Paleontologists have discovered a 66-million-year-old Mosasaurus tooth within the Hell Creek Formation in North Dakota, USA. This find reinforces the idea that mosasaurs, often viewed as marine reptiles, also hunted in freshwater rivers.
Artist’s reconstruction of the Hell Creek Mosasaurus. Image credit: Christopher DiPiazza.
“Mosasaurs were apex predators in marine environments, diversifying during the Late Cretaceous and dominating a range of ecological niches,” stated paleontologist Melanie Dooling from Uppsala University and Vrije Universiteit Amsterdam alongside her team.
“The mosasauridae family is divided into three subfamilies: mosasauridae, plioplatecarpinidae, and tylosauridae, each showcasing unique adaptations that allow them to exploit various ecological opportunities.”
“Although mosasaurid fossils are often linked to shallow marine environments, findings of fossils in estuarine and freshwater settings challenge the notion that they were solely marine creatures.”
In 2022, a significant mosasaur tooth was unearthed from a multi-species fossil site in the Hell Creek Formation.
This area, once part of the ancient Western Interior Seaway, is well-known for a scarcity of marine species, primarily housing fossils of terrestrial and freshwater organisms.
The fossil was found in river sediments alongside an ancient tooth from a tyrannosaurus rex and a crocodile jawbone, indicating a rich ecosystem that included fossilized dinosaurs like edmontosaurus.
This specimen is related to the mosasaurid family prognatodontini, as its surface texture resembles that of other members in this group.
Researchers also studied isotopes within the tooth enamel to deduce the habitat of mosasaurs, discovering oxygen and strontium isotopic signatures indicative of freshwater conditions.
This may imply that mosasaurs preyed on freshwater animals, suggesting they could thrive and hunt away from oceanic environments.
“The carbon isotopes in teeth generally reflect the diet of the organism,” Dr. Dühring explained.
“Many mosasaurs exhibit low 13C values, allowing for deeper dives.”
“The teeth of Mosasaurus, in contrast, have higher 13C values compared to those of all known mosasaurs, dinosaurs, and crocodiles, indicating they likely did not dive deeply and may have occasionally consumed drowned dinosaurs.”
“Isotopic data suggest this mosasaur inhabited freshwater river environments.”
“When we examined two additional mosasaurus teeth from a nearby, slightly older site, we noted similar freshwater isotopic signatures.”
“These analyses indicate that mosasaurs inhabited fluvial environments for about the last million years before their extinction.”
Further examination of older mosasaurus teeth and other fauna from the Western Interior Seaway suggested isotopic concentrations more aligned with freshwater rather than saltwater habitats.
This points to a gradual decrease in salinity in the region over time.
The authors propose that members of Prognathodontini might have been opportunistic predators inhabiting niches similar to modern species, akin to the saltwater crocodile (Crocodylus porosus), believed to have adapted to freshwater systems in response to the receding salinity of the Western Interior Seaway, gradually moving into the Hell Creek channel.
“We also analyzed fossils from other marine species and found distinct differences,” stated Dr. Per Ahlberg, a paleontologist at Uppsala University.
“Gill-breathing animals possessed isotopic signatures linked to brackish or saltwater, while all lung-breathing organisms did not.”
“This indicates that mosasaurs, which required surface access to breathe, lived in the upper freshwater layer rather than the saltier deeper layers.”
The team’s paper was published in the Journal on December 12, 2025, in BMC Zoology.
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in the midst of chaos others. 2025. King of the Riverside offers a fresh perspective on pre-extinct mosasaurs through a multi-proxy approach. BMC Zuhl 10, 25; doi: 10.1186/s40850-025-00246-y
a■ Australia is capitalizing on the AI boom, with numerous new investments in data centers located in Sydney and Melbourne. However, experts caution about the strain these large-scale projects may impose on already limited water resources.
The projected water demand for servicing Sydney’s data centers is anticipated to surpass the total drinking water supply in Canberra within the next decade.
In Melbourne, the Victorian government has pledged a $5.5 million investment to transform the city into Australia’s data center hub. Currently, hyperscale data center applications already exceed the collective water demands of nearly all of the top 30 business customers in the state.
Tech giants like Open AI and Atlassian are advocating for Australia to evolve into a data processing and storage hub. With 260 data centers currently operational and numerous others planned, experts express concern regarding the repercussions for drinking water resources.
Sydney Water projects that it will require as much as 250 megalitres daily to support the industry by 2035—more than the total drinking water supply in Canberra drinking water).
Cooling Requires Significant Water
Professor Priya Rajagopalan, director of RMIT’s Center for Post Carbon Research, points out that a data center’s water and energy requirements are largely dictated by the cooling technology implemented.
“Using evaporative cooling leads to significant water loss due to evaporation, while a sealed system conserves water but requires substantial amounts for cooling,” she explains.
