The “Elgin Marvel” fossil is a block of reddish sandstone containing a natural cast of a Permian skull and jaw. Dicynodonts It was discovered in the Hopeman Sandstone Formation near Elgin, Scotland. According to a new study, the specimen Gordonia traquairi A type of dicynodont that lived between 254 and 252 million years ago, when the Earth was made up of a single land mass called Pangaea.
Gordonia traquairi It belongs to a group of extinct species known as dicynodonts, and is characterized by its stocky body, beak, and tusks.
This organism lived relatively shortly before the end-Permian extinction (the Great Dying), the worst mass extinction event in history, which occurred about 252 million years ago and wiped out much of life on Earth.
The Elgin Marvel specimen is one of the best-preserved in a series of fossils collected near Elgin in northeast Scotland.
These are collectively known as the Elgin reptiles. Gordonia traquairi are closely related to mammals.
In the new study, paleontologist Heidi George of the University of Edinburgh and her colleagues performed micro-CT scans of the cavities the animal carved into the sandstone before the bones deteriorated.
The scan produces a three-dimensional representation of the skull anatomy, including details of the brain.
These insights help us understand animal behavior and the biology behind it, providing clues about the evolution of this and other species.
Gordonia traquairi The fossil shares many physical characteristics with similar remains found in China, indicating that dicynodonts were diversifying around the world just before the devastating extinction.
The Elgin reptile is the only known example of this type of fossil from Western Europe.
Palaeontologists hope that the increasing use of micro-CT scanning as a tool to study fossils in detail, combined with the trend toward open sharing of data, will provide opportunities to add to the body of knowledge in the field.
“The Elgin Marvel is a fascinating fossil of an ancient mammal relative that is one of the best-preserved of the world-famous Elgin reptiles,” Dr. George said.
“Most of these famous fossils were discovered more than a century ago, but it’s only recently that new techniques have revealed more detail and provided valuable insights into their skull and brain anatomy and lineage.”
“It’s hard to imagine, but about 250 million years ago Scotland was a desert covered with sand dunes. Gordonia “God was in control of the world,” says Professor Steve Brusatte of the University of Edinburgh.
“By studying them, we can learn about some of the earliest stages of our own evolution.”
This study paper In Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society.
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Heidi George others Micro-CT data reveal new information about the craniomandibular and neuroanatomy of dicynodonts. Gordonia (Therapsid: Heterodontida) Lived in the Late Permian of Scotland. Zoological Journal of the Linnean Society Published online June 18, 2024; doi: 10.1093/zoolinnean/zlae065
Source: www.sci.news
