientists uncover 'inside-out, legless, headless wonder' that lived long before the dinosaurs
When you buy through links on our articles, Future and its syndication partners may earn a commission. Scientists have found two specimens of a 444 million-year-old "inside-out" fossil with well-preserved soft tissue, according to a new study. Unlike most fossils, the creature's muscles and guts — but not its more durable shell — are preserved in ancient sediment that turned to stone. The fossil, found 250 miles (402 kilometers) north of Cape Town in South Africa, is a new species of multisegmented arthropod that may have lived in oxygen-poor waters, according to the study, published March 26 in the journal Papers in Palaeontology. Researchers named the new species Keurbos susanae and nicknamed the fossil "Sue" after its discoverer's mom. "Sue is an inside-out, legless, headless wonder," lead author Sarah Gabbott, a paleontologist at the University of Leicester in the U.K., said in a statement. "Remarkably, her insides are a mineralized time-capsule: muscles, sinews, tendons and even guts all preserved in unimaginable detail. And yet her durable carapace, legs and head are missing — lost to decay over 440 million years ago." The researchers found the fossils in the Soom Shale, a site known for producing fossils with well-preserved soft tissues, more than 20 years ago. They had hoped to find additional specimens, but fossils of the species turned out to be quite rare. The silt, clay, and mud in which Sue was preserved were deposited on an ancient seafloor, beneath an ocean low in oxygen but high in dissolved, acidic hydrogen sulfide — suggesting that K. susanae may have been adapted for a low-oxygen environment. Sue dates back to the Late Ordovician mass extinction (443 million years ago), when cold temperatures and glacier advancement eliminated nearly 85% of marine species. Researchers are still working to understand how soft tissues in fossils like K. susanae are preserved in the Soom Shale. Clay minerals may have played a role, as could calcium phosphate, a compound commonly found in fossilized muscles. On the other hand, the shells and exoskeletons of species preserved in Soom Shale likely dissolved in the acidic ocean. Because the K. susanae specimen was fossilized inside out, scientists still aren't sure of the species' evolutionary history or how it compares to other fossils from the same time period. "We are now sure she was a primitive marine arthropod, but her precise evolutionary relationships remain frustratingly elusive," Gabbott said in the statement. The fossil's segmented trunk suggests it had limbs of some kind — but comparing Sue to known fossil species would require a sample with part of the exoskeleton preserved. RELATED STORIES —Sponges Ruled the World After Second-Largest Mass Extinction —Rare fossils reveal basketball-like skin on duck-billed dinosaur —Ravenous meat-eating dinosaur's guts preserved in exceptionally rare fossil Recent quarrying activity has buried the site where Gabbott and her colleagues found Sue, so it's unlikely they'll find other examples of the same species with intact legs or a head, the team said. "I'd always hoped to find new specimens, but it seems after 25 years of searching this fossil is vanishingly rare — so I can hang on no longer," Gabbott said. "Especially as recently my mum said to me, 'Sarah, if you are going to name this fossil after me, you'd better get on and do it before I am in the ground and fossilized myself'." Gabbott joked that she named the fossil after her mom because she's a "well-preserved specimen." But the true reason, she said, is that "my mum always said I should follow a career that makes me happy — whatever that may be. For me that is digging rocks, finding fossils and then trying to figure out how they lived what they tell us about ancient life and evolution on Earth."
The Guardian
22-02-2025
- Science
- The Guardian
‘Technofossils': how plastic bags and chicken bones will become our eternal legacy
As an eternal testament of humanity, plastic bags, cheap clothes and chicken bones are not a glorious legacy. But two scientists exploring which items from our technological civilisation are most likely to survive for many millions of years as fossils have reached an ironic but instructive conclusion: fast food and fast fashion will be our everlasting geological signature. 'Plastic will definitely be a signature 'technofossil', because it is incredibly durable, we are making massive amounts of it, and it gets around the entire globe,' says the palaeontologist Prof Sarah Gabbott, a University of Leicester expert on the way that fossils form. 'So wherever those future civilisations dig, they are going to find plastic. There will be a plastic signal that will wrap around the globe.' Fast food containers dominate ocean plastic, but aluminium drinks cans will also be part of our legacy. Pure metals are exceptionally rare in the geological record, as they readily react to form new minerals, but the cans will leave a distinct impression. 'They're going to be around in the strata for a long time and eventually you would expect little gardens of clay minerals growing in the space where the can was. It's going to be a distinctive, new kind of fossil,' says the geologist Prof Jan Zalasiewicz, a leading proponent of the Anthropocene as a new geological epoch that reflects the impact of modern humanity on the planet, who with Gabbott has written a book on technofossils, Discarded. Another fast food staple, chicken, is also destined for immortality. Bones are well known as fossils, but while those of modern broiler chickens are fragile – they are bred to live fast, dying fat and young – the sheer volume will ensure many survive into the geological record. At any moment, there are about 25 billion live chickens in the world, vastly more than the world's most abundant wild bird, say Gabbott and Zalasiewicz, making them likely to be the most abundant bird in all of Earth's history. The sudden appearance of vast numbers of a monstrous bird five times bigger than its wild forebear will certainly strike future palaeontologists. Clothes will also make an abrupt entry into humanity's fossil record. For millennia, clothes were made from natural and easily rotted materials such as cotton, linen and silk. Today, the world's growing population often wears mass-produced synthetic garments that are rapidly dumped. 'We are making them in ridiculous amounts,' says Gabbott – about 100bn garments a year, double the number 20 years ago. 