Older data centers typically depend on air cooling. However, the increased demand for computational power means greater server rack densities, resulting in higher temperatures. Hence, these centers rely more heavily on water for cooling solutions.
Water consumption in data centers varies significantly. For instance, NextDC has transitioned to liquid-to-chip cooling, which cools processors and GPUs directly, as opposed to cooling entire rooms with air or water.
NextDC reports that while initial trials of this cooling technology have been concluded, liquid cooling is far more efficient and can scale to ultra-dense environments, improving processing power without a proportional increase in energy consumption. Their modeling suggests that the power usage efficiency (PUE) could decline to as low as 1.15.
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The data center sector measures its sustainability using two key metrics: water usage efficiency (WUE) and power usage efficiency (PUE). These metrics gauge the levels of water or power consumed per unit of computing work.
WUE is calculated by dividing annual water usage by annual IT energy usage (kWh). For instance, a 100MW data center that uses 3ML daily would yield a WUE of 1.25. A number closer to 1 indicates greater efficiency. Certain countries enforce minimum standards; for example, Malaysia recommends a WUE of 1.8.
Even facilities that are efficient can still consume substantial amounts of water and energy at scale.
NextDC’s last fiscal year’s PUE stood at 1.44, up from 1.42 the previous year. The company indicates that this reflects the changing nature of customer activity across its facilities and the onboarding of new centers.
Calls to Ban Drinking Water Usage
Sydney Water states that estimates regarding data center water usage are continually reassessed. To prepare for future demands, the organization is investigating alternative, climate-resilient water sources like recycled water and rainwater harvesting.
“Every proposed connection for data centers will undergo case-by-case evaluations to guarantee adequate local network capacity. If additional services are necessary, operators might need to fund upgrades,” a Sydney Water representative said.
In its submission to the 2026-2031 rate review in Victoria, Melbourne Water observed that hyperscale data center operators seeking connectivity “expect instantaneous and annual demand to surpass nearly all of Melbourne’s leading 30 non-residential customers.”
Melbourne Water mentioned, “This has not been factored into our demand forecasting or expenditure plans.”
The agency is requesting upfront capital contributions from companies to mitigate the financial burden of necessary infrastructure improvements, ensuring those costs do not fall solely on the broader customer base.
Documents show that Greater Western Water in Victoria has received 19 data center applications. See more from ABC provided to the Guardian.
The Concerned Waterways Alliance, composed of various Victorian community and environmental organizations, has expressed concerns regarding the potential diversion of drinking water for cooling servers when the state’s water supplies are already under stress.
Alliance spokesperson Cameron Steele emphasized that expanding data centers would create a greater reliance on desalinated water, thereby diminishing availability for ecological streams and possibly imposing costs on local communities. The group is advocating for a ban on potable water usage for cooling and demanding that all centers transparently report their water consumption.
“We strongly promote the use of recycled water over potable water within our data centers.”
Closed Loop Cooling
In hotter regions, like much of Australia during summer, data centers require additional energy or water to remain cool.
Daniel Francis, customer and policy manager at the Australian Water Works Association, highlights that there is no universal solution for the energy and water consumption of data centers, as local factors such as land availability, noise restrictions, and water resources play significant roles.
“We constantly balance the needs of residential and non-residential customers, as well as environmental considerations,” says Francis.
“Indeed, there is a considerable number of data center applications, and it’s the cumulative effect we need to strategize for… It’s paramount to consider the implications for the community.”
“Often, they prefer to cluster together in specific locations.”
One of the data centers currently under construction in Sydney’s Marsden Park is a 504MW facility spanning 20 hectares with six four-story buildings. The company claims this CDC center will be the largest data campus in the southern hemisphere.
Last year, CDC operated its data centers with 95.8% renewable electricity, achieving a PUE of 1.38 and a WUE of 0.01. A company representative stated that this level of efficiency was made possible through a closed-loop cooling system that does not require continuous water extraction, in contrast to traditional evaporative cooling systems.
“CDC’s closed-loop system is filled only once at its inception and functions without ongoing water extraction, evaporation, or waste generation, thereby conserving water while ensuring optimal thermal performance,” the spokesperson noted.
“This model is specifically designed for Australia, a nation characterized by drought and water shortages, focusing on long-term sustainability and establishing industry benchmarks.”
Despite CDC’s initiatives, community concerns regarding the project persist.
Peter Rofile, acting chief executive of the Western NSW Health District, expressed in a letter last June that the development’s proximity to vulnerable communities and its unprecedented scale posed untested risks to residents in western Sydney.
“This proposal does not guarantee that this operation can adequately mitigate environmental exposure during extreme heat events, potentially posing an unreasonable health risk to the public,” Rofile stated.
The fish supergroup earball, recognized for its superior hearing abilities, includes two-thirds of freshwater fish species. They were previously believed to have originated in freshwater prior to the breakup of the supercontinent Pangaea. This suggests an almost 80 million-year span from their inception to the earliest known fossils. However, the discovery of Acronichthys MacCognoi—a newly identified freshwater ear fish species from the late Cretaceous period—challenges this assumption.
