WFS

Formation of sedimentary layers of white clay, Tamilnadu, India

Fossil site for wood fossils, Tamilnadu, India

Fossil site in Kerala, India

Fossil wood park maintained by geological survey of India at Tamilnadu

Cretaceous fossil sites india

Fossils in rack:-Cyad

Fossils in rack:-echiniderms

Fossils in rack:-Rastellum sp

Pre-historic seabed, Cretaceous period

WFS News: Irritator challengeria two-legged, meat-eating dinosaur, a spinosaurid

June 2nd, 2023

Riffin

@WFS,World Fossil Society, Athira, Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Irritator challengeri was a two-legged, meat-eating dinosaur, or more precisely—a spinosaurid. The knowledge of the species is based on the most complete fossil skull known from this group. With the aid of X-ray computed tomographs usually used in the context of medicine or material science, paleontologists from Greifswald, Munich (both Germany), Alkmaar (Netherlands) and Fribourg (Switzerland) thoroughly investigated the fossil and made astonishing discoveries.

Interpretative line drawings of the re-arranged and articulated skull of Irritator challengeri (SMNS 58022). A, right lateral view; B, sagittal cut with removed right skull half, revealing medial aspects of the left skull half. Speculatively, grey silhouettes add unknown parts to the skull known from other spinosaurids. Abbreviations: an, angular; ar, articular; boc, basioccipital; d, dentary; ep, ectopterygoid; epi, epipterygoid; f, frontal; j, jugal; l, lacrimal; ls; laterosphenoid; m, maxilla; n, nasal; osp, orbitosphenoid; oto, otoccipital; pa, palatine; par, parietal; pbsp, parabasisphenoid; pm, premaxilla; po, postorbital; pro, prootic; pra, prearticular; prf, prefrontal; pt, pterygoid; q, quadrate; qj, quadratojugal; s, stapes; sur, surangular; soc, supraoccipital; sq, squamosal; v, vomer.

In what is now Brazil, it is presumed that Irritator hunted relatively small prey with a strongly inclined snout that evolved to close quickly. A big surprise for the experts: when the hunter opened its muzzle, the lower jaws spread out to the sides, widening the throat region. The study was published in Palaeontologia Electronica.

Marco Schade has worked with dinosaur fossils for several years. The creatures he investigates became extinct millions of years ago and mostly incomplete fossils are all that is left of them. The remains of extinct organisms are often housed—as in this case, in the Staatliches Museum für Naturkunde Stuttgart—in public collections and sometimes provide unexpected insights into life on our planet in times that have long since passed.

Spinosaurids are among the largest land-dwelling predators to have ever lived on Earth. Their peculiar anatomy and sparse fossil record make spinosaurids mysterious in comparison to other large-bodied carnivorous dinosaurs. Spinosaurids bear relatively long and slender snouts with numerous near-conical teeth, sturdy arms with impressive claws and very long processes on their spines.

Interpretative line drawings of the re-arranged and articulated skull of Irritator challengeri (SMNS 58022). A, anterior view; B, posterior view. Speculatively, grey silhouettes add unknown parts to the skull known from other spinosaurids. Abbreviations: an, angular; boc, basioccipital; ep, ectopterygoid; epi, epipterygoid; f, frontal; j, jugal; l, lacrimal; lsp, laterosphenoid; m, maxilla; n, nasal; oto, otoccipital; par, parietal; pbsp, parabasisphenoid; pm, premaxilla; po, postorbital; pra, prearticular; pt, pterygoid; q, quadrate; qj, quadratojugal; sur, surangular; soc, supraoccipital; sq, squamosal.

The most complete fossil skull of a spinosaurid is represented by Irritator challengeri found in approx. 115 Ma old sedimentary rocks from eastern Brazil. While the species, being estimated to have reached some 6.5 m in body length, represents the largest animal in its ecosystem, paleontologists also found fossils from other dinosaurs, pterosaurs, relatives of crocodiles, turtles and diverse fish species there.

For their latest study, the scientists reconstructed every single skull bone of the fossil and put them together in their original position to find out what makes spinosaurids so special. With the aid of CT data, they found that Irritator probably held its snout around 45° inclined in situations that required close attention to its surroundings. This position facilitated an area of three-dimensional vision to the front, since no structures, such as the long muzzle, obstructed the field of view being produced by both eyes.

Furthermore, the skull of Irritator was evolutionarily shaped in a way that produced a relatively weak but very fast bite. Due to the shape of the lower jaw joint, when this predator opened its mouth, the lower jaws spread out to the sides, which widened the pharynx. This is somewhat similar to what is displayed by pelicans, but achieved by different biomechanical processes. These are hints for Irritator’s preference for relatively small items of prey, including fish, which were snapped up and heavily injured with speedy jaw movements in order to swiftly swallow them whole.

