begin quote from:
A Dozen Lizard Fossils Trapped In Amber To Offer Clues About The Cretaceous Period – 99 Million Years, But ...
| The Inquisitr | - |
The
discovery of a dozen of these lizards, which stepped or fell into
sticky tree resin and couldn't tear themselves loose in the forests
where the dinosaurs roamed, was made in Myanmar quite some time ago,
reported The Christian Science Monitor. Over ...
A Dozen Lizard Fossils Trapped In Amber To Offer Clues About The Cretaceous Period – 99 Million Years, But Preserved In ‘Superb Detail’
A dozen lizard fossils from the
Cretaceous period have been discovered in Myanmar, and scientists hope
they could offer clues about the Cretaceous period. These
99-million-year-old specimens that lay trapped in amber have been
preserved in “superb detail”.
Lizards neatly frozen in amber for 99 million years could offer a glimpse of a “lost world”, say scientists. The ancient reptiles are the oldest specimens to have been discovered so far. Their preservation is absolutely amazing. Scientists studying the same have confirmed the distinctive features like scales of skin, the tip of a tongue, and tiny claws are observable.
The discovery of a dozen of these lizards, which stepped or fell into sticky tree resin and couldn’t tear themselves loose in the forests where the dinosaurs roamed, was made in Myanmar quite some time ago, reported The Christian Science Monitor. Over time, the resin hardened into amber, neatly preserving the tiny lizards by converting them into fossils. It is the first time that all the lizard specimens are under one roof.
Two of the fossils are related to modern-day chameleons and geckos, revealing how features such as sticky toe-pads evolved, reported BBC. The lizards had a free run of the tropical forests in what is now Myanmar during the Mid-Cretaceous Period, shared the scientists who had been studying them. The research has been published in the journal Science Advances. Speaking about the discovery, Dr. Edward Stanley of the Florida Museum of Natural History said,
One of the lizards appears to be a “transitional form,” shared Dr. Stanley,
These amber fossils have been painstakingly tracked and obtained by
private collectors, and they were acquired by museums in the U.S. It is
the first time that these specimens are being studied as a group,
research that could offer many clues about the Cretaceous period, shared
Juan Diego Daza of Sam Houston State University in Texas, who led the
research:
Lizards neatly frozen in amber for 99 million years could offer a glimpse of a “lost world”, say scientists. The ancient reptiles are the oldest specimens to have been discovered so far. Their preservation is absolutely amazing. Scientists studying the same have confirmed the distinctive features like scales of skin, the tip of a tongue, and tiny claws are observable.
The discovery of a dozen of these lizards, which stepped or fell into sticky tree resin and couldn’t tear themselves loose in the forests where the dinosaurs roamed, was made in Myanmar quite some time ago, reported The Christian Science Monitor. Over time, the resin hardened into amber, neatly preserving the tiny lizards by converting them into fossils. It is the first time that all the lizard specimens are under one roof.
Two of the fossils are related to modern-day chameleons and geckos, revealing how features such as sticky toe-pads evolved, reported BBC. The lizards had a free run of the tropical forests in what is now Myanmar during the Mid-Cretaceous Period, shared the scientists who had been studying them. The research has been published in the journal Science Advances. Speaking about the discovery, Dr. Edward Stanley of the Florida Museum of Natural History said,
“The fossilized amber provides a view into a lost world, revealing that the tropics of the Mid-Cretaceous contained a diverse lizard fauna. The assemblage is cool because it has some examples which are really, really modern and then others which are really, really old, and then others in between. “The researchers noted there was a diverse population of lizards living in the region at the time. The specimens display a wide variety, offering a never before seen picture of the region. Interestingly, while some of the lizards are remarkably similar to modern lizards – like geckos, wall lizards, and dragon lizards – other specimens have never been observed before, leading scientists to believe that many species of the lizards went extinct, perhaps along with the dinosaurs after a meteor hit about 64 million years ago.
One of the lizards appears to be a “transitional form,” shared Dr. Stanley,
“This ‘missing-link’ is roughly 80 million years older than the next oldest chameleon fossil, and shows that features like the chameleon’s projectile tongue were present deep in its ancestry. But its strange fused toes (adaptations for climbing along branches) evolved later.”What he meant was one of the specimen appears to be a crucial link in the evolutionary chain. Such specimens are extremely hard to come by, and many times allow scientists to complete the puzzle that lay unsolved. Interestingly, in the case of lizards, the lizard fossils were discovered in Myanmar, but all of them were found at different times and belonged to a diverse group of individuals.
“They provide details of external morphology, which is something that is pretty rare to find. These fossils represent most of the diversity of lizards with a superb amount of detail. We can pretty much see how the animals looked when they were alive. They provide a really nice snapshot of the past. To me it is like going back in time and doing a lizard collecting trip when we can see what these animals looked like.”Though some of the specimens are mere fragments of the lizards, the collection of the amber fossils will be critical to fill in the gaps between ancient reptiles and their modern relatives, reported Smithsonian Magazine.
Read more at http://www.inquisitr.com/2861541/a-dozen-lizard-fossils-trapped-in-amber-to-offer-clues-about-the-cretaceous-period-99-million-years-but-preserved-in-superb-detail/#dsOF8zMlWiMC8KSB.99
No comments:
Post a Comment