Reconstruction of the Weberian apparatus in Acronichthys MacCognoi. The central golden bone arises from the rib bones (indicated in grey) that connect the fish’s air bladder (left) to the inner ear (right). Image credit: University of California, Berkeley Ken Chronicle.
Underwater ears require a distinct anatomy compared to those that sense airborne sounds.
Many terrestrial vertebrates have evolved eardrum-like structures that vibrate in response to sound waves.
These eardrums amplify sounds, moving bone arrays, similar to the malleus, incus, and stapes found in human middle ears, which then stimulate the fluid-filled inner ear.
In contrast, sound waves travel through fish, which have a density similar to that of the surrounding water.
Consequently, fish have developed an air-filled bladder that vibrates in response to sound passing through it.
These vibrations are then transferred to the fish’s inner ear in a basic manner in most saltwater species.
However, specialized fish have developed bony structures known as “bones” between the air bladder and inner ear (a system called Weberian apparatus), enhancing the amplification and range of frequencies detectable by their ears. For instance, zebrafish can detect frequencies of up to 15,000 Hz, nearing the human limit of 20,000 Hz.
The reason for these fish’s need to hear high frequencies remains unclear, though it may relate to their existence in varied and complex environments, from swift currents to still lakes.
“reason Acronichthys Maccagnoi Professor Neil Banerjee, a researcher at Western University, noted:
“This represents the oldest known North American member of the group and offers invaluable data for documenting the origins and early evolution of numerous freshwater fish species existing today.”
Acronichthys Maccagnoi thrived in the late Cretaceous period roughly 67 million years ago.
The authors utilized microCT scans of 4 cm long fossils to investigate their Weber structure.
They also studied the genomes and morphology of contemporary fish to refine the evolutionary lineage of freshwater species and simulate frequency responses of the middle ear structures of fossil fish.
Their model indicates that even 67 million years ago, Otophysan fish may have possessed hearing sensitivity on par with today’s zebrafish.
“We were uncertain if this constituted a fully functional Weberian device, but the simulation proved effective,” stated Dr. Juan Liu, a paleontologist at the University of California, Berkeley.
“The Weberian apparatus suggests it’s less sensitive than that of zebrafish.”
“However, the peak sensitivity frequency is not as low as that of zebrafish (500-1,000 Hz). This is not an insignificant finding, and it’s conceivable that this ancient Otophysan fish achieved a higher hearing frequency.”
This discovery indicates that at least two transitions from marine to freshwater species occurred during the evolution of otolaryngology.
Researchers estimate the divergence times for ear plants migrating from ocean to freshwater habitats occurred around 154 million years ago (late Jurassic period), following the fragmentation of Pangaea around 200 million years ago.
“Dinosaurs are fascinating, attracting significant attention, which means we know a lot about them. However, there’s still much to uncover regarding the diversity of prehistoric freshwater fish.”
“Many keys to understanding the origins of the groups that currently dominate rivers and lakes worldwide can be found in Canadian fossil sites.”
A paper detailing these findings was published in the journal Science on October 2nd.
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Juan Liu et al. 2025. Marine origin and freshwater radiation of ENT. Science 390 (6768): 65-69; doi: 10.1126/science.adr4494
Paleontologists have introduced a new genus and species of stem cell turtles, based on complete fossil shells discovered in the early Ale Holocene Denver Formation in Colorado.
Reconstruction of Tavachelydra stevensoni in a water environment with logs. Image credit: Andrey Atuchin.
Tavachelydra stevensoni existed in present-day US during the late Ale Holocene, approximately 66-65 million years ago, shortly after the mass extinction event.
The species is part of the Chelydridae family of freshwater turtles, which includes at least seven extinct species and two extant genera.
“The clade of extant Chelydrid turtles (Chelydridae) comprises five species native to the New World,” stated Dr. Tyler Lyson from the Denver Museum of Natural Sciences and his team.
“Though not a varied clade, Chelydrid turtles are commonly found in most North American freshwater ecosystems.”
“The broader group of Chelydrids (i.e., Pan-Chelydridae) is present throughout Laurasia, but their fossil records are notoriously fragmented.”
Fossilized shells and two skulls of Tavachelydra stevensoni were found in the Corral Bluffs survey area in El Paso County, southern Colorado, east of Colorado Springs.
“The straight shell measures nearly 50 cm in length, making Tavachelydra stevensoni one of the larger turtles from the early Ale (Puercan) of the Denver Basin,” remarked the paleontologist.
“Interestingly, two Pan-Chelydrid turtles coexisted during the early Middle Age of this formation: Tavachelydra stevensoni and Denverus middletonii.
