Formation of sedimentary layers of white clay, Tamilnadu, India

Fossil site for wood fossils, Tamilnadu, India

Fossil site in Kerala, 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: ‘Obscure’ stalked filter feeder lived in Utah some 500 million years ago

October 12th, 2017 Riffin

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

To the untrained eye, it looks like a flower crudely etched into rock — as if a child had scratched a picture of a bloom. But to the late fossil hunter Lloyd Gunther, the tulip shape he unearthed at Antimony Canyon in northern Utah looked like the remnant of an ancient marine animal.

Years ago, Gunther collected the rock and later gave it to researchers at the University of Kansas’ Biodiversity Institute — just one among thousands of such fossils he donated to the institute over the years.

This is the only example of a species that lived in Utah during the mid Cambrian. Researchers believe the specimen probably drifted away from a community of similar stalked filter feeders. Credit: Julien Kimmig | KU News Service

This is the only example of a species that lived in Utah during the mid Cambrian. Researchers believe the specimen probably drifted away from a community of similar stalked filter feeders.
Credit: Julien Kimmig | KU News Service

But this find was the only fossilized specimen of a species previously unknown to science — an “obscure” stalked filter feeder. It has just been detailed for the first time in a paper appearing in the Journal of Paleontology.

“This was the earliest specimen of a stalked filter feeder that has been found in North America,” said lead author Julien Kimmig, collections manager for Invertebrate Paleontology at the Biodiversity Institute. “This animal lived in soft sediment and anchored into the sediment. The upper part of the tulip was the organism itself. It had a stem attached to the ground and an upper part, called the calyx, that had everything from the digestive tract to the feeding mechanism. It was fairly primitive and weird.”

Kimmig researches the taxonomy, stratigraphy and paleoecology of the Cambrian Spence Shale found in Utah and Idaho, where Gunther found the obscure filter feeder.

“The Spence Shale gives us soft-tissue preservation, so we get a much more complete biota in these environments,” he said. “This gives us a better idea of what the early world was like in the Cambrian. It’s amazing to see what groups of animals had already appeared over 500 million years ago, like arthropods, worms, the first vertebrate animals — nearly every animal that we have around today has a relative that already lived during those times in the Cambrian.”

In honor of fossil hunter Gunther, a preeminent collector who performed fieldwork from the 1930s to the 2000s, Kimmig and Biodiversity Institute colleagues Luke Strotz and Bruce Lieberman named the newly described species Siphusauctum lloydguntheri.

The stalked filter feeder is just the second animal placed within its genus, and the first Siphusauctum to be discovered outside the Burgess Shale, a fossil-rich deposit in the Canadian Rockies.

“What these animals were doing was filtering water to get food, like micro-plankton,” Kimmig said. “The thing is, where this one was located we only found a single specimen over a period of 60 years of collecting in the area.”

Kimmig said it isn’t yet known if the newly discovered stalked filter feeder lived a highly solitary life or if it drifted off from a community of similar animals.

“It’s hard to tell from a single specimen,” he said. “There were algae found right next to it, so it likely was transported there. The algae found with it were planktonic algae that were floating themselves. It could have fallen just next to it — but that would be a big coincidence — so that’s why we’re thinking it came loose from somewhere else and got mixed in with the algae.”

Kimmig and his KU colleagues say the newly described specimen varies in key areas from similar known species of stalked filter feeders from the Cambrian.

“There are several differences in how the animal looked,” Kimmig said. “If you look at the digestive tract preserved in this specimen, the lower digestive tract is closer to the base of the animal compared to other animals. The calyx is very slim — it looks like a white wine glass, whereas in other species it looks like a big goblet. What we don’t have in this specimen that the others have are big branches for filter feeding. We don’t know if those weren’t preserved or if this one didn’t have them.”

According to the researchers, there are no species alive today that claim lineage to Siphusauctum lloydguntheri. But Kimmig said there were a few contemporary examples that share similarities.

“The closest thing to the lifestyle — but not a relative — would be crinoids, commonly called sea lilies,” he said. “Unfortunately, there’s likely not a relative of Siphusauctum in the world anymore. We have thousands of similar fossil specimens in the Burgess Shale, but it’s hard to identify what these animals actually were. It might be possibly related to contemporary entoprocts, which are a lot smaller than this one — but it’s hard to tell if they’re related at all.”

Ultimately, the mysterious stalked filter feeder is a reminder of the strange and vast arc of evolution where species continuously come and go, according to Kimmig.

“It is enigmatic because we don’t have anything living that is exactly like it,” he said. “What is fascinating about this animal is we can clearly relate it to animals existing in the Cambrian and then we just don’t find it anymore. It’s just fascinating to see how evolution works. Sometimes it creates something — and it just doesn’t work out. We have some lineages like worms that lived long before the Cambrian and haven’t changed in appearance or behavior, then we have things that were around for a couple of million years and just disappeared because they were chance victims of mass extinctions.”

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

  1. Julien Kimmig, Luke C. Strotz, Bruce S. Lieberman. The stalked filter feeder Siphusauctum lloydguntheri n. sp. from the middle Cambrian (Series 3, Stage 5) Spence Shale of Utah: its biological affinities and taphonomy. Journal of Paleontology, 2017; 91 (05): 902 DOI: 10.1017/jpa.2017.57
  2. University of Kansas. “‘Obscure’ stalked filter feeder lived in Utah some 500 million years ago.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 11 October 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171011120403.htm>.

WFS News:Dinosaur blood? New research urges caution regarding fossilized soft tissue

October 11th, 2017 Riffin

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

Scientists have conducted experiments to accelerate degradation in keratinous tissues such as feathers, scales and hair in order to simulate the processes that occur over deep time as something becomes a fossil.

Their findings demonstrate that previous claims showing the preservation of keratin protein in dinosaur fossils are likely to be false.

Similarly, widely publicised claims of dinosaur blood in fossil bones were shown to likely represent an artefact of degraded organic matter rather than actual blood cells.

The researchers undertook experimental treatments that either used microbes to decay tissues or subjected tissues to intense heat and pressure — a process known as maturation — in order to mimic the conditions a fossil experiences deep underground.

