South China Find Shows The First Three Foot Giant

Post South China Finder Reveals First Three-Legged Giant appeared for the first time Animals from A to Z.

Quick Shot

• A. 436 million years old Bony fish fossil successfully helped researchers better understand the subject vertebrate evolution.

• Before this discovery, Scarcity of Silurian fossil records created a huge data gap.

• Another fossil discovery A mystery from 423 million years ago has been solved old teeth.

I read Lulu Miller’s book first Why There Are No Fish Interspersed with his personal investigations into finding purpose, Miller tells the story of David Starr Jordan, who named and described more than 2,000 species of fish (an estimated 20% of all known species at the time). What fascinated me most was how complex the biological category of “fish” really is. Miller explained the fascinating biology of fish: lungfish more closely related to humans than to humans salmon! To learn more about the evolution of fish, I studied everything I could about fish: bony fish are the evolutionary ancestors of nearly all vertebrates, ray-finned fish are the ancestors of 99% of today’s fish, and lobe-finned fish are the forerunners of tetrapods such as amphibians, reptiles, birds, and humans.

Despite everything I learned, I still had questions: What did fish look like before ray-finned and lobe-finned fish split? Were ancient fish different from each other? Did they still share some of the characteristics we see in fish today? In 2026, a team from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology (IVPP) of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, two bony fish fossils They discovered it in Southern China. A named fossil Eosteus chongqingensisIt is the oldest nearly complete, articulated, bony fish fossil ever discovered. This rare find reveals a host of new information about evolutionary change.

History of Fish

Although some scientists argue that bony fish diverged into ray-finned and lobe-finned fish during the late Silurian period, the general disagreement is that it occurred during the early Devonian period, approximately 419 to 339 million years ago. In fact, the Devonian period is sometimes called the “Age of Pisces”.

Ray-finned fish, part of the superclass Actinopterygii, have thin, webbed fins that run along bony spines. They make up the vast majority of fish in the world today and number more than 30,000 species. If you have heard catfish, sturgeonor tunathen you probably know at least one ray-finned fish. lobe-finned fish coelacanthsSpecies in the superclass Sarcopterygii have fleshier fins. There are also much fewer lobe-finned fish than there are ray-finned fish.

Before this split occurred, bony fishes were known as osteichthyans. Although scientists still use the term today, osteichthyans now includes tetrapods as well as bony fish.

A better understanding of ancient osteichthyans could reveal how this common ancestor underpinned the evolution of animal life. The problem is that the fossil record is relatively incomplete. As IVPP authors note first published study“Osteichthyans…dominate modern vertebrate biodiversity, but the pre-Devonian fossil record remains scarce and fragmentary.”

In other words, almost all of the fossils we found belong to the Devonian period. This is probably because animals in the Silurian period had softer bodies. Because soft tissues are not as well protected as shells or bones, soft-bodied creatures It is found less frequently in the fossil record. This doesn’t mean that soft-bodied animals can’t fossilize; It just means it’s less likely to fossilise.

Why Eosteus chongqingensis?

Chongqing Lagerstätte, a fossil site in China, is known for its well-preserved fish fossils, although they were only unearthed in 2019. fossils in the past was discovered There is a cartilaginous fish resembling a shark in the area. Shenacanthus vermiformis They had large, armored chest plates and Xiushanosteus mirabilisA fish with armored jaws.

E. chongqingensis found in the same area. Since this tiny fish was only 3 cm (about 1.2 inches) long, it was certainly not one of the top predators of its time. The fossil dates back 436 million years and predates other fossils and microfossils of its kind.

Researchers noticed that E. chongqingensis It had a mix of different features, including:

• Generalized bony fish body but no bony fin rays

• Caudal fulcrum, ossified (hard/tough) spines or scales on caudal fin

• A single dorsal fin at the back

• An anal fin spine normally found in placoderms (ancient armored fish). Dunkleosteus) and cartilaginous fish

Substantially, E. chongqingensis It has many evolutionary features that we now see as separating into separate lineages. More importantly, the scientists noted that features associated with bony fish, such as dorsal fins and body shape, appeared earlier than thought.

The authors note: “The 50% majority rule consensus of Bayesian inference and maximum parsimony analysis places the new fish in the osteichthyan stem, while the strict consensus leaves its position unresolved.” In less scientific language, some analyzes E. chongqingensis As relatives just before bony fishes appeared. However, this has not been fully proven.

Another Discovery

IVPP researchers also identified the head and body bones of another fish from the Silurian period. Megamastax amblyodusIt lived approximately 423 million years ago. they found M. amblyodus Fossils in Qujing city, Yunnan province, China. Different E. chongqingensis, M. amblyodus It was quite big. At one meter long, or about 3.3 feet, this animal was the largest Silurian vertebrate in that geological period. This probably means: M. amblyodus He was an apex predator.

In the past, researchers have found fragmented M. amblyodus fossils. Although this provided an overview of the fish’s existence and gross size, there were still many questions about this creature. Researchers initially believed M. amblyodus It may be a lobe-finned fish.

Authors who published their findings nearly a decade later Naturefound the right advanced imaging and 3D reconstruction techniques to use M. amblyodus‘ jointed head and body material to learn more about its anatomy.

Megamastax amblyodus It had a unique anatomy. First, the researchers found that the major blood vessels were arranged more similarly to those of cartilaginous fish. M. amblyodus it also had older anatomical features, such as the large anterior upper jaw bone. But perhaps most interestingly, Megamastax amblyodus it actually showed more characteristics of early bony fish:

• Extrascapular bones, or small bones located in the neck area/back of the head

• Evidence of tooth resorption and replacement

• Two rows of pillow-like teeth sitting on blunt, individual bases

Importance of Teeth

M. amblyodusTeeth are important because they show what the first teeth of bony fish looked like. according to research team“Phylogenetic analysis locations megamastax inside the osteichthyan stem, near the osteichthyan crown group node. In other words, M. amblyodus It was an almost direct precursor to the earliest stages of bony fish evolution.

But the teeth also solved a scientific mystery. For decades, scientists in Europe’s Baltic region have been finding well-preserved dental plates in Silurian rocks. It is now clear that these are not isolated fossils, but part of the fossils. M. amblyodus‘ chin. Additionally, these fossils show how widespread osteichthians were during the Silurian period.

Post South China Finder Reveals First Three-Legged Giant appeared for the first time Animals from A to Z.