“The size difference is significant, with Tavachelydra stevensoni being at least four times larger than Denverus middletonii, which may have reduced competition between the two species in overlapping geographical ranges.”
Although little is known about the paleoenvironment of the single known specimen of Denverus middletonii, the yellow sandstone of fine to medium grain was initially interpreted as channel fill.
In contrast, the two specimens of Tavachelydra stevensoni suggest that they were likely found in ponded waters or sediments, indicating they lived in sediment-rich areas such as overbank deposits.
“While little can be said about the diet of Denverus middletonii due to the lack of skull preservation, the skulls of Tavachelydra stevensoni show large, wide, flat surfaces, likely used to consume hard-shelled organisms such as corals, shelled mollusks, and crabs,” noted the researchers.
“Thus, it seems plausible that Denverus middletonii and Tavachelydra stevensoni occupied distinct ecological niches, with Tavachelydra stevensoni preferring a pond habitat and a durophagous diet.”
“Remarkably, turtle species with a durophagous diet have shown higher survival rates during mass extinction events compared to those with softer diets.”
In addition to the presumed dietary habits of Tavachelydra stevensoni, other common reptiles from the same sedimentary formation include the button-toothed crocodile Cf. Wangonacosuchus and Baenid turtles such as Paratabena nerrellum, Succersies gilberti, and Cedrobaena putrius.
“This indicates that durophagy was a significant life history trait for the earliest Ale-Holocene freshwater vertebrates in North America.”
The discovery of Tavachelydra stevensoni is detailed in a paper published in the Swiss Journal of Palaeontology.
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TR Lyson et al. 2025. New pan-chlydrid turtle, Tavachelydra stevensoni gen. et sp. from the Coral Bluffs area, Lower Aleapione (early Danian, Puercan), Denver Basin, Colorado. Swiss J Palaeontol 144, 46; doi:10.1186/s13358-025-00375-4
The name Hadian Ion is derived from Hades, the Greek god of the underworld, and is used by geologists to describe Earth’s first 600 million years. While scientists initially believed that a sea of lava engulfed the Earth during the Hadean Eon, recent discoveries have revealed minerals from that era in newly formed rocks. These minerals, known as Zircon, indicate that Hadean Earth likely featured solid land, oceans, and possibly even an active water cycle.
Researchers from the United Arab Emirates, Australia, and China have been investigating whether freshwater existed on Hadean Earth. They collected sandstone samples from Jack Hills in Australia, which contained grains eroded from ancient rocks that housed weather-resistant zircon. Previous studies have shown that 7% of the zircon grains from Jack Hills date back to the Hadean Eon, making them among the oldest materials available today.
The team noted that zircon grains are ideal for this study because they retain the same chemical composition as crystallized Hadean magma. This allows researchers to analyze zircon grains to discern the original magma’s composition. To select the appropriate grains, researchers photographed the zircons and illuminated them with an electron beam using a method called Casodoriminesense.
The researchers focused on zircon particles that were structurally intact and exhibited homogeneous color and fluorescence. They measured uranium abundance and analyzed lead atoms with varying neutron counts. Using a technique called Mass analysis, they examined isotopes in the zircon. The ratio of these isotopes, 238U and 206Pb, provides insight into the age of the crystal and its origins.
The researchers also assessed the ratios of two oxygen isotopes, 18O and 16O, within the zircon. They explained that these oxygen isotope ratios are highly sensitive to interactions between liquids and rocks, allowing them to trace the variations in the Jack Hills Zircons’ O-isotope ratios to determine when the hydration cycle began. Their findings confirmed that the zircon grains originated from a primary magma source.
Next, the researchers analyzed how different oxygen isotope ratios in zircon were generated. They explained that 18O is heavier than 16O due to its additional two neutrons. Typically, zircon crystals formed in magma share oxygen isotope ratios similar to those in modern seawater. Higher heavy oxygen isotope ratios indicate the incorporation of more 18O fragments from the Earth’s crust rather than from seawater.
Meanwhile, interactions between magma and liquids produce distinct oxygen isotope ratios. Some zircons exhibited lighter oxygen isotope ratios of 18O, more than found in contemporary seawater. For such ratios to form, the magma must be at high temperatures and in contact with liquid. The researchers identified zircon crystals that crystallized with very light oxygen isotopic ratios between 200 million and 4 billion years ago, suggesting that the original melt interacted with surface water. These ratios imply that land emerged above the oceans, allowing water to accumulate on Earth’s surface.
To further investigate, the researchers employed computational models to determine the type of surface water that influenced the extreme oxygen isotope ratios in zircon particles. They tested whether the zircon oxygen isotope ratios result solely from interactions with seawater, freshwater, or a mix of both. Their findings indicated that magma interacting only with seawater could not account for the observed oxygen isotope ratios, suggesting a combination of influences. Consequently, researchers proposed that freshwater interacted with early Hadean crust over tens of millions of years to generate light oxygen isotopic ratios.