Electron microscopy of abiotically-formed structures as an explanation for 'dinosaur blood'. A) Moderately matured turkey skin. B) Proposed blood-like structures in a dinosaur bone (modified from Bertazzo et al. (2015, online Supplementary Fig. 3c) and used under Creative Commons CC-BY license). Presented here with a defined scale bar. Arrowheads indicate several shared structures: (1) concave bulge/fold continuous with the underlying organic material; (2) pit/simple fold; (3) spherical bulge. Credit: University of Bristol

Electron microscopy of abiotically-formed structures as an explanation for ‘dinosaur blood’. A) Moderately matured turkey skin. B) Proposed blood-like structures in a dinosaur bone (modified from Bertazzo et al. (2015, online Supplementary Fig. 3c) and used under Creative Commons CC-BY license). Presented here with a defined scale bar. Arrowheads indicate several shared structures: (1) concave bulge/fold continuous with the underlying organic material; (2) pit/simple fold; (3) spherical bulge.Credit: University of Bristol

Evan Saitta from the University of Bristol’s School of Earth Science, led the research which has been published in the journal Palaios.

He said: “Decay and mild maturation resulted in some intriguing textural differences in degradation patterns based on the type of keratin such as curling versus crimping of filaments when matured.

“These results may show promise for identifying relatively recent archaeological keratin remains but when maturation conditions are increased to simulate conditions present during burial and fossilisation, the keratin degrades into a foul-smelling, water-soluble fluid that can dissolve or leach away from the fossil.”

In another experiment the vacuum conditions of an electron microscope appear to have produced folds, pits and blebs in a sample of degraded turkey skin, similar to those features previously suggested to represent dinosaur blood cells.

The range of sizes and shapes of these experimental and fossil structures is evidence that they form through a non-biological process, as opposed to a biological process like the formation of cells.

Thus, the purported blood cells in these dinosaur bones are likely to be degraded organics, most likely from microbes that invaded the cavities in the bone rather than exceptionally preserved, easily-degradable blood cells.

Saitta added: “We’ve shown that different keratin types show intriguing differences in degradation patterns that might help identify keratinous remains in archaeological material.

“However, when the processes of fossilisation and burial over deep time are simulated, keratin protein fully degrades into a fluid that can be lost from fossils, meaning little utility for studying paleontological remains despite contrary claims.”

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

  1. Jakob Vinther et al. Experimental taphonomy of keratin: A structural analysis of early taphonomicchanges. Palaios, October 2017 DOI: 10.2110/palo.2017.051
  2. University of Bristol. “Dinosaur blood? New research urges caution regarding fossilized soft tissue.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 10 October 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171010105419.htm>.

WFS News: Earliest evidence of reproduction in a complex organism

October 9th, 2017 Riffin

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

Researchers led by the University of Cambridge have found the earliest example of reproduction in a complex organism. Their new study has found that some organisms known as rangeomorphs, which lived 565 million years ago, reproduced by taking a joint approach: they first sent out an ‘advance party’ to settle in a new area, followed by rapid colonisation of the new neighbourhood. The results, reported today in the journal Nature, could aid in revealing the origins of our modern marine environment.

Artist's reconstruction of the Fractofusus community on the H14 surface at Bonavista Peninsula showing the clusters that arise from stolon-like reproduction. The large individuals represent the primary colonizers of the site. Their offspring cluster around them, and are themselves surrounded by their own offspring - the third generation on the bed. The stolon-like protrusions are faintly visible and weave in and out of the microbial mat which covers the seafloor. Lighting is artificial and as though from a submersible ROV. Credit: C. G. Kenchington

Artist’s reconstruction of the Fractofusus community on the H14 surface at Bonavista Peninsula showing the clusters that arise from stolon-like reproduction. The large individuals represent the primary colonizers of the site. Their offspring cluster around them, and are themselves surrounded by their own offspring – the third generation on the bed. The stolon-like protrusions are faintly visible and weave in and out of the microbial mat which covers the seafloor. Lighting is artificial and as though from a submersible ROV.Credit: C. G. Kenchington

Using statistical techniques to assess the distribution of populations of a type of rangeomorph called Fractofusus, the researchers observed that larger ‘grandparent’ rangeomorphs were randomly distributed in their environment, and were surrounded by distinct patterns of smaller ‘parents’ and ‘children’. These patterns strongly resemble the biological clustering observed in modern plants, and suggest a dual mode of reproduction: the ‘grandparents’ being the product of ejected waterborne propagules, while the ‘parents’ and ‘children’ grew from ‘runners’ sent out by the older generation, like strawberry plants.

Rangeomorphs were some of the earliest complex organisms on Earth, and have been considered to be some of the first animals — although it’s difficult for scientists to be entirely sure. They thrived in the oceans during the late Ediacaran period, between 580 and 541 million years ago, and could reach up to two metres in length, although most were around ten centimetres. Looking like trees or ferns, they did not appear to have mouths, organs, or means of moving, and probably absorbed nutrients from the water around them.

Like many of the life forms during the Ediacaran, rangeomorphs mysteriously disappeared at the start of the Cambrian period, which began about 540 million years ago, so it has been difficult to link rangeomorphs to any modern organisms, or to figure out how they lived, what they ate and how they reproduced.

“Rangeomorphs don’t look like anything else in the fossil record, which is why they’re such a mystery,” said Dr Emily Mitchell, a postdoctoral researcher in Cambridge’s Department of Earth Sciences, and the paper’s lead author. “But we’ve developed a whole new way of looking at them, which has helped us understand them a lot better — most interestingly, how they reproduced.”

Mitchell and her colleagues used high-resolution GPS, spatial statistics and modelling to examine fossils of Fractofusus, in order to determine how they reproduced. The fossils are from south-eastern Newfoundland in Canada, which is one of the world’s richest sources of fossils from the Ediacaran period. Since rangeomorphs were immobile, it is possible to find entire ecosystems preserved exactly where they lived, making them extremely suitable for study via spatial techniques.

