Latest news with #Jurassic-era
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
What paleontologists learned from fossils of a 3-eyed predator that lived 500 million years ago
Paleontologists have discovered that a three-eyed sea moth predator lived on Earth half a billion years ago with evidence found in one of the most fossil-rich areas of the world. The fossils of Mosura fentoni -- a species of arthropod that lived in the Cambrian Period -- were discovered in Burgess Shale in the Canadian Rockies, a region known for its exceptional preservation of fossils, according to a paper published Wednesday in Royal Society Open Science. The species belongs to a group of arthropods nicknamed "sea moths" that use a flap-like apparatus similar to wings to help them swim, the authors said in a statement. The mechanism gives the species a "vague appearance" to a moth and are distantly related to modern moths, spiders, crabs and millipedes. MORE: Underwater camera captures elusive tentacled creature 3 miles below ocean surface The 506 million-year-old fossil is an imprint of a creature that had three eyes, a jaw lined with teeth, sharp claws and abdominal segments lined with gills. However, the specimen is not a fish, the researchers said. It belongs to the radiodont group, an ancient line of sea predators that are now instinct. "Radiodonts were the first group of arthropods to branch out in the evolutionary tree, so they provide key insight into ancestral traits for the entire group," said Jean-Bernard Caron, curator of invertebrate paleontology at the Royal Ontario Museum, in a statement. Several of the fossils are so clear that they show details of the specimen's internal anatomy, including parts of the nervous and circulatory systems and digestive tract, Caron said, describing the details as "astounding." "Very few fossil sites in the world offer this level of insight into soft internal anatomy," Caron said. "We can see traces representing bundles of nerves in the eyes that would have been involved in image processing, just like in living arthropods." MORE: What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era species The species had an open circulatory system that pumped blood into large internal body cavities called lacunae, which were preserved as reflective patches in the fossils. The new species emphasizes that these early arthropods were already surprisingly diverse and were adapting in a comparable way to their distant modern relatives Even more surprising than Mosura fentoni's three eyes is a tail-like body made of segments lined with gills on its abdomen -- something never before seen on a radiodont. The researchers compared its rear section to modern arthropods such as insects and horseshoe crabs. "This is a neat example of evolutionary convergence with modern groups, like horseshoe crabs, woodlice, and insects, which share a batch of segments bearing respiratory organs at the rear of the body,' said Joe Moysiuk, curator of paleontology and geology at the Manitoba Museum and lead author of the study, in a statement. MORE: Scientists discover 'legless, headless wonder' that predated the dinosaurs The "intriguing" adaption may be the result of habitat preference of behavioral characteristics of the species that required more efficient respiration, the researchers said. The Burgess Shale fossil sites, designated a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1980, are located within the Yoho and Kootenay National Parks. Dozens of Mosura fossils have been collected in Burgess Shale in recent decades, according to the paper. What paleontologists learned from fossils of a 3-eyed predator that lived 500 million years ago originally appeared on
Time of India
03-05-2025
- Science
- Time of India
Ancient ptilophyllum fossils found in Rajmahal Hills
1 2 In a significant palaeobotanical discovery , ptilophyllum fossils — leaf imprints preserved in sedimentary rocks — were unearthed on Friday at a newly excavated pond in the Chota Kesh, Chipri Pahar area of Sahibganj district , Jharkhand. The site, located under Sahri Panchayat, lies approximately 85 kilometres from Sahibganj town. Ptilophyllum is an extinct genus of leaves belonging to the seed plant order Bennettitales (now extinct). The serendipitous discovery occurred when Anil Besra, a Railway School teacher, and a former student of noted geologist Dr. Ranjit Kumar Singh visited the village for a wedding ceremony. During an afternoon bath at the village pond, Besra noticed numerous rocks bearing distinct leaf impressions. The fossils, scattered throughout the excavated pond area, displayed clear plant lamina dating back 68-148 million years. Dr. Singh, an eminent geologist and principal of Model College, Rajmahal's geology department, promptly visited the site to verify the discovery. He confirmed that these fossils originated from the Cretaceous period, approximately 145 million years ago. "These prehistoric imprints are invaluable for understanding past climate changes, global warming patterns, and mass extinction events that have impacted Earth over millions of years," Dr. Singh explained. The Rajmahal hills range, situated in the Santhal Pargana division, has long been recognized as a significant palaeontological site. Its extensive collection of plant and animal fossils, dating from 68 to 148 million years ago, has attracted international attention from geological and palaeobotanical researchers. These Jurassic-era specimens provide crucial evidence for understanding evolutionary processes, from early dinosaurs to the development of birds and diverse flora and fauna. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like Co-Founder of Google Brain, Andrew Ng, Is Reported To Have Read Every... Blinkist: Andrew Ng's Reading List Undo Recent discoveries in the region have been particularly noteworthy. A previous excavation in Vrindavan village, Taljhari Block, yielded a petrified plant fossil measuring 4 feet in height with a 7-8 foot base. More recently, in February, Dr. Singh's team discovered a remarkable 20-foot petrified tree fossil, fragmented into 14 pieces, in Barmasiya village, Pakur district. "This represents our largest petrified fossil discovery to date," noted Dr. Singh, expressing optimism about future findings. "The region's rich palaeontological history suggests the possibility of discovering dinosaur fossils through more extensive exploration efforts." These continuing discoveries underscore the Rajmahal hills' importance as a crucial site for understanding Earth's prehistoric past and evolutionary history.