The researchers concluded that an active water cycle existed on early Earth. They noted that this revised timeline for the onset of the water cycle could significantly impact the emergence of life on Earth. The presence of land above sea level, freshwater, and an active water cycle implies that the building blocks for life may have been present just 550 million years after Earth’s formation. They theorized that life could have potentially originated in freshwater reservoirs in exposed crust. Ongoing research into geological materials from this period may yield further insights into the early processes that facilitated the emergence of life.
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Global freshwater resources are dwindling
Intensive extraction, evaporation, and groundwater loss driven by increasing temperatures are causing freshwater to flow from continents into oceans. This poses a significant risk to water supply for a large portion of the global population and contributes to rising sea levels.
Jay Famiglietty from Arizona State University and his team utilized satellite gravity measurements to assess changes in the total volume of water stored on land. This encompasses all types of freshwater, including rivers, underground aquifers, glaciers, and ice sheets.
Their findings reveal an unexpected reduction in freshwater resources across many regions worldwide from 2002 to 2024. Surprisingly, even arid areas are not experiencing increased dryness; the anticipated effects of climate change are extending over 800,000 square kilometers annually.
The researchers pinpointed four major “mega-dry” zones where distinct areas of freshwater depletion converge, leading to widespread aridification. These regions include Northern Canada and Russia, where losses are exacerbated by glacier retreat, thawing permafrost, and diminished snowfall.
In the remaining two regions, groundwater depletion resulting from agriculture is the primary cause of water loss. These areas, which cover much of the Southwestern U.S. and Central America, extend from Western Europe and North Africa to northern India and China. Groundwater depletion is worsened by heat and drought, compelling increased water extraction, which accounts for 68% of the total decline in water reserves.
This extensive water redistribution has become a significant contributor to sea level rise, adding nearly a millimeter to ocean levels each year since 2015, with terrestrial water losses outpacing those from Antarctic and Greenland ice melt.
According to the researchers, these patterns “likely convey a troubling message regarding the earlier effects of climate change.” They argue that “the continent is drying, freshwater resources are diminishing, and sea level rise is accelerating.”
While previous studies have identified these arid trends in specific areas, Manoochehr Shirzaei of Virginia Tech emphasizes that the strength of this research lies in its global perspective. “We’re not generating or losing water; we’re merely redistributing it. Unfortunately, this redistribution isn’t favoring the right areas,” he notes.
“The next step involves conducting a thorough analysis to isolate the factors driving groundwater depletion,” adds Benjamin Cook from Columbia University in New York. “It’s necessary to clarify the distinctions between the narratives of climate change and groundwater depletion.”
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Paleontologists have identified three new fossil species. Sivulliusalmo Alaskensis was found in a purine cream formation in northern Alaska, USA.
Chinook salmon (oncorhynchus tschawytscha). Image credit: US Geological Survey.
“Sivulliusalmo Alaskensis reveals significant insights,” remarked Dr. Patrick Druckenmiller, the director of the University of Alaska Museum in the North.
“Our research uncovers several additional species of ancient fish new to the Arctic, including two new pike species: Archaeosiilik Gilmulli and Nunikuluk Gracilis, as well as the oldest record within the group comprising carp and minnows.”
“Many fish we now consider unique to Alaska’s high-latitude environment existed alongside dinosaurs.”
The discovery of Sivulliusalmo Alaskensis adds an impressive 20 million years to the fossil history of the salmon family.
Previously, the oldest known salmonidae fossil was from British Columbia and Washington.
“It’s noteworthy that the Salmonidae, which typically thrives in cold water, adapted and flourished during the warm Cretaceous period, enduring for millions of years amidst significant geographical and climatic changes,” noted Andres Lopez, Fish Curator at the University of Alaska in the north.
“Even though the Arctic was warm during that era, there would still be substantial seasonal variations in temperature and sunlight, much like today.”
“Salmon were among the fish adept at navigating these dramatic shifts.”
“Despite the planet’s numerous geological and climatic transformations, the ancestors of the same species group persisted in dominating the region’s freshwater ecosystems.”
The new species is the latest finding from the Prin Creek Formation, renowned for its dinosaur fossils discovered along the Colville River in northern Alaska.
During the Cretaceous period, Alaska was significantly closer to the Arctic than it is today.
“Fish fossils are among the most abundant in the Purine Creek Formation, yet they are challenging to distinguish in the field,” stated Dr. Druckenmiller.
“Consequently, we transported the fine sand and gravel samples to our museum lab, where microscopic analysis revealed the bones and teeth.”
“Our new findings heavily rely on small, fossilized jaws, some of which are small enough to fit on the edge of a pencil eraser.”
For detailed examination, the researchers employed micro-computed tomography to digitally reconstruct the small jaws, teeth, and other bones.
“We identified very distinct jaws and other components of the salmon family, which were recognized as belonging to this lineage,” said Dr. Druckenmiller.