The ‘generational’ clustering patterns the researchers observed fit closely to a model known as a nested double Thomas cluster model, of the type seen in modern plants. These patterns suggest rapid, asexual reproduction through the use of stolons or runners. At the same time, the random distribution of larger ‘grandparent’ Fractofusus specimens suggests that they were the result of waterborne propagules, which could have been either sexual or asexual in nature.

“Reproduction in this way made rangeomorphs highly successful, since they could both colonise new areas and rapidly spread once they got there,” said Mitchell. “The capacity of these organisms to switch between two distinct modes of reproduction shows just how sophisticated their underlying biology was, which is remarkable at a point in time when most other forms of life were incredibly simple.”

The use of this type of spatial analysis to reconstruct Ediacaran organism biology is only in its infancy, and the researchers intend to extend their approach to further understand how these strange organisms interacted with each other and their environment.The research was funded by the Natural Environment Research Council.

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

Source:Emily G. Mitchell, Charlotte G. Kenchington, Alexander G. Liu, Jack J. Matthews, Nicholas J. Butterfield. Reconstructing the reproductive mode of an Ediacaran macro-organism. Nature, 2015; DOI: 10.1038/nature14646

University of Cambridge. “Earliest evidence of reproduction in a complex organism.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 August 2015. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2015/08/150803154858.htm>

WFS News:Fossil points to early rise of ancient crocodiles

October 5th, 2017 Riffin

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

The discovery reveals that an extinct group of aquatic reptiles evolved millions of years earlier than was previously thought, researchers say.The new species was a 10-foot-long animal that lived in the warm, shallow seas that covered much of what is now Europe.Powerful jaws and big, serrated teeth allowed it to feed on large prey, such as prehistoric squid.

Palaeontologists at Edinburgh discovered the new species – which dates back 163 million years – by studying a heavily damaged fossil which was held in the Natural History Museum’s archives for almost 150 years.

The little-studied specimen – acquired by the museum in 1875 – was identified as a new species based on distinctive features of its skull, lower jaw and, in particular, its teeth.

“The specimen was completely enclosed in a super-hard rock nodule with veins of calcite running through, which had formed around it during the process of fossilisation. The work took many hours over a period of weeks, and great care had to be taken to avoid damaging the skull and teeth as they became exposed”.(By Mark GrahamSenior Fossil Preparator at the Natural History Museum)

The Melksham Monster closely resembled the species shown in this artist's impression (Plesiosuchus manselii), which also belongs to the Geosaurini group. Credit: Fabio Manucci

The Melksham Monster closely resembled the species shown in this artist’s impression (Plesiosuchus manselii), which also belongs to the Geosaurini group. Credit: Fabio Manucci

The ancient reptile – called Ieldraan melkshamensis – has been nicknamed the Melksham Monster after the town in England where it was unearthed.Until now, it was thought that the sub-family of prehistoric crocodiles to which the new species belongs – known as Geosaurini – originated in the Late Jurassic period, between 152 and 157 million years ago.

However, the latest discovery – together with detailed re-analysis of existing fossil evidence – suggests that the group arose millions of years earlier, in the Middle Jurassic, the team says.

The study, published in the Journal of Systematic Palaeontology, was carried out in collaboration with the Natural History Museum, London. It was funded by Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions.

“It’s not the prettiest fossil in the world, but the Melksham Monster tells us a very important story about the evolution of these ancient crocodiles and how they became the apex predators in their ecosystem. Without the amazing preparation work done by our collaborators at the Natural History Museum, it would not have been possible to work out the anatomy of this challenging specimen.”said byDavide Foffa ,School of GeoSciences

According to Dr Steve BrusatteSchool of GeoSciences “The Melksham Monster would have been one of the top predators in the oceans of Jurassic Britain, at the same time that dinosaurs were thundering across the land.

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

Source:News From University of Edinburgh.

WFS News: Exceptional soft tissues preservation in a mummified frog-eating Eocene salamander

October 4th, 2017 Riffin

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

Synchrotron tomography permitted access to the inside of the "mummy". The skeleton and several organs are perfectly preserved. Credit: Jérémy Tissier; CC BY

Synchrotron tomography permitted access to the inside of the “mummy”. The skeleton and several organs are perfectly preserved.Credit: Jérémy Tissier; CC BY

A new study on an exceptionally preserved salamander from the Eocene of France reveals that its soft organs are conserved under its skin and bones. Organs preserved in three dimensions include the lung, nerves, gut, and within it, the last meal of the animal, according to a study published in the peer-reviewed journal PeerJ by a team of palaeontologists from France and Switzerland.

Specimen MNHN.F.QU17755, holotype of Phosphotriton sigei. (A and B) Fossil in dorsal and ventral views. Some characteristics of urodeles, such as costal grooves or scaleless skin, are observable on the external aspect of the specimen. The cloaca and vertebral column are visible. The dotted line represents the position of the tomogram illustrated in Fig. 1C. (C) Tomogram of the tail part of the animal showing the muscles, in green, ventral and lateral to the vertebrae, and the spinal cord preserved inside the neural canal of a vertebra. Bony material is characterized by a dark grey shade, because of its light density, compared to the mineral matrix (grey or white) and void (black). Soft-tissues are also mostly darker than the mineral matrix, but are mainly recognizable by their structure and shape, on tomograms or in 3D. (D) 3D reconstruction of undetermined tail muscles, in green, which could attach to the ischium or femur. Dotted line represents the position of the tomogram illustrated in Fig. 1C.

Specimen MNHN.F.QU17755, holotype of Phosphotriton sigei.
(A and B) Fossil in dorsal and ventral views. Some characteristics of urodeles, such as costal grooves or scaleless skin, are observable on the external aspect of the specimen. The cloaca and vertebral column are visible. The dotted line represents the position of the tomogram illustrated in Fig. 1C. (C) Tomogram of the tail part of the animal showing the muscles, in green, ventral and lateral to the vertebrae, and the spinal cord preserved inside the neural canal of a vertebra. Bony material is characterized by a dark grey shade, because of its light density, compared to the mineral matrix (grey or white) and void (black). Soft-tissues are also mostly darker than the mineral matrix, but are mainly recognizable by their structure and shape, on tomograms or in 3D. (D) 3D reconstruction of undetermined tail muscles, in green, which could attach to the ischium or femur. Dotted line represents the position of the tomogram illustrated in Fig. 1C.

