A new species of marine fish from 408 million years ago discovered in Teruel
Researchers
from the University of Valencia and the Natural History Museum of
Berlin have studied the fossilised remains of scales and bones found
in Teruel and the south of Zaragoza, ascertaining that they belong to
a new fish species called Machaeracanthus
goujeti
that lived in that area of the peninsula during the Devonian period.
The fossils are part of the collection housed in the Palaeontology
Museum of Zaragoza.
In
the journal 'Geodiversitas',
a research team led by the University of Valencia describes a new
species of spiny shark (Acanthodii),
a primitive type of fish that shared characteristics with sharks and
bony fish.
Remains
of scales, bones and scapular joint bones were found in Devonian
(approximately 408 million years ago) in Teruel and the south of
Zaragoza. The paper also includes an analysis of fossils of a
fragmented spine and isolated scales from the Lower Devonian found in
northern Spain (Palencia and Cantabrian Mountains) and western France
(Saint-Céneré commune), originally attributed to the
Machaeracanthus sp species.
"The
discovery of this new species, which we call Machaeracanthus
goujeti
and belongs to the Acanthodii
group –of which very little is known–, expands our knowledge of
the biodiversity that existed on the peninsula 480 million years ago,
when the modern-day region of Teruel was covered by the sea,"
Héctor Botella, professor in the palaeontology unit in the
University of Valencia and the study's lead author, explained to
SINC.
The
Acanthodii
group of fish are also known as 'spiny sharks' owing to their
appearance and, from what we know to date, they only lived during the
Palaeozoic Era and reached their maximum level of diversity in the
Devonic period.
However,
the bones typically found in the Acanthodii
group grow differently to the bones found, therefore this type could
be even more similar to sharks and would date from the very early
stages of the radiation of jawed vertebrates (gnathostomata).
A
fish fossil no more than one metre in length
The
majority of the samples found by the researchers are juveniles. Based
on the fossilised remains, the researchers estimate that the largest
fish in this species would not reach one metre in length. "This
is just an estimation because there are animals that can have large
bones and be small, and vice versa," Botella stated.
For
their part, the fossils found in the sediment layers of the Iberian
mountain range must surely have belonged to fish that swam close to
the coast. "In other words, they must have lived in an
epicontinental sea –an extensive but shallow salt water mass–,
and it is therefore possible that this area was used as a breeding
ground," he concludes. Larger fossils were found in sediment
layers a little further down.
The fossils
form part of the collection housed in the Palaeontology Museum of
Zaragoza.
Extraído de: http://www.sciencecodex.com/a_new_species_of_marine_fish_from_408_million_years_ago_discovered_in_teruel-113296
ACTIVIDAD
- Lee
el texto.
-
Contesta las preguntas:
Skimming
a) ¿Qué
descubren en Teruel?
b)
¿Cuál es la especie hallada?
c) ¿Qué
otro nombre reciben los peces acantodios?
Scanning
a) ¿En
cuál etapa de la vida se hallaban los fósiles encontrados? Señala la correcta:
- embrionaria
- adulta
- juvenil
b) ¿De
cuando data la especie encontrada?
c)
¿Cuál es el principal autor del estudio?
Material
complementario
Colecciones
del Museo Paleontológico de la Universidad de Zaragoza
Espinas
aisladas de Machaeracanthus goujeti
Escapulocoracoides
aislados
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