2024-01-22 01:01:00
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22 Jan. 2024 8:01 a.m.
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In 2018, two paleontology enthusiasts, Bill and Julie May, collected a large collection of fossils from the Richards Spur limestone cave in Oklahoma, USA. It is a place known for its richness in fossil remains. One of the fossils found was a dark shard of rock that was kept at the Royal Ontario Museum in Canada, a fossil that later sparked the interest of paleontologists.
Recently, Ethan Mooney, a paleontologist from the University of Toronto, Mississauga in Canada, revealed the results of his research on this fossil and found that it was reptile skin from the Paleozoic era (Paleozoic), a period in which animals moved. up on land Spanning between 541 and 252 million years ago, it is said to be the outermost layer of skin of terrestrial reptiles, birds and mammals. Nearly 290 million years old, it is the oldest evidence of skin preserved by nature over a long period of time. It is regarding 21 million years older than other skin fossils from the Paleozoic Era.
Paleontologists believe that this skin fossil It may be an example of skin structure in early amniotic fluid. It eventually develops into mammalian feathers and hair follicles. The remains were buried in the fine sediment in the cave, devoid of oxygen, causing decomposition to slow down. It also comes into contact with groundwater that is high in iron. which is an element that helps preserve tissue. Additionally, the cave is an ancient source of crude oil. Oil obtained from rocks and tar has infiltrated the fossils. Makes the carcass not decay At the same time, it turns black.
Credit : Current Biology/Mooney et al.
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