Accessing the complete anatomy of an extinct animal, i.e. both its external and internal aspects, has often been the dream of palaeontologists. Indeed, in 99% of cases, fossils are only represented by hard parts: bones, shells, etc. Fossils preserving soft tissues exist, but they are extremely rare. However, their significance for science is enormous. What did the animal look like? What did they eat? How did they live? Most of these questions can be answered by exceptionally preserved fossils.

The newly studied fossil externally looks like a present-day salamander, but it is made of stone. This fossil “mummy” is the only known specimen of Phosphotriton sigei, a 40-35 million years old salamander and belongs to the same family as the famous living fire salamander (Salamandra salamandra).

Exceptional preservation of nerves, digestive tract and stomachal content. (A and B) 3D reconstructions of the pelvic section of MNHN.F.QU17755, in laterodorsal (A) and ventral (B) views. The lumbosacral plexus (in blue) is partly preserved. Nerves exit the last trunk, the sacral and the first caudosacral vertebrae through the spinal nerve foramina. (C) Preserved bones of an anuran frog (ranoid?), in green, inside the digestive tract (not shown, to better reveal its content; see Fig. 3F) of MNHN.F.QU17755. (D) Anuran humerus found inside digestive tract of MNHN.F.QU17755, in lateral and ventral views. (E) Anuran vertebrae found inside digestive tract of MNHN.F.QU17755. The centrum is very thin; the holes may represent segmentation artifacts. (F) 3D reconstruction of MNHN.F.QU17755 in ventral view, showing the nearly complete digestive tract. The caudal end is very close to the cloaca, and is bordered near the pelvic girdle by presumed dorsal cloacal glands (see Fig. 4A). The dotted line represents the position of the virtual section illustrated in Fig. 3G. (G) Virtual section of the trunk, showing the digestive tract (in yellow) and its content (frog bones).

Exceptional preservation of nerves, digestive tract and stomachal content.
(A and B) 3D reconstructions of the pelvic section of MNHN.F.QU17755, in laterodorsal (A) and ventral (B) views. The lumbosacral plexus (in blue) is partly preserved. Nerves exit the last trunk, the sacral and the first caudosacral vertebrae through the spinal nerve foramina. (C) Preserved bones of an anuran frog (ranoid?), in green, inside the digestive tract (not shown, to better reveal its content; see Fig. 3F) of MNHN.F.QU17755. (D) Anuran humerus found inside digestive tract of MNHN.F.QU17755, in lateral and ventral views. (E) Anuran vertebrae found inside digestive tract of MNHN.F.QU17755. The centrum is very thin; the holes may represent segmentation artifacts. (F) 3D reconstruction of MNHN.F.QU17755 in ventral view, showing the nearly complete digestive tract. The caudal end is very close to the cloaca, and is bordered near the pelvic girdle by presumed dorsal cloacal glands (see Fig. 4A). The dotted line represents the position of the virtual section illustrated in Fig. 3G. (G) Virtual section of the trunk, showing the digestive tract (in yellow) and its content (frog bones).

It is unfortunately incomplete: only the trunk, hip and part of hind legs and tail are preserved. Until very recently, the only thing palaeontologists could tell about this specimen was visible anatomical details, such as the cloaca, the orifice used for reproduction and by digestive and urinary canals. Indeed, though it was discovered in the 1870s, it was never studied in detail.

Thanks to recent synchrotron technology, its skeleton1 and various organs2 could be studied. The specimen was scanned at the ID19 beamline of the European Synchrotron Radiation Facility (ESRF) in Grenoble (France). This modern technology gave access to an incredible level of details that could never have been achieved before without slicing the specimen into a series of thin sections.

The quality of preservation is such that looking at the tomograms (equivalent of radiograms) feels like going through an animal in the flesh. At least six kinds of organs are preserved in almost perfect condition, in addition to the skin and skeleton: muscles, lung, spinal cord, digestive tract, nerves, and glands.

Exceptional preservation of cloacal glands (?) and lung. (A) 3D reconstruction of supposed dorsal and ventral cloacal glands, in ventral view, under the two ischia (not shown). The dorsal cloacal glands are located between the first and second caudosacral vertebrae and the digestive tract (see Fig. 4B). The ventral cloacal glands are located under the digestive tract and anterodorsal to the cloaca. The dotted line represents the position of the virtual section illustrated in Fig. 4B. (B) Virtual section of the pelvic girdle, illustrating the digestive tract and the dorsal cloacal glands, between a caudal vertebra and the two ischia. (C) 3D reconstruction of the incomplete lung (in blue), inside the specimen MNHN.F.QU17755, in oblique anterior view. It is located lateroventrally to the trunk vertebrae, in the anteriormost preserved part of the fossil. The dotted line represents the position of the tomogram illustrated in Fig. 4D. (D) Virtual section of the anteriormost preserved part of MNHN.F.QU17755, showing the inside of the lung in lateral view.

Exceptional preservation of cloacal glands (?) and lung.
(A) 3D reconstruction of supposed dorsal and ventral cloacal glands, in ventral view, under the two ischia (not shown). The dorsal cloacal glands are located between the first and second caudosacral vertebrae and the digestive tract (see Fig. 4B). The ventral cloacal glands are located under the digestive tract and anterodorsal to the cloaca. The dotted line represents the position of the virtual section illustrated in Fig. 4B. (B) Virtual section of the pelvic girdle, illustrating the digestive tract and the dorsal cloacal glands, between a caudal vertebra and the two ischia. (C) 3D reconstruction of the incomplete lung (in blue), inside the specimen MNHN.F.QU17755, in oblique anterior view. It is located lateroventrally to the trunk vertebrae, in the anteriormost preserved part of the fossil. The dotted line represents the position of the tomogram illustrated in Fig. 4D. (D) Virtual section of the anteriormost preserved part of MNHN.F.QU17755, showing the inside of the lung in lateral view.