“The presence of salmonidae in the Cretaceous polar regions and their coexistence with common low-light fish from this period suggests that salmonidae likely thrived in northern climates.”
“The high latitudes of the northern regions may have been vibrant centers for their evolutionary development.”
This paper was published in the journal Paleontology papers.
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Donald B. Brinkman et al. 2025. Fish from the Purine Cream Formation in the northern slopes of Alaska: the pre-Cretaceous and their paleobiogeographic significance. Paleontology papers 11(3): E70014; doi: 10.1002/spp2.70014
New genus and species of the Simotoidan isopod, which lived in the early Cretaceous period, have been identified from two well-conserved specimens found in Lebanon. Originating from the environment of freshwater lakes, this isopod provides an unconventional perspective on the evolutionary origins of Simotoids inhabiting living caves and groundwater.
Reconstruction of paleoenvironmental habitats Dysopodus gezei (Foreground): Valemian freshwater lake in the current Bkassine region of Lebanon. Image credit: Aldrich Hezekiah.
Dysopodus gezei He lived in a shallow freshwater lake in Lebanon (Epoch of the early Cretaceous period) about 125 million years ago.
This creature had an elongated body and was more than twice its width (total length 1.8-2.5 cm).
That was a type Isopodorder of crustaceans, including both aquatic and locally populated species.
“Isopoda is a diverse group of Malacostracan crustaceans, including more than 10,000 described organisms,” said Dr. Mario Södel, a paleontologist at the Senkenberg Centre at the University of Tenbingen, and his colleagues.
“Most living species lie in a variety of marine environments ranging from deep waters to sandy beaches and rocky coasts.”
“Isopoda can be considered primarily as a marine group, and it is most likely that the latest ancestor of all isopods is ocean.”
“But there are also many isopods that live outside the marine realm.”
“The species-rich group of isopodas – oniscidea – houses over 3,800 species, most of which live in a variety of fully terrestrial habitats.”
“Apart from the marine and terrestrial environments, isopods also live in brackish and freshwater environments, with about 1,000 described species living in freshwater.”
“Isopods have freshwater habitats colonized in multiple independent habitats, with a wide variety of different species in freshwater habitats, ranging from old to in some cases highly species-rich groups to single phylogenetically isolated species.”
Dysopodus gezei There were strong similarities to the living non-parasitic strains of Cirolanidaea group of isopods within subordered Shimotoida.
“The Shimotoida is a group of isopods that contain scavengers, predators, microrelets and parasites,” the paleontologist said.
“In this, finely repaired and parasitic species can form natural groups.”
“With Timotoida, many freshwater species are parasites that are likely to enter freshwater habitat along with hosts, either fish or crustaceans.”
“There are many representatives of Shimotoida (Shimotoida people – not confused with Shimotoids) throughout their lifetimes that are neither micropredata nor parasites.”
“These are often referred to as Cirolanidae, a group of morphologically distinct isopods.”
Dysopodus gezeiholotype. Image credits: Shadell et al. , doi: 10.1098/rsos.241512.
Two specimens of Dysopodus gezei It was excavated in Lebanon in 2003 and 2023.
“The specimen was found at the Lebanese Disol in Jdeidet Bkassine,” the researchers said.
“These layers correspond to finely stacked, organically rich deposits harvested in five mining areas within the Grace Duriban Alloformation, one in the north of Lebanon, one in the center, and three regions in southern Lebanon.
“All evidence shows a series of small shallow lakes and marsh areas near the volcanic buildings.”
The rarity of living freshwater silolanide species emphasizes the importance of discovery Dysopodus gezei As an extinct species that supports true freshwater archaeological fabrics, it not only has its history of evolution on earth, but also of the evolution of underground freshwater species.
“The discovery of new fossils represents the rare discovery of fossil isopods from freshwater habitats,” the scientist said.
“This places a new perspective on the origins of the existing non-parasitic freshwater simotoid people.”
“This finding does not disprove the colonization of cave and groundwater habitats through the cutting of underground species by regressing coastlines, but the presence of freshwater Simotoids in the eastern Tethian region during the early Cretaceous period gives a different light to the origins of living freshwater animals.”
“Additional specimens of this species may provide more morphological details, as they may maintain fine morphological details, and can then be used to draw more accurate conclusions between Cretaceous freshwater species and existing cave and groundwater fauna.”
Survey results Published in the April 2025 issue of the journal Royal Society Open Science.
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Mario Shadell et al. 2025. Freshwater isopods from 125 million years ago shed new light on the origins of underground freshwater species. R. Soc. Open SCI 12(4): 241512; doi: 10.1098/rsos.241512
The fossil record of freshwater crayfish is surprisingly sparse, mainly containing trace fossils, some body fossils, and rarely gastroscopy. Paleontologists from Flinders University, the University of New South Wales, the Canterbury Museum and the University of Canterbury have discovered that the small molars (jaws) of the lower jaw of Gondwannan freshwater crayfish have a stiff, robust apatite layer. They discovered eight jaw fragments of a fossil freshwater crayfish that lived in New Zealand during the early Miocene period.
