Hold onto your hats, history buffs! 🏺 A thrilling discovery has been made in Chengde, a city in the Hebei Province of north China. Scientists have unearthed a fossil of an extinct lamprey that dates back a whopping 134 million years! 🌟
The fossil was identified as Mesomyzon mengae Chang by Zhang Jiangyong, a researcher from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology at the Chinese Academy of Sciences. 🧪🦕
This marks the first time such a lamprey species has been found in Hebei, suggesting that Mesomyzon mengae Chang had a wider geographical range than previously believed. Its presence now extends beyond Inner Mongolia and western Liaoning to include northern Hebei. 🌍
These fossils are incredibly rare due to the lamprey's lack of hard bones and scales, which means they don’t fossilize easily. In fact, Mesomyzon mengae Chang was once considered the only known jawless fossil since the Mesozoic era! 😲
This discovery not only sheds light on ancient marine life but also provides invaluable insights into the evolution of vertebrates. Talk about a blast from the past! 🕰️
Reference(s):
cgtn.com