But the most incredible is the preservation of frog bones within the stomach of the salamander. Salamanders almost never eat frogs or other salamanders, though they are known to be quite opportunistic. Was it a last resort meal or a customary choice for this species? This, unfortunately, will probably never be known.

These new results are described by Jérémy Tissier from the Jurassica Museum and the University of Fribourg in Switzerland, and Jean-Claud Rage and Michel Laurin, both from the CNRS/Museum national d’histoire naturelle/UPMC in Paris.

Author Michel Laurin notes, “This fossil, along with a few others from the same lost site, is the most incredibly well-preserved that I have seen in my entire career. And now, 140 years after its discovery, and 35 million years after the animal died, we can finally study it, thanks to modern technology. The mummy returns!”

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

  1. Jérémy Tissier, Jean-Claude Rage, Michel Laurin. Exceptional soft tissues preservation in a mummified frog-eating Eocene salamander. PeerJ, 2017; 5: e3861 DOI: 10.7717/peerj.3861
  2. Source: ScienceDaily, 3 October 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171003093929.htm

WFS News: The first known neonate Ichthyosaurus communis skeleton

October 4th, 2017 Riffin

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

Scientists from the UK have identified the smallest and youngest specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis on record and found an additional surprise preserved in its stomach.

The ichthyosaur fossil has a total length of just around 70 cm and had the remains of a prehistoric squid in its stomach. Ichthyosaurus communis was the first species of ichthyosaur, a group of sea-going reptiles, to be properly recognised by science, in 1821.

The University of Manchester palaeontologist and ichthyosaur expert, Dean Lomax, said: “It is amazing to think we know what a creature that is nearly 200 million years old ate for its last meal. We found many tiny hook-like structures preserved between the ribs. These are from the arms of prehistoric squid. So, we know this animal’s last meal before it died was squid.

This is the specimen. It has a total length of around 70 cm. The specimen is on display at the Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham. Credit: Dean Lomax

This is the specimen of Ichthyosaurus communis . It has a total length of around 70 cm. The specimen is on display at the Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham.Credit: Dean Lomax

“This is interesting because a study by other researchers on a different type of ichthyosaur, called Stenopterygius, which is from a geologically younger age, found that the small — and therefore young — examples of that species fed exclusively on fish. This shows a difference in prey-preference in newborn ichthyosaurs.”

Many early ichthyosaur examples were found by Victorian palaeontologist, Mary Anning, along the coast at Lyme Regis, Dorset. It is one of the most common Early Jurassic fossil reptiles in the UK.

The new specimen is from the collections of the Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham. Palaeontologist Nigel Larkin, a research associate of The University of Cambridge, cleaned and studied the specimen in 2016, and recognised that it was important. The cleaning provided Dean with the opportunity to examine the fossil in detail.

Dean, who recently described the largest Ichthyosaurus on record, identified this specimen as a newborn Ichthyosaurus communis, based on the arrangement of bones in the skull. He added: “There are several small Ichthyosaurus specimens known, but most are incomplete or poorly preserved. This specimen is practically complete and is exceptional. It is the first newborn Ichthyosaurus communis to be found, which is surprising considering that the species was first described almost 200 years ago.”

Unfortunately, no record of the specimen’s location and age exists. However, with permission, Nigel removed some of the rock from around the skeleton. He passed this on to Ian Boomer (University of Birmingham) and Philip Copestake (Merlin Energy, Resources Ltd) so that they could analyse the rock for microscopic fossils. Based on the types of microfossil preserved, they were able to identify that this ichthyosaur was around 199-196 million years old, from the Early Jurassic.

Nigel added, “Many historic ichthyosaur specimens in museums lack any geographic or geological details and are therefore undated. This process of looking for microfossils in their host rock might be the key to unlocking the mystery of many specimens. Thus, this will provide researchers with lots of new information that otherwise is lost. Of course, this requires some extensive research, but it is worth the effort.”

As part of the study, the skeleton was Micro CT-scanned and a three-dimensional digital model was created by Steve Dey of ThinkSee3D Ltd. Using medical imaging software, Steve converted the 3 sets of CT cross-sectional images (from scans of the tail, middle section and head) into a single digital 3D model of the whole animal then digitally measured key metrics as required by the science.

The perfect newborn ichthyosaur is on display in the recently refurbished Lapworth Museum of Geology, University of Birmingham.

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  1. Dean R. Lomax, Nigel R. Larkin, Ian Boomer, Steven Dey, Philip Copestake. The first known neonate Ichthyosaurus communis skeleton: a rediscovered specimen from the Lower Jurassic, UK. Historical Biology, 2017; 1 DOI: 10.1080/08912963.2017.1382488
  2. University of Manchester. “Prehistoric squid was last meal of newborn ichthyosaur 200 million years ago.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 3 October 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/10/171003093944.htm>

WFS News: Helicopter lifts chasmosaur fossil with ‘frill’ in Alberta

October 2nd, 2017 Riffin

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Two years after paleontologist Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature and his team discovered the skull of a chasmosaur while going through a dinosaur bonebed in Alberta, he finally got to see a helicopter lift it into the air.

“There’s no roads down to the site, it’s very remote,” Mallon said Tuesday from Brooks, Alta., where the chopper was refuelling as it made its way from the spot along the South Saskatchewan River back to Calgary after completing the lift last month.

Comparing it to “a rhinoceros on steroids,” Mallon said this particular chasmosaur has turned out to be a particularly rare specimen with a long brow horn.The unusual looking dinosaur, which had a frill resembling a giant flap behind its head, was a plant-eater that lived about 75 million years ago. A relative of triceretops, but smaller, the chasmosaur walked on all fours and had horns.