Prehistoric freshwater crayfish grew to about 25 cm long compared to about 8 cm of today’s New Zealand species.
“Crayfish were important creatures in ancient settings,” says Dr. Paul Scofield, senior curator at the Canterbury Museum.
“The crayfish’s body does not fossil because it is made from the wrong chemical elements. However, the molars in the jaw are made of different materials, like mammalian teeth, so they do fossil because they are made from different materials.”
“This means that we can clearly say where freshwater crayfish lived in prehistoric times. It will speak more about prehistoric ecosystems and how they worked.”
Dr. Scofield and his colleagues sifted through hundreds of thousands of small fossil fragments found near St. Batan in central Otago and used microscopes to identify prehistoric crayfish to identify each piece.
Crayfish were identified from eight jaw fragments each, about 4 mm in length.
An exciting observation was to show that the three lower jaws showed that the three types lived together.
There are currently only two species in New Zealand and live in different parts of the country.
Fragments are very rare. One distance of the 100 kg fossil fragments recovered from St. Batan produced only one fragment.
“We also identified the first fossilized Yabby buttons, which are calcium deposits that form in the stomachs of crayfish,” said Dr. Trevor Worthy, a paleontologist at Flinders University.
“Historically, paleontologists have often misidentified Yabby buttons as fossilized fish teeth.”
“Several fragments like these are sitting in boxes of museum collections around the world and are marked with question marks. Now we can say what they are.”
“Small fossils can reveal a lot about prehistoric life,” said Dr Vanessa de Petri, a paleontologist at the University of Canterbury.
“It’s not just about big sexy bones, it’s about the little things. Every piece has a story to tell.”
Team’s result It was published in Alcheringa, Australian Journal of Palaeontology.
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Trevor H. Worthy et al. Decapoda, Parastacidae, of the fossil mandible from the early Miocene of New Zealand. AlcheringaPublished online on April 13th, 2025. doi:10.1080/03115518.2025.2488056
Paleontologists from the Australian Museum Institute, the University of New South Wales, the University of Canberra and CSIRO describe a new species of Osmel-type fish from fossilized bodies found in New South Wales, Australia. The fish’s preserved stomach content indicates an opportunistic bottom-pore-like diet, as evidenced by the ruins of many phantom midge larvae, two insect wings, and bivalve remnants.
Habits and fin locations Fell Aspis Block Sea. Scale bar – 8 mm. Image credit: McCurry et al. , doi: 10.1080/02724634.2024.2445684.
The newly described fish species, which lived in the Myosense period about 15 million years ago, belonged to the Osmerforfos (freshwater smell and its allies).
Named after Professor Jocchen Bloc of Australian National University Fell Aspis Block Sea It is the first fossil freshwater smell found in Australia.
“I am extremely proud that this world’s first discovery was named after me,” Professor Brocks said.
“This discovery opens a new pathway to understanding the evolutionary history of Australia’s freshwater fish species and ancient ecosystems.”
Professor Brox discovered several fossils Fell Aspis Block Sea At the McGrath Flat Fossil Site near Gurgon, New South Wales.
“Before the discovery of this fossil, scientists lacked concrete evidence to identify how this group of fish evolved over time and when they arrived in Australia,” said Dr. Matthew McCurry, of the Australian Museum Institute and the University of New South Wales.
“Fell Aspis Block Sea This is the first fossil freshwater Australian confectionery found in Australia. ”
“The discovery of fossil freshwater fish 15 million years ago provides an unprecedented opportunity to understand Australia’s ancient ecosystems and the evolution of fish species.”
“The fossil is part of a diverse range of fish species in Australia, including species such as Australian greyling and Australian confectionery.”
“But without the fossils, it would have been difficult to tell exactly when the group had arrived in Australia and whether they had changed at all over time.”
Stored stomach contents Fell Aspis Block Sea It offers paleontologists a glimpse into the behavior of these ancient species.
“We know that now Fell Aspis Block Sea Although they provided an invertebrate range, the most common prey was small phantom midge larvae,” Dr. McCurry said.
“One of the fossils shows parasites attached to fish tails. It is young freshwater that burns glotidium.”
“These boys Mussarsatach are riding up and down streams on the gills and tails of fish.”
“This little fish is one of the most beautiful fossils I’ve found at McGrath Flat, and it was a real surprise to me to find the first vertebrate among the abundant fossils of plants and insects,” Professor Brocks said.
One of the most exciting aspects of the piece was that they were able to convey the colour of Fell Aspis Block Sea.
Dr. Michael Frise, a paleontologist at the University of Canberra, said:
“We were able to use a powerful microscope to see structures that produce small colours known as melanosomes.”