'People would be surprised just how many clothes are actually out there in the environment as well. I work to clean rivers in the city of Leicester and about a quarter of the stuff that we take out is clothing. We also stick them into landfills, which are like giant mummification tombs.' As the geologists say in their book: 'It is already clear that much of modern fashion will end up being, in the deepest possible sense, truly timeless.' The last of the signature technofossils is also the most solid example: concrete. It is already essentially a rock, so it is readily preserved, and it exists in colossal quantities. Enough concrete is cast each year to provide four tonnes to every person on Earth, adding to the existing 500bn tonne stockpile. All fossils require a bit of luck to be preserved. Usually that means being buried under sediments in lakes and seas. So sinking cities, such as New Orleans, are where colossal concrete fossils are likely to be formed. Half of the city is already below sea level and Gabbott and Zalasiewicz's prognosis is stark: 'It is a zombie city, which will die by drowning, probably later this century, and so it is ripe for fossilisation.' Skyscrapers, building foundations, paving slabs, sewer lining and the city's sea walls will all be candidates for preservation. An unambiguous sign of a human civilisation will be our own bones, and those of us who are buried will have already taken the first step to fossilisation. But again, only those entombed in sinking places are likely to be preserved. 'Mountain burial grounds won't last very long,' says Zalasiewicz. 'But if you're in the Mississippi [River] delta, or the Netherlands, or the Yangtze delta, the burial grounds there will, by and large, survive.' Even so, future palaeontologists are more likely to find the remains of our farm livestock, which vastly outweigh us. To assess which human detritus will survive, Gabbott and Zalasiewicz make frequent analogies with existing fossils. Graptolites, a long-extinct group of small filter-feeding marine animals and the organic tubes they lived in, are common fossils from about 500m years ago. 'The tubes seem to have turned into something plastic and some, when you extract them from the rock, are still springy – it's extraordinary,' says Zalasiewicz. The cell walls of green algae provide another plastic analogue. 'Fossils that are nearly 50m years old are made of this stuff that is chemically indistinguishable from polyethylene,' says Gabbott. The geologists conclude: 'Our throwaway plastics look likely to persist on Earth pretty much for ever.' For ever is a long time and in reality all fossils will only last as long as the planet does, but it will take about 5bn years for the sun to engulf the Earth. Fossils are not just objects left behind, but also the traces of life's activity written into the rocks and humanity is leaving a gigantic footprint. For example, we have drilled more than 50m kilometres of oil and gas wells, each piercing down through geological strata. There have also been about 1,500 nuclear weapons tests conducted underground. While relatively rare, the results were geologically spectacular: large spherical caves lined with melted rock that collapsed into a mass of radioactive rubble and are surrounded by a complex web of fractures. Along with mines and other boreholes, 'this global rash of underground scars is pretty much indelible', say Gabbott and Zalasiewicz. Just as enduring but far more subtle will be the toxic chemical signal left by humanity, not least the aptly named 'forever chemicals', such as PTFE. The metal in a non-stick frying pan is likely to dissolve away over millions of years underground, say the geologists, but the PTFE coating will persist as a thin flexible film. Humanity has created many near-indestructible chemicals, such as dioxins and DDT. Given that similar molecules produced by bacteria have been found in rocks that are 1,600m years old in Western Australia, these chemicals appear to be here to stay. 'These forever chemicals are literally everywhere,' says Gabbott. 'Then they get into sediment, and then they just sit there.' Another part of the surreptitious signature of humanity is the presence of radioactive elements sprinkled around the world by nuclear bomb tests above ground, largely between 1952 and 1963. These form such a stark signal that they were judged the best candidate to indicate the dawn of the Anthropocene. These chemical signs may seem cryptic and unlikely to be unearthed in the far future. But geologists found a similar trace that accompanied the demise of the dinosaurs: thin sediments enriched in iridium, an element found in meteorites. 'The iridium spike is not at all obvious, unless you've got a super-duper spectrometer and sample just the right level. And yet we found it,' says Zalasiewicz. Our digital age is likely to leave less of a trace than the centuries when knowledge was stored on paper. Ancient fossil leaves and trees show that paper has a surprisingly high ability to be fossilised, and the graphite used in pencils is also robust. 'It is endearing to think that it may be the fossilised scribblings of children that may survive best of all: a portrait of a family outside a house, perhaps, with the sun shining and a rainbow arcing across the sky,' say Gabbott and Zalasiewicz. Computer chips, though numerous, are tiny, and silicon is highly reactive with oxygen, making them unlikely to be significant as future fossils. But the wiring in electronic devices may well catch the eye, as the minerals that form from copper are bright and beautifully coloured, from azurite to malachite to bornite. Solar panels may also achieve immortality thanks to their distinctive shape and the sheer volume being produced. Their exploration of future fossils has led Gabbott and Zalasiewicz to draw some conclusions. One is that understanding how human detritus could become fossils points towards how best to stop waste piling up in the environment. 'In the making of fossils, it's the first few years, decades, centuries and millennia which are really crucial,' says Zalasiewicz. 'This overlaps with the time in which we have the capacity to do something about it.' Gabbott says: 'The big message here is that the amount of stuff that we are now making is eye-watering – it's off the scale.' All of the stuff made by humans by 1950 was a small fraction of the mass of all the living matter on Earth. But today it outweighs all plants, animals and microbes and is set to triple by 2040. 'This stuff is going to last millions of years, some releasing its toxins and chemicals into the natural world,' she says, raising serious questions for us all: 'Do you need that? Do you really need to buy more?' Discarded: How Technofossils Will Be Our Ultimate Legacy is published by Oxford University Press