Verified spinosaurid fossils all come from the Early and Late Cretaceous period and encompass approx. 35 million years, which also corresponds with the length of time that separates spinosaurids from other large predatory dinosaurs in respect to their evolutionary history. The study allows new insights into the lifestyle of spinosaurids and shows that—in relation to their closer relatives—they acquired many new anatomical features in a geologically short amount of time, which eventually made them the highly specialized and exceptional dinosaurs we know today.

Brazil in the Early Cretaceous, 115 Ma ago: the predatory dinosaur Irritator challengeri forages with spreading lower jaws in shallow water for small prey, including fish. Credit: Olof Moleman

More information: Marco Schade et al, A reappraisal of the cranial and mandibular osteology of the spinosaurid Irritator challengeri (Dinosauria: Theropoda), Palaeontologia Electronica (2023). DOI: 10.26879/1242

Source: phys.org

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WFS News: What role does anoxia play in exceptional fossil preservation?

June 1st, 2023

Riffin

@WFS,World Fossil Society, Athira, Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

All that glitters is not gold, or even fool’s gold in the case of fossils.

A recent study by scientists at The University of Texas at Austin and collaborators found that many of the fossils from Germany’s Posidonia shale do not get their gleam from pyrite, commonly known as fool’s gold, which was long thought to be the source of the shine. Instead, the golden hue is from a mix of minerals that hints at the conditions in which the fossils formed.

The discovery is important for understanding how the fossils — which are among the world’s best-preserved specimens of sea life from the Early Jurassic — came to form in the first place, and the role that oxygen in the environment had in their formation.

“When you go to the quarries, golden ammonites peek out from black shale slabs,” said study co-author Rowan Martindale, an associate professor at the UT Jackson School of Geosciences. “But surprisingly, we struggled to find pyrite in the fossils. Even the fossils that looked golden, are preserved as phosphate minerals with yellow calcite. This dramatically changes our view of this famous fossil deposit.”

The research was published in Earth Science Reviews. Drew Muscente, a former assistant professor at Cornell College and former Jackson School postdoctoral researcher, led the study.

The fossils of the Posidonia Shale date back to 183 million years ago, and include rare soft-bodied specimens such as ichthyosaur embryos, squids with ink-sacs, and lobsters. To learn more about the fossilization conditions that led to such exquisite preservation, the researchers put dozens of samples under scanning electron microscopes to study their chemical composition.

“I couldn’t wait to get them in my microscope and help tell their preservational story,” said co-author Jim Schiffbauer, an associate professor at the University of Missouri Department of Geological Sciences, who handled some of the larger samples.

The researchers found that in every instance, the fossils were primarily made up of phosphate minerals even though the surrounding black shale rock was dotted with microscopic clusters of pyrite crystals, called framboids.

“I spent days looking for the framboids on the fossil,” said co-author Sinjini Sinha, a doctoral student at the Jackson School. “For some of the specimens, I counted 800 framboids on the matrix while there was maybe three or four on the fossils.”

The fact that pyrite and phosphate are found in different places on the specimens is important because it reveals key details about the fossilization environment. Pyrite forms in anoxic (without oxygen) environments, but phosphate minerals need oxygen. The research suggests that although an anoxic seafloor sets the stage for fossilization — keeping decay and predators at bay — it took a pulse of oxygen to drive the chemical reactions needed for fossilization.

These findings complement earlier research carried out by the team on the geochemical conditions of sites known for their caches of exceptionally preserved fossils, called konservat-lagerstätten. However, the results of these studies contradict long-standing theories about the conditions needed for exceptional fossil preservation in the Posidonia.

“It’s been thought for a long time that the anoxia causes the exceptional preservation, but it doesn’t directly help,” said Sinha. “It helps with making the environment conducive to faster fossilization, which leads to the preservation, but it’s oxygenation that’s enhancing preservation.”

It turns out, the oxygenation — and the phosphate and accompanying minerals — also enhanced the fossil’s shine.

The research was funded by Cornell College and the National Science Foundation. The Posidonia fossil specimens used in this study are now part of the collections at the Jackson School’s Non-Vertebrate Paleontology Laboratory.

Journal Reference:

A.D. Muscente, Olivia Vinnes, Sinjini Sinha, James D. Schiffbauer, Erin E. Maxwell, Günter Schweigert, Rowan C. Martindale. What role does anoxia play in exceptional fossil preservation? Lessons from the taphonomy of the Posidonia Shale (Germany). Earth-Science Reviews, 2023; 238: 104323 DOI: 10.1016/j.earscirev.2023.104323

University of Texas at Austin. “‘Golden’ fossils reveal origins of exceptional preservation.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 2 May 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230502155416.htm>.