The chasmosaur is shown in a late Cretaceous forest in this handout illustration. Two years after paleontologist Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature and his team discovered the skull of a chasmosaur while going through a dinosaur bonebed in Alberta, he finally got to see a helicopter lift it into the air."There's no roads down to the site, it's very remote," Mallon said Tuesday from Brooks, Alta., where the chopper was refuelling as it made its way from the spot along the South Saskatchewan River back to Calgary after completing the lift last month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO - Julius Csotonyi *MANDATORY CREDIT* - The Canadian Press, 2017

The chasmosaur is shown in a late Cretaceous forest in this handout illustration. Two years after paleontologist Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature and his team discovered the skull of a chasmosaur while going through a dinosaur bonebed in Alberta, he finally got to see a helicopter lift it into the air.”There’s no roads down to the site, it’s very remote,” Mallon said Tuesday from Brooks, Alta., where the chopper was refuelling as it made its way from the spot along the South Saskatchewan River back to Calgary after completing the lift last month. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO – Julius Csotonyi *MANDATORY CREDIT* – The Canadian Press, 2017

Mallon said that while other fossils of the long-brow species — Chasmosaurus canadensis — already exist, they were found about 100 years ago and accurate records about the locations of their discoveries aren’t available.

With this specimen, Mallon said they know where it came from, which will help determine the evolution of the animal.

“We can place it in the fossil record and have context for how it’s related to other horned dinosaurs,” he explained.

“We’ve got one of those rare long-horned types right now and that’s one of the reasons we’re so excited about it.”

Even with the assistance of a helicopter, lifting the 2,000-pound skull that’s encased in protective plaster from the hillside to a waiting truck about 500 metres away was challenging.In August 2016, the specimen was prepped and coated in a protective plaster jacket. The team returned in August of this year to prepare the skull for transport.

A Chasmosaur skull in plaster is shown after being airlifted out of the Alberta badlands in this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 handout photo. Two years after paleontologist Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature and his team discovered the skull of a chasmosaur while going through a dinosaur bonebed in Alberta, he finally got to see a helicopter lift it into the air."There's no roads down to the site, it's very remote," Mallon said Tuesday from Brooks, Alta., where the chopper was refuelling as it made its way from the spot along the South Saskatchewan River back to Calgary after completing the lift last month. (Canadian Museum of History/The Canadian Press)

A Chasmosaur skull in plaster is shown after being airlifted out of the Alberta badlands in this Tuesday, Sept. 26, 2017 handout photo. Two years after paleontologist Jordan Mallon of the Canadian Museum of Nature and his team discovered the skull of a chasmosaur while going through a dinosaur bonebed in Alberta, he finally got to see a helicopter lift it into the air.”There’s no roads down to the site, it’s very remote,” Mallon said Tuesday from Brooks, Alta., where the chopper was refuelling as it made its way from the spot along the South Saskatchewan River back to Calgary after completing the lift last month. (Canadian Museum of History/The Canadian Press)

The helicopter lift was originally supposed to happen in August but was delayed twice due to rain. Winds in the badlands start to pick up in October, and Mallon said if the skull couldn’t be carried out this month, it might have had to wait until next year.

Early 20th Century paleontologists who needed to move heavy, plaster-encased fossils had to rely on horse-pulled wagons or river scows to get their specimens out of rough Alberta terrain.

But according to a paper by Darren Tanke at the Royal Tyrrell Museum in Drumheller, Alta., the last time anyone used horses was 1954 when the Royal Ontario Museum used them in today’s Dinosaur Provincial Park.By then, work horses capable of hauling heavy goods in tough terrain were becoming fossils themselves.

Tanke wrote that a the first use of a helicopter to lift fossils was September 19, 1967, when a Canadian Armed Forces twin-rotor Voyageur helicopter lifted an ornithomimid skeleton of the badlands for the University of Alberta in today’s Dry Island Buffalo Jump Provincial Park.

The chasmosaur skull that Mallon and his team extracted is being driven to the Royal Tyrrell Museum. Sometime this fall, it will be shipped to the Canadian Museum of Nature for preparation and study.Pieces of the frill are back in Ottawa already.”The frill looks really good so we think it’s going to be a nice skull,” Mallon said.

Source: By Rob Drinkwater, The Canadian Press

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WFS News: how Earth was first formed?

September 30th, 2017 Riffin

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Oxford University scientists have shed new light on how Earth was first formed.

Based on observations of newly-forming stars, scientists know that the solar system began as a disc of dust and gas surrounding the centrally-growing sun. The gas condensed to solids which accumulated into larger rocky bodies like asteroids and mini-planets. Over a period of 100 million years these mini-planets collided with one another and gradually accumulated into the planets we see today, including Earth.

Although it is widely understood that Earth was formed gradually, from much smaller bodies, many of the processes involved in shaping our growing planet are less clear. In a new study featured on the cover of the latest edition of Nature, researchers from the University of Oxford’s Department of Earth Sciences untangle some of these processes, revealing that the mini-planets added to Earth had previously undergone melting and evaporation. They also address another scientific conundrum: Earth’s depletion in many economically important chemical elements.

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This is an image illustrating the late-stage building blocks of planetary formation (planetessimals and proto-planets) and the extensive volatile degassing that took place. Credit: Ashley Norris, Oxford University

This is an image illustrating the late-stage building blocks of planetary formation (planetessimals and proto-planets) and the extensive volatile degassing that took place.Credit: Ashley Norris, Oxford University

It is well known that Earth is strongly depleted, relative to the solar system as a whole, in those elements which condensed from the early gas disc at temperatures less than 1000°C (for example, lead, zinc, copper, silver, bismuth, and tin). The conventional explanation is that Earth grew without these volatile elements and small amounts of an asteroidal-type body were added later. This idea cannot, however, explain the “over abundance” of several other elements — notably, indium, which is now used in semiconductor technologies, as well as TV and computer screens.

Postgraduate student Ashley Norris and Bernard Wood, Professor of Mineralogy at Oxford’s Department of Earth Sciences, set out to uncover the reasons behind the pattern of depletion of these volatile elements on Earth and for the “overabundance” of indium. They constructed a furnace in which they controlled the temperature and atmosphere to simulate the low oxidation state of the very early Earth and planetesimals. In a particular series of experiments they melted rocks at 1300°C in oxygen-poor conditions and determined how the different volatile elements were evaporated from the molten lava.

