Archive for August, 2021

WFS News: Taytalura alcoberi, Fossil of Tuatara-Like Reptile

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev Taytalura alcoberi lived in what is now Argentina during the Late Triassic epoch, approximately 231 million years ago. The ancient reptile was a member of Lepidosauromorpha, a large group that includes squamates (lizards and snakes) and sphenodontians (tuataras). “Lepidosauromorphs and archosauromorphs represent the two main branches of the reptile tree of life […]

WFS News: Sustained high rates of morphological evolution during the rise of tetrapods

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev One of the biggest questions in evolution is when and how major groups of animals first evolved. The rise of tetrapods (all limbed vertebrates) from their fish relatives marks one of the most important evolutionary events in the history of life. This “fish-to-tetrapod” transition took place somewhere between […]

WFS News: Phiomicetus anubis, A 4-Legged Whale With A Raptor-Like Eating Style

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev A semiaquatic whale that lived 43 million years ago was so fearsome, paleontologists have named it after Anubis, the ancient Egyptian god of death. The newly discovered 10-foot-long (3 meters) species, dubbed Phiomicetus anubis, was a beast; When it was alive more than 43 million years ago, it both walked on […]

WFS News: Carbon concentration increases with depth of melting in Earth’s upper mantle

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev Carbon concentration increases with depth of melting in Earth’s upper mantle Aiuppa, A., Casetta, F., Coltorti, M. et al.  Nat. Geosci. (2021). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41561-021-00797-y Carbon in the upper mantle controls incipient melting of carbonated peridotite and so acts as a critical driver of plate tectonics. The carbon-rich melts that form control […]

WFS News: A billion years missing from geologic record: Where it may have gone.

@WFS,World Fossil Society,Riffin T Sajeev,Russel T Sajeev The geologic record is exactly that: a record. The strata of rock tell scientists about past environments, much like pages in an encyclopedia. Except this reference book has more pages missing than it has remaining. So geologists are tasked not only with understanding what is there, but also […]