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WFS News:107-million year-old pterosaur bones found in Australia

May 30th, 2023

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@WFS,World Fossil Society, Athira, Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Reconstruction of an Australian pterosaur. Researchers have verified that pterosaur bones found in Australia over 30 years ago are the oldest of their kind, dating back to 107 million years ago. Credit: Peter Trusler

107-million-year-old pterosaur bones, the oldest of their kind, have been confirmed by researchers in Australia, as reported in Historical Biology. The fossils, discovered over three decades ago, belonged to two distinct individuals, one of which was a juvenile — a first for Australia. The findings enhance our understanding of these creatures’ adaptation to harsh climates and raise questions about their breeding habits.

A team of researchers has confirmed that 107-million-year-old pterosaur bones discovered more than 30 years ago are the oldest of their kind ever found in Australia, providing a rare glimpse into the life of these powerful, flying reptiles that lived among the dinosaurs.

Published in the journal Historical Biology and completed in collaboration with Museums Victoria, the research analyzed a partial pelvis bone and a small wing bone discovered by a team led by Museums Victoria Research Institute’s Senior Curator of Vertebrate Palaeontology Dr. Tom Rich and Professor Pat Vickers-Rich at Dinosaur Cove in Victoria, Australia in the late 1980s.

The team found the bones belonged to two different pterosaur individuals. The partial pelvis bone belonged to a pterosaur with a wingspan exceeding two meters, and the small wing bone belonged to a juvenile pterosaur — the first ever reported in Australia.

Lead researcher and PhD student Adele Pentland, from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, said pterosaurs — which were close cousins of the dinosaurs — were winged reptiles that soared through the skies during the Mesozoic Era.

“During the Cretaceous Period (145–66 million years ago), Australia was further south than it is today, and the state of Victoria was within the polar circle — covered in darkness for weeks on end during the winter. Despite these seasonally harsh conditions, it is clear that pterosaurs found a way to survive and thrive,” Ms. Pentland said.

“Pterosaurs are rare worldwide, and only a few remains have been discovered at what were high palaeolatitude locations, such as Victoria, so these bones give us a better idea as to where pterosaurs lived and how big they were.

“By analyzing these bones, we have also been able to confirm the existence of the first ever Australian juvenile pterosaur, which resided in the Victorian forests around 107 million years ago.”

Ms. Pentland said that although the bones provide important insights about pterosaurs, little is known about whether they bred in these harsh polar conditions.

“It will only be a matter of time until we are able to determine whether pterosaurs migrated north during the harsh winters to breed, or whether they adapted to polar conditions. Finding the answer to this question will help researchers better understand these mysterious flying reptiles,” Ms Pentland said.

Dr Tom Rich, from Museums Victoria Research Institute, said it was wonderful to see the fruits of research coming out of the hard work of Dinosaur Cove which was completed decades ago.

“These two fossils were the outcome of a labor-intensive effort by more than 100 volunteers over a decade,” Dr. Rich said.

“That effort involved excavating more than 60 meters of tunnel where the two fossils were found in a seaside cliff at Dinosaur Cove.”

Reference: “Oldest pterosaur remains from Australia: evidence from the Lower Cretaceous (lower Albian) Eumeralla Formation of Victoria” 30 May 2023, Historical Biology.
DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2023.2201827

The research was co-authored by researchers from Curtin’s School of Earth and Planetary Sciences, the Australian Age of Dinosaurs Museum of Natural History, Monash University, and Museums Victoria Research Institute.

Source: Article by CURTIN UNIVERSITY in scitechdaily.com

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WFS News: The “Rosetta Stone” of Paleontology: 400 Million-Year-Old Fossil Cache Unveils Early Life

May 28th, 2023

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@WFS,World Fossil Society, Athira, Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

A small piece of Rhynie fossil plant with fossil fungi colonizing the ends, viewed through a microscope. Credit: Loron et al.

Cutting-edge technology has revealed new insights about a globally famous fossil treasure trove, which may provide critical evidence concerning early life on Earth.

Scientists investigating the 400 million-year-old fossil cache, discovered in the remote northeastern region of Scotland, report that their results display a higher level of molecular preservation in these fossils than what was previously expected.

Fresh scrutiny of the exquisitely preserved treasure trove from Aberdeenshire has enabled scientists to identify the chemical fingerprints of the various organisms within it.

Just as the Rosetta Stone helped Egyptologists translate hieroglyphics, the team hopes these chemical codes can help them decipher more about the identity of the life forms, that other more ambiguous fossils represent.

The spectacular fossil ecosystem near the Aberdeenshire village of Rhynie was discovered in 1912, mineralized and encased by chert – hard rock composed of silica. Known as the Rhynie chert, it originates from the Early Devonian period – about 407 million years ago – and has a significant role to play in scientists’ understanding of life on earth.

