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ABC News
23-07-2025
- Science
- ABC News
Triassic reptile's bizarre crest shakes up feather evolution theories
Mammals these days have hair, birds have feathers, and reptiles have neither. But the relative nakedness of today's reptiles may not have been the case 247 million years ago, when at least one reptile species appeared to be quite experimental with its embellishments. That's according to fossils of a creature that lived at the beginning of the Triassic period and sported a curious crest running down its spine. The crest, while feather-like, pre-dates feathers by millions of years. A new study published in Nature has described the crested reptile, which was dubbed Mirasaura grauvogeli. Stephan Spiekman, study lead author and a researcher at the State Museum of Natural History in Stuttgart, Germany, said he was fascinated by the creature's complex appendages — particularly since it didn't belong to the group of animals that eventually grew feathers. "Mirasaura was a type of reptile that was very different from dinosaurs and their close relatives," Dr Spiekman said. Stephen Poropat, a palaeontologist at Curtin University who wasn't involved with the research, called the fossils an "extraordinary" find. The Mirasaura fossils were discovered by French palaeontologist Louis Grauvogel in the 1930s in north-eastern France. He found rocks containing small reptilian skeletons, alongside fan-like depressions made from plumes up to 15 centimetres long. Professor Grauvogel thought the mysterious fans were fish fins or insect wings, and didn't connect them to the reptilian skeletons found in the same fossils. In 2019, decades after his death, Professor Grauvogel's collection was acquired by the museum in nearby Stuttgart, and researchers realised that 80 of the fossils belonged to the same animal. The researchers named the creature Mirasaura grauvogeli, which means "Grauvogel's wondrous reptile". But they couldn't immediately tell what the mysterious crests on the creatures' backs were made of. "It was clear pretty quickly that these appendages were not feathers or hairs in the traditional sense," Dr Spiekman said. The team used a number of techniques, including powerful X-rays and electron microscopes, to reconstruct what the creature looked like and figure out the composition of the crests. They discovered remnants of tiny cells called "melanosomes" preserved in the fossil crests, which make the colours in hair, skin and feathers. The melanosomes were shaped similarly to those found in feathers, Dr Spiekman said. "This could indicate that the tissue that they are composed of is quite similar to that of feathers." But the appendages were clearly different to feathers: they didn't have any of the key branching features feathers develop as they grow. "This shows that the structures grew in a largely different way than feathers," Dr Spiekman said. Anatomical analyses of the reptile's skeleton also showed that it belonged to a different group of reptiles to the one that eventually became the dinosaurs. John Long, a palaeontologist at Flinders University who wasn't involved in the research, said that the existence of Mirasaura has profound implications for understanding how feathers and skin evolved. "Prior to this discovery, it was thought that only birds and dinosaurs evolved feather-like structures, and mammals modified those feather-like structures to develop hair," Professor Long said. "This is a third group of animals yet discovered that actually have feather-like structures as part of their skin." Dr Poropat said the discovery helped explain another highly controversial fossil find from a similar time period, called Longisquama insignis. The extinct Longisquama reptile, which was discovered more than 50 years ago, also had feather-like appendages, but its fossils weren't preserved well enough to identify them properly. This led to fierce debates about whether or not the Longisquama reptile had real feathers. "The finding of Mirasaura demonstrates Longisquama's structures are not feathers, because the Mirasaura reptile's are very similar and they're not feathers either," Dr Poropat said. "I'm quite relieved to see that Longisquama finally has a home." The researchers believe the reptiles used the crest to communicate with each other. "It seems most likely that it was used for signalling to other members of the same species, either to attract a mate, or to warn off a competitor, or both," Dr Spiekman said. Professor Long said that we can only speculate about the crest's function, but he agreed that communication was a likely reason. "Certainly today, visual signalling is incredibly important for birds and for many reptiles," he said. Dr Poropat pointed out the Mirasaura reptile lived a few million years after the catastrophic Permian mass extinction. This may have favoured the evolution of more bizarre behaviours and body structures because there was less competition. "The animals that did survive that extinction event were basically free to experiment with all sorts of different modes of life." While the Mirasaura reptile isn't a precursor to the dinosaurs, its existence suggests that other Triassic creatures could also have had strange features that haven't survived fossilisation. "Because soft tissue is so seldom preserved, we are getting an incomplete picture of the past almost inevitably," Dr Poropat said.