Yahoo
01-04-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Dormant algae revived after 7,000 years beneath the Baltic Sea, researchers say
Researchers have successfully revived algae that remained dormant within sediment at the bottom of the Baltic Sea for more than 7,000 years. The tiny diatom cells have regained full biological activity despite thousands of years beneath the seafloor without light or oxygen, according to the paper, published in the ISME Journal. MORE: Scientists discover 'legless, headless wonder' that predated the dinosaurs The specimen was extracted from sediment cores taken from a spot nearly 800 feet deep in the Eastern Gotland Deep in 2021, according to the paper. Many organisms, from bacteria to plankton to mammals, can go into "sleep mode," or dormancy, in order to survive periods of unfavorable environmental conditions -- switching to a state of reduced metabolic activity, according to the researchers. The dormancy often provides robust protective structures and internally stored energy reserves for the organisms. For phytoplankton, the organisms sink to the bottom of the ocean during dormancy, and they are eventually covered by sediment over time and preserved by the lack of oxygen. In a breakthrough experiment, researchers from the Leibniz Institute for Baltic Sea Research Warnemünde were able to practice "'resurrection ecology" to return the plankton to full viability under favorable conditions, according to Sarah Bolius, phytoplankton expert at the institute and lead author of the study. The evolutionary biology technique involves reviving dormant organisms from lake sediments to study animals as they existed at the time they were buried in the sediment. The visible algae was able to be awakened from dormancy from nine sediment samples under favorable nutrient and light conditions, the researchers said. MORE: What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era species Despite remaining dormant for several thousands of years, the phytoplankton specimens did not lose any of their "fitness" or biological performance ability, Bolius said in a statement. Even the oldest algae isolates can still actively produce oxygen, a measurement of photosynthetic performance found. Successful resurrections of dormant organisms have rarely been documented, according to the researchers. "This means that it is now possible to conduct 'time-jump experiments' into various stages of Baltic Sea development in the lab," Bolius said. Dormant stages of phytoplankton extracted from the Baltic Sea can be clearly assigned to specific periods due to the "clear stratification" of the Baltic Sea sediment, Bolius said in a statement. The diatom species Skeletonema marinoi was the only phytoplankton species revived from the samples. The species is common in the Baltic Sea and typically occurs during the spring bloom, according to the researchers. MORE: Well-preserved remains of saber-toothed kitten found frozen in Russian tundra, researchers say The researchers are hoping to use the findings to discover more about the environment at the time. They will compare the organisms to modern phytoplankton and also analyze other sediment components to draw conclusions about past salinity, oxygen and temperature conditions, according to the paper. The research has also shown that they can directly trace genetic changes over many millennia by analyzing living cells, rather than fossils or traces of DNA. "Such deposits are like a time capsule containing valuable information about past ecosystems and the inhabiting biological communities, their population development and genetic changes," Bolius said. Dormant algae revived after 7,000 years beneath the Baltic Sea, researchers say originally appeared on
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
13-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Dozens of dinosaur footprints found at Australian school, scientists say
Dozens of dinosaur footprints embedded in a boulder were found hiding in plain sight at a school in Australia, according to researchers. The large rock was excavated from the Callide Basin in central Queensland and gifted to the Moura State High School, where it sat unnoticed for two decades, according to the University of Queensland. MORE: What scientists learned from a well-preserved fossil of this iconic Jurassic-era species When paleontologists were asked by the school to examine a cluster of three-toed track marks on the boulder, they found it contains one of the highest concentrations of dinosaur footprints per square meter ever documented in the country, according to a paper published Monday in Historical Biology. The rock contains 66 footprints from 47 individual dinosaurs, Anthony Romilio, a paleontologist at the University of Queensland and lead author of the study, said in a statement. The footprints were likely imprinted onto the boulder as the dinosaurs passed across a patch of wet, white clay, possibly walking along or crossing a waterway during the Early Jurassic period, about 200 million years ago, Romilio said. "It's an unprecedented snapshot of dinosaur abundance, movement and behavior from a time when no fossilized dinosaur bones have been found in Australia," Romilio said. MORE: Well-preserved remains of saber-toothed kitten found frozen in Russian tundra, researchers say Each footprint has three toes, indicating that they belong to the ichnospecies Anomoepus scambus, small dinosaurs with legs between 6 inches and 20 inches, Romilio said. They were likely traveling less than 4 mph, the researchers determined. Skeletal fossils from dinosaurs with these types of feet indicate that they were likely plant eaters with long legs, a chunky body and short arms, Romilio said. MORE: How the process of de-extinction will be used to restore this fabled species While the boulder was resting in the schoolyard for years, advanced 3D imaging and light filters were able to reveal the hidden details in the footprints, Romilio said. "It's incredible to think that a piece of history this rich was resting in a schoolyard all this time," he said. Dozens of dinosaur footprints found at Australian school, scientists say originally appeared on