Researchers combined the latest non-destructive imaging with data analysis and machine learning to analyze fossils from collections held by National Museums Scotland and the Universities of Aberdeen and Oxford. Scientists from the University of Edinburgh were able to probe deeper than has previously been possible, which they say could reveal new insights about less well-preserved samples.

Employing a technique known as FTIR spectroscopy – in which infrared light is used to collect high-resolution data – researchers found impressive preservation of molecular information within the cells, tissues, and organisms in the rock.

Since they already knew which organisms most of the fossils represented, the team was able to discover molecular fingerprints that reliably discriminate between fungi, bacteria, and other groups.

These fingerprints were then used to identify some of the more mysterious members of the Rhynie ecosystem, including two specimens of an enigmatic tubular “nematophyte”.

These strange organisms, which are found in Devonian – and later Silurian – sediments have both algal and fungal characteristics and were previously hard to place in either category. The new findings indicate that they were unlikely to have been either lichens or fungi.

Dr. Sean McMahon, Chancellor’s Fellow from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy and School of GeoSciences, said: “We have shown how a quick, non-invasive method can be used to discriminate between different lifeforms, and this opens a unique window on the diversity of early life on Earth.”

The team fed their data into a machine learning algorithm that was able to classify the different organisms, providing the potential for sorting other datasets from other fossil-bearing rocks.

The study, published in Nature Communications, was funded by The Royal Society, Wallonia–Brussels International, and the National Council of Science and Technology of Mexico.

Dr Corentin Loron, Royal Society Newton International Fellow from the University of Edinburgh’s School of Physics and Astronomy said the study shows the value of bridging paleontology with physics and chemistry to create new insights into early life.

“Our work highlights the unique scientific importance of some of Scotland’s spectacular natural heritage and provides us with a tool for studying life in trickier, more ambiguous remnants,” Dr. Loron said.

Dr. Nick Fraser, Keeper of Natural Sciences at National Museums Scotland, believes the value of museum collections for understanding our world should never be underestimated.

He said: “The continued development of analytical techniques provides new avenues to explore the past. Our new study provides one more way of peering ever deeper into the fossil record.”

Reference: “Molecular fingerprints resolve affinities of Rhynie chert organic fossils” by C. C. Loron, E. Rodriguez Dzul, P. J. Orr, A. V. Gromov, N. C. Fraser and S. McMahon, 13 March 2023, Nature Communications.
DOI: 10.1038/s41467-023-37047-1

Source: Article By UNIVERSITY OF EDINBURGH in Science daily.com

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WFS News: Stelladens mysteriosus: A Strange New Mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco

May 19th, 2023

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@WFS,World Fossil Society, Athira,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Scientists have discovered a new species of mosasaur, a sea-dwelling lizard from the age of the dinosaurs, with strange, ridged teeth unlike those of any known reptile. Along with other recent finds from Africa, it suggests that mosasaurs and other marine reptiles were evolving rapidly up until 66 million years ago, when they were wiped out by an asteroid along with the dinosaurs and around 90% of all species on Earth.

The new species, Stelladens mysteriosus, comes from the Late Cretaceous of Morocco and was around twice the size of a dolphin.

It had a unique tooth arrangement with blade-like ridges running down the teeth, arranged in a star-shaped pattern, reminiscent of a cross-head screwdriver.

Most mosasaurs had two bladelike, serrated ridges on the front and back of the tooth to help cut prey, however Stelladens had anywhere from four to six of these blades running down the tooth.

“It’s a surprise,” said Dr Nick Longrich from the Milner Centre for Evolution at the University of Bath, who led the study. “It’s not like any mosasaur, or any reptile, even any vertebrate we’ve seen before.”

Dr Nathalie Bardet, a marine reptile specialist from the Museum of Natural History in Paris, said: “I’ve worked on the mosasaurs of Morocco for more than 20 years, and I’d never seen anything like this before — I was both perplexed and amazed!”

That several teeth were found with the same shape suggests their strange shape was not the result of a pathology or a mutation.

The unique teeth suggest a specialised feeding strategy, or a specialised diet, but it remains unclear just what Stelladens ate.

Dr Longrich said: “We have no idea what this animal was eating, because we don’t know of anything similar either alive today, or from the fossil record.

“It’s possible it found a unique way to feed, or maybe it was filling an ecological niche that simply doesn’t exist today. The teeth look like the tip of a Phillips-head screwdriver, or maybe a hex wrench.

“So what’s it eating? Phillips head screws? IKEA furniture? Who knows.”

The teeth were small, but stout and with wear on the tips, which seemed to rule out soft-bodied prey. The teeth weren’t strong enough to crush heavily armoured animals like clams or sea urchins, however.

