Chinanews.com, Beijing, December 4 (Reporter Sun Zifa) The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences) announced on the 4th that the latest research by Liu Jun’s research team at the institute has found a piece from Yangquan, Shanxi A new species of primordial fossils in the Late Permian (about 250 million years ago), named Yangquan Longevity Newt.

It is the longest known record of the "longevity" of the primordial fossils, and the only record of such fossils in the North China Plate and even East Asia.

　　This important discovery by Chinese scientists in the field of paleontology and related research results have been published in the international academic journal "Fossil Records" recently.

　　According to Dr. Chen Jianye, a member of the research team and the first author of the result paper, the first vertebrae are a primitive reptile and belong to the backbone group of amniotic eggs.

The creatures of the first vertebrae were quite large, with sharp teeth, similar to modern crocodiles, and were the top predators in rivers and lakes at that time.

Previously, these fossils were mainly distributed in the strata from the Late Carboniferous to Early Permian in Europe and North America.

　　The research team of the Institute of Palaeospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences carried out detailed field work on the Permian-Triassic strata and biota in Yangquan, Shanxi from 2018 to 2020.

The discovery of the Yangquan longevity newt has enriched the composition of the Permian-Triassic fauna in Yangquan. This late Permian fossil specimen only retains a part of the bone fragments of the skull, and the researchers compared many primitive ones. The group of four-legged animals was finally determined to belong to the primordial group.

"This result is very surprising. Previously, it was thought that this type of fossil was extinct in the late Early Permian. This new record is nearly 30 million years later than other known records. It refreshes our understanding of this type of biological fossils. Understanding of distribution".

　　Chen Jianye said that the Yangquan longevity axolotl survived in North China in the Late Permian, which has a lot to do with the Carboniferous-Permian global climate change.

The beginning vertebrae are a kind of typical creatures adapted to the tropical jungle climate.

A large number of coal deposits formed in tropical humid climates are distributed near the Carboniferous ancient equator in Europe and America. This is also the area where the most primordial fossils have been found.

However, with the deterioration of the global climate in the Permian, the humid tropical jungle was gradually replaced by arid tropical deserts, which led to the migration and fragmentation of the distribution of primordial fossils.

At the very end of the Late Permian, the North China Plate was a rare area where tropical jungle environments were still preserved, which provided a rare “refuge” for the primordial fossils.

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