Yahoo
06-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Séché Environnement: Signing of a Unilateral Purchase Offer With a View to Acquiring Groupe Flamme
This transaction would strengthen the Group's industrial and commercial positions in its traditional markets across Europe CHANGÉ, France, June 06, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Regulatory News: Séché Environnement (Paris:SCHP) announces the signing of a unilateral purchase offer with a view to acquiring Groupe Flamme, a major player in hazardous waste incineration in France and a key player in the industrial waste and sanitation markets in north-eastern France. The acquisition of Groupe Flamme would enable the integration of significant hazardous waste treatment capacities that are available and highly complementary in geographical, industrial and commercial terms with the Group's facilities in France and Europe. A unique opportunity due to the quality of the assets acquired, this strategic transaction would be fully in line with the Group's strategy of strengthening its position in France and Europe in the hazardous waste markets. On June 5, 2025, Séché Environnement signed a unilateral purchase offer with the shareholders of the three companies comprising "Groupe Flamme", namely A.R.F. and subsidiaries, Flamme Environnement and subsidiaries, and Flamme Assainissement and subsidiary, with a view to acquiring all of the shares comprising these companies' share capital. With approximately 560 employees, Groupe Flamme is a long-standing family-owned operator in the management of industrial, hazardous and non-hazardous waste, and also carries out sanitation activities. It has a strong foothold in the Hauts-de-France region, where it operates primarily, especially in the hazardous waste incineration sector. "Groupe Flamme", a leading hazardous waste management player in France Posting revenue of approximately €100 million and EBITDA of around €20 million in 20241, Groupe Flamme collects, recovers, and treats all types of industrial waste. It also operates in the environmental services and sanitation sectors. It carries out these three activities through three independent divisions: Hazardous Waste Collection and Treatment Division (A.R.F., accounting for approximately 49% of consolidated revenue in 2024): A.R.F. is present throughout the value chain, from collection to incineration, through four industrial facilities in the Hauts-de-France region (Chauny, Vendeuil, St Rémy-du-Nord and Gondecourt). Environment Division (Flamme Environnement, accounting for approximately 27% of consolidated revenue in 2024): dedicated to the management of environmental services for all types of everyday waste, household waste, recyclable waste, and green waste through integrated collection, transport, recovery, and treatment services, backed by multi-year contracts. Sanitation Division (Flamme Sanitation, accounting for approximately 24% of consolidated revenue in 2024): with nine branches in France and Belgium and a reputation for high-quality services, the Division offers its industrial clients a range of services including sanitation, pumping, cleaning, and maintenance of their industrial facilities. A strategic transaction for Séché Environnement's development With the acquisition of Groupe Flamme, Séché Environnement would make significant progress in its strategic development in core markets, particularly in incineration in France, while strengthening its position among the leading hazardous industrial waste treatment players in France and Europe. Perfectly complementing Séché Environnement's geographical network in the hazardous waste markets in France (primarily in western, eastern, and southeastern France at present), this acquisition would give the Group new access to industrial customers in northern France and its border regions, where it could offer relevant local solutions to their hazardous waste management issues, backed by efficient logistics tools, pre-treatment facilities (platforms), and treatment facilities (incinerators) with significant authorized and available capacities. These new capacities would accelerate the development of industrial and geographic synergies within the Group by enabling the internal processing of growing volumes of hazardous waste from its sorting and consolidation platforms. In addition, Groupe Flamme would bring to Séché Environnement its recognized technological expertise in promising industrial markets where the Group currently has limited presence, such as aerosol and oil recovery. A partnership based on shared values and a common vision Maxime Séché, Chief Executive Officer of Séché Environnement, said: "We would be delighted to welcome Groupe Flamme's employees into the Séché Environnement family. This merger would mark the union of two family-owned companies guided by a common vision and strong values: a solid regional presence, a tangible commitment to environmental responsibility, a strong service mindset, and genuine care for the men and women who bring our businesses to life. Beyond the obvious industrial and commercial synergies, this project is based on shared convictions, complementary expertise and a common ambition to support the ecological transition. Together, we can enrich our industrial service offering, accelerate our development in the Hauts-de-France region and nationwide, while consolidating our presence in European and international markets." The acquisition would be carried out on the basis of a price of approximately €300 million for 100% of the shares. It concerns 100% of the share capital of the companies involved and would be financed with the Group's available cash. The Groupe Flamme companies will now initiate the information and consultation process with their employee representative bodies. Closing of the acquisition would be subject to approval by the French Competition Authority. Upcoming events Consolidated Results to June 30, 2025: September 9, 2025 after market About Séché Environnement Séché Environnement is a benchmark player in waste management, including the most complex and hazardous waste, and in environmental services, particularly in the event of environmental emergencies. Thanks to its expertise in creating circular economy loops, decarbonization and hazard control, and to the cutting-edge technologies developed by its R&D, Séché Environnement has been contributing for nearly 40 years to the ecological transition of industries and territories, as well as to the protection of living organisms. A family-owned French industrial group, Séché Environnement supports its customers through subsidiaries in 9 strategic countries and more than 120 locations worldwide, including some 50 industrial sites in France. With some 7,300 employees, including around 3,000 in France, Séché Environnement generated revenue of €1,110.4 million in 2024, of which around 32% outside France. Séché Environnement has been listed on Eurolist by Euronext (compartment B) since November 27, 1997. The stock is included in the CAC Mid&Small, EnterNext Tech 40 and EnterNext PEA-PME 150 indices. ISIN: FR0000039139 - Bloomberg: - Reuters: For more information: _________________________ 1 Financial year ended September 30, 2024 View source version on Contacts SÉCHÉ ENVIRONNEMENT Analyst / Investor Relations Manuel ANDERSENHead of Investor +33 (0)1 53 21 53 60 Media Relations Anna JAEGYHead of +33 (0)1 53 21 53 53 Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Melden Sie sich an, um Ihr Portfolio aufzurufen. Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten Fehler beim Abrufen der Daten