“That might seem to suggest it’s eating something small, and lightly armoured — thin-shelled ammonites, crustaceans, or bony fish — but it’s hard to know,” said Longrich. “There were weird animals living in the Cretaceous- ammonites, belemnites, baculites — that no longer exist. It’s possible this mosasaur ate something, and occupied a niche, that simply doesn’t exist anymore, and that might explain why nothing like this is ever seen again.

“Evolution isn’t always predictable. Sometimes it goes off in a unique direction, and something evolves that’s never been seen before, and then it never evolves again.”

The mosasaurs lived alongside dinosaurs but weren’t dinosaurs. Instead, they were giant lizards, relatives of Komodo dragons, snakes, and iguanas, adapted for a life at sea.

Mosasaurs evolved around 100 million years ago, and diversified up to 66 million years ago, when a giant asteroid hit the Yucatan Peninsula in Mexico, plunging the world into darkness.

Although scientists have debated the role of environmental changes towards the end of the Cretaceous in the extinction, Stelladens, along with recent discoveries from of Morocco, suggests that mosasaurs were evolving rapidly up to the very end — they went out at their peak, rather than fading away.

The new study shows that even after years of work in the Cretaceous of Morocco, new species are continuing to be discovered. The reason may be that most species are rare.

The authors of the study predict that in a very diverse ecosystem, it may take decades to find all of the rare species.

“We’re not even close to finding everything in these beds,” said Longrich, “This is the third new species to appear, just this year. The amount of diversity at the end of the Cretaceous is just staggering.”

Nour-Eddine Jalil, a professor at the Natural History Museum and a researcher at Univers Cadi Ayyad in Morocco, said: “The fauna has produced an incredible number of surprises — mosasaurs with teeth arranged like a saw, a turtle with a snout in the form of snorkel, a multitude of vertebrates of various shapes and sizes, and now a mosasaur with star-shaped teeth.

“We would say the works of an artist with an overflowing imagination.

“Morocco’s sites offer an unparalleled picture of the amazing biodiversity just before the great crisis of the end of the Cretaceous.”

Nicholas R. Longrich, Nour-Eddine Jalil, Xabier Pereda-Suberbiola, Nathalie Bardet. Stelladens mysteriosus: A Strange New Mosasaurid (Squamata) from the Maastrichtian (Late Cretaceous) of Morocco. Fossils, 2023; 1 (1): 2 DOI: 10.3390/fossils1010002

Source: University of Bath. “Fossil of mosasaur with bizarre ‘screwdriver teeth’ found in Morocco.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 18 May 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/05/230518120907.htm>.

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WFS News: Fossil site sheds light on Giant Arthropod Dominance 470 Million Years Ago

May 14th, 2023

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@WFS,World Fossil Society, Athira,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev

Fossils from the Fezouata Shale. From left to right, a non-mineralized arthropod (Marrellomorpha), a palaeoscolecid worm, and a trilobite. Credit: Emmanuel Martin

New fossil site in Taichoute, Morocco, suggests giant arthropods, up to 2 meters long, dominated the seas 470 million years ago. The site offers new insights into the Fezouata Biota and early life on Earth.

A new fossil site in Taichoute, Morocco, reveals that giant arthropods dominated the seas 470 million years ago. The site, part of the wider Fezouata Biota, contains numerous large free-swimming arthropods, some potentially up to 2 meters long. The findings are distinct from other previously studied Fezouata Shale sites and offer new insights into paleontological and ecological research. The Fezouata Shale has been recognized as one of the 100 most important geological sites worldwide for understanding evolution during the Early Ordovician period.

Discoveries at a major new fossil site in Morocco suggest giant arthropods – relatives of modern creatures including shrimps, insects, and spiders – dominated the seas 470 million years ago.

Early evidence from the site at Taichoute, once undersea but now a desert, records numerous large “free-swimming” arthropods.

More research is needed to analyze these fragments, but based on previously described specimens, the giant arthropods could be up to 2 meters (6.5 feet) long.

An international research team says the site and its fossil record are very different from other previously described and studied Fezouata Shale sites from 80km away.

They say Taichoute (considered part of the wider “Fezouata Biota”) opens new avenues for paleontological and ecological research.

Large fragments of nektonic arthropods. Credit: Bertrand Lefebvre

“Everything is new about this locality – its sedimentology, paleontology, and even the preservation of fossils – further highlighting the importance of the Fezouata Biota in completing our understanding of past life on Earth,” said lead author Dr. Farid Saleh, from the University of Lausanne and Yunnan University.

The newly discovered site from the Fezouata Shale. Credit: Bertrand Lefebvre

Dr. Xiaoya Ma, from the University of Exeter and Yunnan University, added: “While the giant arthropods we discovered have not yet been fully identified, some may belong to previously described species of the Fezouata Biota, and some will certainly be new species.

