2023-08-31 17:45:22
The skull of a hitherto unknown amphibian species has been found some 170 kilometers from Buenos Aires, Argentina
It was found by members of the Fray Manuel de Torres Paleontological Museum, in the city of San Pedro.
It was one more outlet for Dr. Julio Simonini, a member of the aforementioned Paleontological Museum. On the routine outing (usual, among paleontologists and specialists, to try to discover fossils and prehistoric animal remains), Simonini observed some small, thin bones, peeking out from a group of brown-colored rocks. He cut out a small “bump” of land and wrapped it in cloth with plaster, to facilitate its transfer to the Museum’s laboratory.
What Simonini found was neither more nor less than the fossilized skull of a new species of anuran, which inhabited the region during the Lujanense age. Due to the sedimentary layer where the fossil was found, it is estimated that it is close to one hundred thousand years old.
“Every time we discover fossilized remains of small animals we are excited because the smallest are, at the same time, the most difficult to find. In addition, large bones are easier to preserve in a fossil state, precisely because they are more massive, ”Simonini explained to the CTyS-UNLaM Agency, highlighting his satisfaction with the finding. “You always have the hope that that specimen you just recovered is something unusual, something unique. And this time… it happened that way, ”he highlighted.
Fossil remains. (Image: Fray Manuel de Torres Paleontological Museum / CTyS-UNLaM Agency)
For his part, José Luis Aguilar, director of the Museum, highlights what this finding implies. “It represents a great opportunity to learn more about the amphibian fauna that inhabited the region during the Pleistocene. As it is an unknown species until today, it broadens the spectrum of this group, providing unprecedented information on the diversity of these animals, ”he pondered.
“The fact of having found a large part of the animal’s skull made it possible to compare it with its fossil and current congeners, managing to determine that it was an animal never discovered,” Aguilar expanded, in dialogue with the CTyS-UNLaM Agency-. A new species of these voracious predators that hunt by movement. Any animal that passes in front of their eyes runs the risk of being devoured.
The new species of amphibian is being studied by Dr. Guillermo Turazzini, from the Laboratory of Evolutionary Morphology and Vertebrate Paleobiology (University of Buenos Aires (UBA) / National Council for Scientific and Technical Research (CONICET)) and Dr. Federico Agnolin, from Laboratory of Comparative Anatomy and Evolution of Vertebrates (Argentine Museum of Natural Sciences / CONICET).
“At the beginning of the investigation, the first observations on the cranial anatomy of the animal allowed us to suspect a possible relationship with a species of fossil escuerzo called Ceratophrys ameghinorum, found in the south of the Province of Buenos Aires, about 4 million years old. old”, remarked Turazzini.
However, the inclusion of the specimen from San Pedro in a relationship analysis between fossil and current escuerzos allowed the experts to conclude that the new specimen is more closely related to a current species of escuerzo that lives in the jungles of the southern Atlantic coast. of Brazil, than with the species of escuerzos that today are present in the North of Buenos Aires.
“This analysis shows that the fossil specimen from San Pedro represents a new species for science, which is in the process of being described and named. We have agreed with the museum that this new amphibian bears the name of its discoverer, since he is a tireless collaborator of the institution”, advanced the CONICET researcher.
Finally, Turazzini stressed that the identification of a new fossil species is interesting because it allows a better understanding of the past diversity of amphibians and the evolution of the group. “In addition, he shows that the extinctions that occurred during the last ice age not only affected large mammals, but that the group of frogs, toads and, in this case, frogs, also suffered notable losses.” (Source: Nicolás Camargo Lescano (CTyS-UNLaM Agency))
#find #fossil #remains #species #amphibian #thousand #years