During the experiments each of the elements of interest evaporated by different amounts. The lava samples were then rapidly cooled and the patterns of element loss determined by chemical analysis. The analyses revealed that the relative losses (volatilities) measured in the molten lava experiments agree very closely with the pattern of depletion observed in Earth. In particular, indium volatility agrees exactly with its observed abundance in Earth — its abundance, turns out not to be an anomaly.

Professor Bernard Wood said: “Our experiments indicate that the pattern of volatile element depletion in the Earth was established by reaction between molten rock and an oxygen-poor atmosphere. These reactions may have occurred on the early-formed planetesimals which were accreted to Earth or possibly during the giant impact which formed the moon and which is believed to have caused large-scale melting of our planet.”

Having focused their original experiments on 13 key elements, the team are in the process of looking at how other elements, such as chlorine and iodine, behave under the same conditions.

Ashley Norris said: “Our work shows that interpretation of volatile depletion patterns in the terrestrial planets needs to focus on experimental measurement of element volatillities.”

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  1. C. Ashley Norris, Bernard J. Wood. Earth’s volatile contents established by melting and vaporization. Nature, 2017; 549 (7673): 507 DOI: 10.1038/nature23645
  2. University of Oxford. “The volatile processes that shaped Earth.” ScienceDaily. ScienceDaily, 27 September 2017. <www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/09/170927133627.htm

WFS News: Utah Paleontologists Turn to Crowdfunding for Raptor Project

September 29th, 2017 Riffin

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Millions of years ago, on a mud flat somewhere in Cretaceous Utah, a group of Utahraptors made a grave mistake: They tried to hunt near quicksand. The pack’s poor fortune has given modern paleontologists an opportunity to decode the giant raptor — its appearance, growth and behavior — but only if they can raise the money.

Enter “The Utahraptor Project,” started on GoFundMe last year with a $100,000 goal. It offers backers access to a field worker’s blog, a live “Raptor Cam” and digital models of the find put together through the process of photogrammetry. While it is far from reaching its goal, the team is optimistic.

An artist’s rendering of a Utahraptor, several specimens of which were found in a massive slab of sandstone in eastern Utah in 2001. Scientists are seeking to raise money to remove the remaining bones from the giant trove of fossils, a slow and painstaking process. Credit Elena Duvernay/Stocktrek Images, via Science Source

An artist’s rendering of a Utahraptor, several specimens of which were found in a massive slab of sandstone in eastern Utah in 2001. Scientists are seeking to raise money to remove the remaining bones from the giant trove of fossils, a slow and painstaking process. Credit Elena Duvernay/Stocktrek Images, via Science Source

“Once we get this up and running, with all the cameras and gizmos to record the action on a micro and macro level,” said Scott Madsen, a fossil preparator, “I think we can give the public a good show for their money.”

Utahraptor, 23 feet long and weighing over a ton, was one of the largest dromaeosaurs, feathered, sickle-clawed dinosaurs closely related to birds. Since its discovery in 1991, it has been the subject of a popular novel, assorted documentaries and tie-in toys from “Jurassic Park.” But for all its fame, the predator has been known primarily from only a few remains. That changed in 2001, when a geology student found a leg bone emerging from a hillside in the Cedar Mountain formation in eastern Utah.

Over 12 field seasons, a team of paleontologists with the Utah Geological Survey found an ever-expanding tangle of bones in the 126-million-year-old rock. When the final slab of sandstone was removed in 2014, said Jim Kirkland, Utah state paleontologist, it weighed nine tons and contained the skeletons of a herbivorous dinosaur, a 16-foot adult Utahraptor, four juveniles and a recent hatchling.

A dog nestled under the sandstone block of Utahraptor bones, which was coated with plaster to protect the fossils at the quarry site in Utah. Credit Scott Madsen

A dog nestled under the sandstone block of Utahraptor bones, which was coated with plaster to protect the fossils at the quarry site in Utah. Credit Scott Madsen

The block proved too heavy for the lab at the University of Utah, and in 2015 ended up on reinforced floors at the Museum of Ancient Life at Thanksgiving Point. Mr. Madsen, then an employee of the Utah Geological Survey with experience preparing fossils at Dinosaur National Monument, began the long process of cleaning the bones. Two months later, he had been laid off: The agency’s budget, which is partly funded by the proceeds from drilling on state land, was hit hard by the 2014 plunge in oil prices. There wasn’t any money to pay him.

Without Mr. Madsen, the Utahraptor block sat in limbo. Attempts to find outside funding didn’t go well, Dr. Kirkland said: The Museum of Ancient Life declined to help raise money for the block over concerns it would conflict with the museum’s own fund-raising efforts. With attempts to get corporate sponsors coming to nothing, Mr. Madsen suggested a crowdfunding campaign to pay for the setup and hours of labor needed to properly document the fossils.

Paleontologists have turned to crowdfunding before, though usually only for a few thousand dollars at most, Mr. Madsen said. The size of the block required a more ambitious funding push.

Left: The teeth of a young Utahraptor excavated from the slab, next to a penny to show scale. Right: Serrated Utahraptor teeth embedded in the slab, viewed through a preparation microscope. Credit Left: Jim Kirkland; right: Scott Madsen The block proved

Left: The teeth of a young Utahraptor excavated from the slab, next to a penny to show scale. Right: Serrated Utahraptor teeth embedded in the slab, viewed through a preparation microscope. Credit Left: Jim Kirkland; right: Scott Madsen
The block proved

The Utahraptor Project has attracted interest from dinosaur enthusiasts on social media and paleontology blogs. But while donations ranging from $5 to $1,500 have trickled in, the campaign has raised only $15,150 over the past 10 months. That is enough to buy some basic tools and begin work, Mr. Madsen said, but not enough for the team’s more ambitious goals.

Mr. Madsen has yet to be paid for his efforts. “I’m in a personally awkward place doing this crowdfunding thing, not least of which because I’m asking for money to pay myself for this work.”