“Nevertheless, their large size and free-swimming lifestyle suggest they played a unique role in these ecosystems.”

The Fezouata Shale was recently selected as one of the 100 most important geological sites worldwide because of its importance for understanding the evolution during the Early Ordovician period, about 470 million years ago.

Fossils discovered in these rocks include mineralized elements (eg shells), but some also show exceptional preservation of soft parts such as internal organs, allowing scientists to investigate the anatomy of early animal life on Earth.

Animals of the Fezouata Shale, in Morocco’s Zagora region, lived in a shallow sea that experienced repeated storm and wave activities, which buried the animal communities and preserved them in place as exceptional fossils.

However, nektonic (or free-swimming) animals remain a relatively minor component overall in the Fezouata Biota.

The new study reports the discovery of the Taichoute fossils, preserved in sediments that are a few million years younger than those from the Zagora area and are dominated by fragments of giant arthropods.

“Carcasses were transported to a relatively deep marine environment by underwater landslides, which contrasts with previous discoveries of carcass preservation in shallower settings, which were buried in place by storm deposits,” said Dr. Romain Vaucher, from the University of Lausanne.

Professor Allison Daley, also from the University of Lausanne, added: “Animals such as brachiopods are found attached to some arthropod fragments, indicating that these large carapaces acted as nutrient stores for the seafloor dwelling community once they were dead and lying on the seafloor.”

Dr. Lukáš Laibl, from the Czech Academy of Sciences, who had the opportunity to participate in the initial fieldwork, said: “Taichoute is not only important due to the dominance of large nektonic arthropods.

“Even when it comes to trilobites, new species so far unknown from the Fezouata Biota are found in Taichoute.”

Dr. Bertrand Lefebvre, from the University of Lyon, who is the senior author on the paper, and who has been working on the Fezouata Biota for the past two decades, concluded: “The Fezouata Biota keeps surprising us with new unexpected discoveries.”

The paper, published in the journal Scientific Reports, is entitled: “New fossil assemblages from the Early Ordovician Fezouata Biota.”

Reference: “New fossil assemblages from the Early Ordovician Fezouata Biota” by Farid Saleh, Romain Vaucher, Muriel Vidal, Khadija El Hariri, Lukáš Laibl, Allison C. Daley, Juan Carlos Gutiérrez-Marco, Yves Candela, David A. T. Harper, Javier Ortega-Hernández, Xiaoya Ma, Ariba Rida, Daniel Vizcaïno and Bertrand Lefebvre, 13 December 2022, Scientific Reports.DOI: 10.1038/s41598-022-25000-z

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Source: retrieved from article by UNIVERSITY OF EXETER and here for education information only

WFS News: Morphological evolution of cycads ?

May 10th, 2023

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Cycads, a group of gymnosperms which can resemble miniature palm trees (like the popular sago palm houseplant) were long thought to be “living fossils,” a group that had evolved minimally since the time of the dinosaurs. Now, a well-preserved 80-million-year-old pollen cone discovered in California has rewritten scientific understanding of the plants.

The findings are detailed in a paper by two University of Kansas paleobotanists just published in the journal New Phytologist.

“Cycads aren’t well-known but make up a significant part of plant diversity, accounting for around 25% of all gymnosperms,” said lead author Andres Elgorriaga, postdoctoral researcher with the KU Department of Ecology & Evolutionary Biology and KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. “Cycads are plants that have thick stems and short stature, with thick, palm-like leaves on top. They produce cones like pine cones and are related to other seed-bearing plants that also don’t produce flowers, like Ginkgo and the monkey puzzle tree. But they’re also highly endangered, with the highest level of endangerment among all plant groups. Trafficking of cycads also is a significant issue.”

Despite their importance, a lack of fossil evidence and confusion over the years about how to classify some fossil specimens has led to a murky scientific grasp of the plants’ evolutionary history. One prominent idea was that cycads today are nearly identical to their prehistoric ancestors.

“The prevailing school of thought is that cycads did not change much in deep time,” said co-author Brian Atkinson, assistant professor of ecology & evolutionary biology and curator of paleobotany at the KU Biodiversity Institute and Natural History Museum. “But the fossil record of cycads is poorly understood, and many things that have been called cycads have turned out not to be cycads at all. Here, we have a three-dimensionally preserved cone clearly assignable to cycads because it has internal anatomy and pollen grains typical of this group. However, the external morphology of this pollen cone is different from living cycads today. This finding suggests cycads aren’t really ‘living fossils’ and they probably have a more dynamic evolutionary history than previously thought.”

