Silurian 3D restoration of five early ancient fish species of fish provided by the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences
Chinese scientists recently discovered the "Chongqing Special Buried Fossil Library" and the "Guizhou Shiqian Fossil Library" in the early Silurian strata about 440 million years ago in Chongqing, Guizhou and other places, providing for the first time the rise of jawed vertebrates and the earliest radiation differentiation. The research was completed by Academician Zhu Min's team of the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. The relevant results have formed 4 academic articles and were published online at the same time in " Nature " on the 28th.
, including humans, 99.8% of existing vertebrates on the earth have jaw bones. The emergence and rise of jaws are one of the most critical leaps in the history of vertebrate evolution. However, when, where and how this leap happened, and how it happened, the scientific community has long lacked paleontological evidence, and there is a huge gap of at least 30 million years in the early evolution of jaws.
The discovery of fossil libraries in Chongqing and Guizhou fills this gap. The "Guizhou Shiqian Fossil Library" contains a large number of preserved jawed microbody fossils. The ancient fish fossils in the "Chongqing Special Buried Fossil Library" are not only numerous and complete in variety, but also very complete and exquisite in preservation. The research team used new technologies and methods such as high-precision CT and trait big data analysis to show the world the first jaw-like body structures and anatomical information.
Among them, the tooth rotation of the double-row Guizhou-toothed fish pushed the earliest fossil evidence of jawed teeth by 14 million years; the jawed Shen's sprigfish is the earliest well-preserved cartilage fish known to date, confirming that sharks evolved from the ancestor of "wearing a helmet and armor". The jawed fish Miracle Xiushan fish combines the characteristics of multiple shield-skinned fish major categories, providing precious information for exploring the origin of the main groups at the root of the jawed "tree of life" and the evolution of vertebrate skulls.
Zhu Min introduced that this discovery showed the appearance of the Silurian fish, especially the jaw species, on a large scale, revealing the early rise of jaw species: up to 440 million years ago, major groups of jaw species had already flourished in South China; by the late Silurian period, more diverse and larger jaw species appeared and began to spread around the world.
According to Xinhua News Agency
(Source: Modern Express)
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