A close examination of fossils excavated from a stratum about 400 million years ago in northern England and discussed as a mysterious creature revealed that they are likely to be members of amphibian ancestry, a research group said. , It is said that it is the result of settling the controversy.
A large amount of fossils of elongated creatures with a total length of about 5 cm with a developed spine have been excavated from the stratum about 390 million years ago in the northern part of England, and it is discussed what kind of creature it is with a long tail fin. Was continuing.
Research groups such as visiting researcher Tatsuya Hirasawa of RIKEN have succeeded in acquiring three-dimensional data of the skeleton using a large research facility called "SPring-8" that can be analyzed even while buried in rocks. Did.
The results show that the structure and shape of the bones in the head are characteristic of both fish and amphibians, and the research group suggests that the organism is likely to have been an amphibian ancestor.
Visiting researcher Hirasawa said, "This is the result of settingtle the long and mysterious debate about the identity of fossils. It will be a clue to how the terrestrial vertebrates that lead to humans have evolved."