According to the KU researchers, their analysis of an 80-million-year-old permineralized pollen cone found in the Campanian Holz Shale formation located in Silverado Canyon, California, tells a more accurate cycad natural history — one where the plants diversified during the Cretaceous.

“With this type of discovery, we realize during this time there were cycads that were really different than the ones today in their size, in their number of pollen sacs, in a lot of things,” Elgorriaga said. “Maybe we haven’t found that many cycad fossils as well — or maybe we’re finding them but we’re just not recognizing them because they were so different from how they are today. They aren’t ‘living fossils.’ They were different in the past.”

To perform their analysis, Elgorriaga and Atkinson studied the specimen’s cone’s architecture, anatomical details and vasculature organization using serial sectioning, scanning electron microscopy and 3D reconstruction. They also performed a series of evolutionary analyses to place the fossil within the cycad family tree.

Relying partly on the shapes of the cone’s scales, pollen and pollen sacs, they assigned the ancient plant to Skyttegaardia, a recently described genus based on isolated cone scales found in Denmark and dated to the Early Cretaceous (about 125 million years ago). Further, they erase some initial doubt about the new genus’ placement in the cycad group.

“The 3D reconstruction was striking because it only had two pollen sacs per cone scale, and the form of this cone scale reminded us of a fossil described from Scandinavia called Skyttegaardia,” Atkinson said. “There were many similarities, but the original in Scandinavia was only described in 2021 based on isolated cone scales. They cautiously explored the idea that the fossil belonged to cycad but were uncomfortable with firmly concluding this primarily because it only had two pollen sacs per cone scale — while cycads today have 20 to 700. Most cycad pollen cones are quite large, while this fossil was only half a centimeter in length.”

With the additional information from the new fossil plant, the KU researchers were “quite confident” in their phylogenetic analysis showing Skyttegaardia’s positive relationship with cycads.

The investigators said their description of the primordial plant shows how paleobotany can tell us more about how nature works through deep time.

“This shows us that the information we collect from the fossil record greatly impacts our understanding of evolutionary patterns,” Atkinson said. “Time, just like fossils, can reveal insights that aren’t apparent from studying only living plants or organisms. This case study is an excellent example of how fossils can contribute to our understanding of evolution over extended periods.”

Andres Elgorriaga, Brian A. Atkinson. New Phytologist, 2023; 238 (4): 1695 DOI: 10.1111/nph.18852

WFS News: Foxaspis novemura: A new fossilized galeaspid species

May 4th, 2023

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A new fossilized galeaspid species, Foxaspis novemura, has been discovered in China, featuring a unique nine-rayed caudal fin. The species was found to be an active swimmer with a faster cruising speed than its relatives.

Researchers have discovered a new fossilized galeaspid species with “nine tails” in south China’s Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region. This is the world’s first galeaspid fossil with a well-preserved tail.

Photo shows a complete headshield articulated with body and tail preserved together with a complete arthrodiran fish. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences

According to the researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology under the Chinese Academy of Sciences, they named the new species as Foxaspis novemura because its caudal fin is comprised of nine ray-like scale-covered digitations, just like that of the Nine-Tailed Fox, a mythical animal from an ancient literature “Shan Hai Jing” (Classic of Mountains and Seas).

Photo shows an exceptionally preserved fossil of “nine tails.” Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences

The fossil specimen completely preserves the caudal fin in both folded and flared states, revealing its morphological details to the greatest extent, according to Gai Zhikun, a research professor from the institute.

Photo shows the exceptionally preserved fossils of fishes and plants associated with Foxaspis. Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences

“We discovered that galeaspids may be active swimmers, and can make good use of muscle contraction to control the contact area between tail and water flow, thus generating different thrust forces,” he said.

The team then analyzed the swimming speed of the geometrical morphology of the tail and showed that galeaspid’s cruising speed was even faster than that of their more derived jawless and jawed relatives.

Life restoration and caudal fin evolution of the “nine tails.” Credit: Chinese Academy of Sciences

The researchers published their study results in the journal National Science Review.

Reference: “Postcranial disparity of galeaspids and the evolution of swimming speeds in stem-gnathostomes” by Zhikun Gai, Xianghong Lin, Xianren Shan, Humberto G Ferrón and Philip C J Donoghue, 27 February 2023, National Science Review.DOI: 10.1093/nsr/nwad050

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WFS News: Fossil evidence of tylosis formation in Late Devonian plants

April 30th, 2023

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An international team of scientists, co-led by Dr Carla J. Harper, Assistant Professor in Botany in the School of Natural Sciences at Trinity, has discovered the oldest evidence of plant self-defence in wood in a 360-million-year-old fossil from south-eastern Ireland.

Plants can protect their wood from infection and water loss by forming special structures called “tyloses.” These prevent bacterial and fungal pathogens from getting into the heartwood of living trees and damaging it. However, it was not previously known how early in the evolution of plants woody species became capable of forming such defences.