The contents of the block already offer some intriguing possibilities, Dr. Kirkland said. They represent the remains of predators that stumbled into quicksand while pursuing trapped prey, one of the first such cases in the fossil record. Dr. Kirkland wants to determine whether each of the seven animals arrived at different times, or whether a single pack was buried at once. If the bones are interlaced, or show signs of equivalent amounts of weathering, that would be good evidence for a rich family life for Utahraptor.

The exposed bones also suggest that Utahraptor looked quite different from previous projections. While the juveniles are long and lanky in the classic raptor mold, the adult appears to have packed on mass to deal with bigger prey. “The front end of the jaw is unlike any other meat-eating dinosaur I’ve ever seen,” Dr. Kirkland said. “It’s not just a blown-up Velociraptor. This thing is built like Arnold Schwarzenegger. Or a Sherman tank.”

Other paleontologists are watching the project with interest. “We already know there are many bones in this block which fill in the anatomy of Utahraptor, but there are probably plenty more surprises in there,” said Tom Holtz, a University of Maryland paleontologist specializing in predatory dinosaurs. “We won’t know until the lab has worked its way through the rock.”

The giant slab of Utahraptor fossils, examined with an articulating microscope that was purchased with funds from the GoFundMe campaign. Credit Scott Madsen

The giant slab of Utahraptor fossils, examined with an articulating microscope that was purchased with funds from the GoFundMe campaign. Credit Scott Madsen

Future plans for the campaign include a panel at the Salt Lake Comic Con next month, said B. J. Nicholls, the social media coordinator for the project. Organizers hope the publicity will help drive donations; the search for corporate sponsors continues as well. For Dr. Kirkland, Utahraptor is part of his legacy: he named the species and has long been associated with it. For years, he has dreamed of a state park with the Utahraptor block as its centerpiece. But he will settle for making sure the find is treated properly before he retires.

“We can’t do this over again,” he said. “We may never find another site like this. I’d rather let it sit than not do it with the very best data collection and the finest preparators we can have work on it.”

“We worked to get this block down the hill for 10 years,” he added. “We can’t screw it up.”

Source: Article By Asher Elbein,NewYork times

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WFS news: new fossil discovery suggests Life on Earth could be nearly four billion years old

September 27th, 2017 Riffin

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Life on Earth could be nearly four billion years old, new fossil evidence suggests.

Researchers analysed rocks found in Saglek in northern Labrador, Canada, which were dated to at least 3.95 billion years ago. At that time, the Earth was still relatively young – it was formed about 4.5 billion years ago – and was probably still being bombarded by asteroids.Tests on grains of graphite found in the sedimentary rocks found that they had been produced by living organisms, thought to be single-celled plants capable of photosynthesis.

The scientists also concluded that the graphite had been created at the same time as the rock and had not been incorporated into it at a later date.Last year scientists unveiled fossilised stromatolites – sediments created by layer upon layer of micro-organisms – which were dated to 3.7 billion years ago. Speaking about that discovery, a Nasa expert said it showed that life was “not a fussy, reluctant and unlikely thing” but could exist in extremely hostile conditions, increasing the chances that it would be found on Mars or other parts of our solar system.

This unprepossessing splodge of graphite in sample of chert rock could be the earliest known sign of life on Earth Tsuyoshi Komiya et al, Nature

This unprepossessing splodge of graphite in sample of chert rock could be the earliest known sign of life on Earth Tsuyoshi Komiya et al, Nature

And, writing in the journal Nature, researchers in Japan said the “discovery of the biogenic graphite … will provide insight into early life not only on Earth but also on other planets”.

“The presence of life on early Earth is still controversial owing to the scarcity and poor preservation of the Eoarchean [the period from about four billion to 3.6 billion years ago] records,” they wrote. “Here we report for the first time, to our knowledge, on the occurrence and geochemical characteristics of the oldest graphite.”

Rocks of this age are scarce and usually poorly preserved, making it difficult to establish the presence of the first signs of life. Sedimentary rock cannot be dated, but igneous rock that intruded into it was dated to 3.95 billion years, making this a minimum date.

The researchers pointed out that other rock formations of a similar age from Akilia, Greenland, and Nuvvuagittuq, Canada, had not showed signs of biologically produced graphite. They found graphite in 54 out of 156 samples of sedimentary rock taken from the Saglek area.

Twenty-eight rocks with higher levels of graphite were then crushed, treated with acid and kept at 60C  for several days. They were then washed with pure water, freeze-dried and then burned in oxygen at a temperature of 1,100C.The scientists then analysed the different carbon isotopes present and concluded this showed that graphite produced by some kind of life was present.

Dr Mark Sutton, a palaeontologist at Imperial College London, said there had been claims of evidence of life from even earlier in Earth’s history, but these were “more or less disputed”.

“This would probably be the oldest convincing [evidence of life] … I think the evidence itself is reasonably convincing,” he said. hj”If it was a modern rock you would be pretty confident it was biogenic. It sounds like they are reasonably confident this is evidence of biogenic stuff.

“This takes you back into the late ‘heavy bombardment’ times [by asteroids].”

Some researchers believe this period would have been so hostile, with the surface of the Earth still mostly molten, that no life would be possible.Dr Sutton said the exact dates of the asteroid bombardment and how bad it would have been were open to question but “it would certainly have made life difficult”.

The rocks studied showed no signs of having been formed in an extreme situation.

“They are normal sedimentary rocks [made from] mud at the bottom of the sea or a lack in a normalish sort of environment … there’s no evidence that the environment was particularly hostile,” Dr Sutton said.

The discovery has two implications for the search for extra-terrestrial life. One is that the earlier life is found to have begun on Earth, the more likely it is that it will be found elsewhere.The other is that it increases the amount of time it took for complex life and intelligent life to form on Earth, which might mean that is a relatively rare occurrence – although little can be deduced from a sample size of one

It is thought photosynthesising life would have arisen after a more primitive form, which if correct would push the date of the origin of life on Earth back further. “It looks like they [life-forms] arose pretty much as soon as they could,” Dr Sutton said.

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Source: article by Ian Johnston Science Correspondent,independent.co.uk

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