<
https://theconversation.com/exceptional-new-fish-fossil-sparks-rethink-of-how-earths-geology-drives-evolution-236693>
"Coelacanths are deep-sea fish that live off the coasts of southern Africa and
Indonesia and can reach up to two metres in length. For a long time, scientists
believed they were extinct.
In new research published in
Nature Communications, we reveal the
best-preserved coelacanth fossil ever found from the ancient period hundreds of
millions of years ago when these ancient sea-dwellers first evolved. The fossil
comes from the Gogo Formation on Gooniyandi Country in northern Western
Australia.
We also studied the evolution of all the hundreds of coelacanth species we know
from the fossil record to find out what drove the creation of new species
across the aeons.
The answer came as a surprise: the greatest influence on coelacanth evolution
was not ocean temperature or oxygen levels but tectonic activity. When the vast
plates of Earth’s crust were moving around more, new species were more likely
to appear."
Cheers,
*** Xanni ***
--
mailto:xanni@xanadu.net Andrew Pam
http://xanadu.com.au/ Chief Scientist, Xanadu
https://glasswings.com.au/ Partner, Glass Wings
https://sericyb.com.au/ Manager, Serious Cybernetics
