Researchers from the State University of Rio de Janeiro (Uerj), in partnership with the National Museum of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), identified the fossil of a new species of prehistoric fish in the Antarctic Peninsula.
The discovery was published this Monday (11) in the scientific journal Nature.
The articulated specimen, named Antarctichthys longipectoralis, lived between 145 and 66 million years ago, during the Cretaceous period.
The fossil is the best preserved ever discovered in the region. It was found in the Snow Hill Island Formation, in Antarctica, during the Paleoantar project expedition, conducted in the summer of 2018/2019, in an initiative that brought together researchers from various specialties and Brazilian institutions.
Reconstruction
The research process lasted five years, starting with the arrival of the fossil in Brazil and ending with the three-dimensional reconstruction.
The reconstruction of Antarctichthys was carried out using microtomography, a technique similar to medical tomography, which allows obtaining internal images of objects using X-rays, without damaging the fossil.
In this process, high-resolution projections of the object are generated, which are then digitally integrated, allowing the reconstruction of tomograms, that is, high-resolution “slices” of the object.
In total, more than 2,000 tomograms of the fossil were generated, which served as the basis for modeling the specimen as it was during the Cretaceous period.
Researchers estimate that the fish measured between 8 and 10 centimeters. Antarctichthys had a long head, slender body, and small neural spines.
Climate
Biologist Valéria Gallo, tenured professor in the Zoology Department at Uerj, explains that although still little explored by paleontology, Antarctica holds fundamental clues about the evolution of life in the southern hemisphere and the historical connections that shaped the current biodiversity of the region.
“The Antarctic continent, today a vast icy expanse, was once an environment rich in forests and marine life. Discoveries like this revolutionize our understanding of how ancient ecosystems responded to environmental changes, knowledge that is increasingly relevant in times of accelerated climate transformations.”
“The presence of this fossil indicates that the Antarctic Peninsula area probably had a warmer climate and greater biodiversity during the Cretaceous.”
According to Uerj, the study reinforces the importance of analyzing fossils of flora and fauna that serve as references to predict how organisms may react to current global warming, contributing to the development of conservation strategies.
Source: Agência Brasil