Published today in Nature Plants is the oldest evidence of tylosis formation from Late Devonian (360-million-year-old) fossil wood from the Hook Head Peninsula area, Co. Wexford, Ireland.

These plants lived well before the time of the dinosaurs or even flying insects. They formed the first primeval forests, when plants ruled the continents, accompanied by microorganisms, fungi, and early relatives of spiders, millipedes and centipedes.

Dr Harper and her team, including Dr Anne-Laure Decombeix (CNRS, France), Dr Cyrille Prestianni (Uni. Liège, Belgium), Trinity Botany PhD student Thibault Durieux (co-advised by Harper and Decombeix), Merlin Ramel (INRAe, France), and Prof Michael Krings (BSGP, Munich, Germany and Trinity SNS Visiting Research Associate), discovered tyloses in the fossilised wood of an extinct group of plants known as the Archaeopteridalean progymnosperms. These plants are particularly important as they were the first trees to resemble those we see today, with a large woody trunk, branches, and complex root systems.

The team has now discovered that these primitive trees were also able to form tyloses to protect their wood. What is particularly exciting is that Ireland is one of the few places in the world where such details can be observed in plants from this remote time period. This means that the fossils from Co. Wexford give unique insights into this important period in plant evolution.

Dr Harper said: “Fossil wood is an example of an anatomically preserved fossil: plant remains that have been infiltrated by a water rich in minerals, preserving their tissues in three dimensions. These fossils allow us to study very fine details of extinct plant anatomy, down to the cellular level. This type of preservation, in general, is rare but occurs in certain fossil deposits in Ireland.

“Continuing fieldwork in Irish Devonian localities will yield new fossils that will increase our understanding of the diversity and biology of extinct plants. Overall, Ireland’s rich plant fossil history — an untapped resource — plays a key role in answering exciting research questions and raises many more.”

Ireland has long been known as the Emerald Isle due its famous rolling green hills — but such discoveries help us to understand how and when this “greening” began.

Dr Harper said: “By studying these fossil plants and their past environments, we can get powerful insights into the history of plant physiological processes that still occur today, and into both current and future ecosystems of Ireland and the world.”

Anne-Laure Decombeix, Carla J. Harper, Cyrille Prestianni, Thibault Durieux, Merlin Ramel, Michael Krings. Fossil evidence of tylosis formation in Late Devonian plants. Nature Plants, 2023; DOI: 10.1038/s41477-023-01394-0

Trinity College Dublin. “360-million-year-old Irish fossil provides oldest evidence of plant self-defense in wood.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 21 April 2023. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/04/230421134352.htm>.

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WFS News: World’s oldest preserved brain found in prehistoric fish fossil

March 7th, 2023

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The skull fossil is the only known specimen of its species, so only non-destructive techniques were used during the study

The “oldest example of a well-preserved vertebrate brain” has been identified in a 319 million-year-old fish fossil.

The fossilised Coccocephalus wildi was found in a coal mine in Lancashire more than a century ago and had been sitting in the archives of Manchester Museum.

Research by teams from universities in Birmingham and Michigan found its skull contained a brain and cranial nerves.

Palaeontologist Dr Sam Giles said the “unexpected find” gave a “startling insight” into brain evolution.

The fossil of the now-extinct fish was originally recovered from a layer of soapstone in the roof of the Lancashire mine and was first scientifically described in 1925.

Though only its skull was recovered, scientists from the University of Birmingham (UoB) and the University of Michigan (UoM) believe it would have been 6 to 8ins (15 to 20cm) long and was probably a carnivore.

A UoB representative said soft tissues like brains normally decay quickly and “very rarely fossilise”, but when this fish died, it was “probably quickly buried in sediments with little oxygen present” as such environments “can slow the decomposition of soft body parts”.

They said the skull fossil was the only known specimen of its species, so only non-destructive techniques were used during the study.

They added that the research team had not been looking for a brain when examining the skull fossil, but found the distinct object which had features found in vertebrate brains, such as bilateral symmetry and hollow spaces.

Scans of the fossil revealed a brain and cranial nerves, researchers said

Dr Giles said the “unexpected find of a three-dimensionally preserved vertebrate brain gives us a startling insight into the neural anatomy of ray-finned fish”.

“It tells us a more complicated pattern of brain evolution than suggested by living species alone, allowing us to better define how and when present day bony fishes evolved,” she added.

UoM researcher Rodrigo Figueroa said the “superficially unimpressive and small fossil [not only] shows us the oldest example of a fossilised vertebrate brain, but it also shows that much of what we thought about brain evolution from living species alone will need reworking”.

Source: Article in BBC NEWS.com dtd 2/3/2023

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