“Fossilized melanosomes have previously allowed paleontologists to reconstruct feather colors, but melanosomes have never been used to reconstruct color patterns in long-extinct fish species.”
paper The survey results were published this week Journal of Vertebrate Palaeontology.
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Matthew R. McCurry et al. Paleontology of a new Osmar type fish species from Australia. Journal of Vertebrate PalaeontologyPublished online on March 17th, 2025. doi:10.1080/02724634.2024.245684
Titan’s north polar region, imaged using Cassini’s radar signature, shows blue hydrocarbon oceans.
NASA / JPL-Caltech / Italian Space Agency / USGS
The most detailed look yet at Saturn’s moon Titan’s strange lakes has revealed a diverse marine landscape similar to Earth’s, with a mix of freshwater rivers and saltwater oceans.
Unlike Earth’s watery oceans, Titan’s lakes are composed of methane and ethane, which are liquid at the planet’s average surface temperature, about −179 °C (−290 °F).
Radar measurements from NASA’s Cassini spacecraft, which orbited Saturn from 2004 to 2017, suggested differences in the lakes’ properties, including their composition and surface waves, but the signals didn’t contain enough information to distinguish between them.
now, Valerio Poggiali Poggiali and his colleagues at Cornell University in New York used a different radar technique to map the composition and surface of Titan’s oceans, revealing that the amount of ethane increases as you move south across the planet from the north pole. “The further north you go, the cleaner and purer the oceans become. They’re dominated by methane,” Poggiali says.
Previous radar measurements were made using signals sent and received at the same location on the Cassini spacecraft, which meant the reflected radio waves were polarized in one direction, or twisted.
The new study analyzed signals from Cassini’s radar that were reflected off the lake’s surface and picked up by NASA’s Deep Space Network, a radio antenna on Earth. The shallow angle of the reflected signal meant it contained two different polarized waves, giving Poggiali and his colleagues more information about the lake’s properties.
They found that many of the rivers and estuaries that feed the lake have rough surfaces caused by wind-driven waves, which could be a sign of active tides and currents feeding into the lake, Poggiali said. “Surface activity is very important if we want to plan future missions like a Titan submarine, but also to better understand Titan’s environment in terms of wind and atmospheric properties.”
Poggiali and his colleagues also found that the methane content was higher before the river flowed into the lake, which could help trace the methane and ethane cycle on Titan, Poggiali says. Ingo Muller-Wodarg “On Earth, when rivers flow into large, salty oceans, we find that the water becomes less saline near where the river flows in,” say researchers from Imperial College London. “Something similar is happening here, but it’s not the salinity that’s the problem, it’s the relative proportions of methane and ethane.”
Pebanista Yacluna About 16 million years ago, it lived in the Miocene Amazon of Peru.
The ancient dolphin was estimated to be 2.8–3.5 m (9.2–11.5 ft) long, making it the largest freshwater dolphin species. dentate (Dolphins, porpoises, and all other toothed whales) are known.
Such large sizes have also been recorded in other proto-Amazonian inhabitants (i.e. fish and crocodiles) and may be due to the greater availability of resources in the proto-Amazonian ecosystem.
“16 million years ago, the Peruvian Amazon looked very different from what it looks like today,” said Dr. Aldo Benitez Palomino, a paleontologist at the University of Zurich.
“Most of the Amazon plain was covered by large lake and swamp systems called pebas.”
“This landscape included aquatic, semi-aquatic, and terrestrial ecosystems (swamps, floodplains, etc.) and spanned what is now Colombia, Ecuador, Bolivia, Peru, and Brazil.”
“When the Pebas system began to give way to what is now the Amazon about 10 million years ago, the new habitat caused Pebanista Yaclunaprey disappears, and the giant dolphin is driven to extinction. ”
“This opened up an ecological niche that is used by relatives of today's Amazon river dolphins (genus Delphinus). inia), and with the rise of new cetaceans such as modern dolphins, they were on the brink of extinction in the oceans. ”
Pebanista Yacluna was a member of platanist ideasa group of dolphins that were common in oceans around the world from 24 million to 16 million years ago.
“We discovered that size is not the only thing to note,” said Dr. Aldo Benitez Palomino, a paleontologist at the University of Zurich and the Natural History Museum of the National University of San Marcos. Told.
“With this fossil record excavated in the Amazon, we expected to find a living relative of the Amazon river dolphin, but instead we found the Amazon river dolphin's closest relative. Pebanista Yacluna It is a river dolphin from South Asia. ”
“Pebanista Yacluna and Platanista Both share a highly developed facial crown, a specialized bone structure associated with echolocation, the ability to emit high-frequency sounds and “see” by listening to their echoes, which is useful for hunting. relies heavily on this. ”
“Echolocation and biosonar are even more important for river dolphins because the waters they live in are very murky, which impedes their vision,” said Dr. Gabriel Aguirre Fernandez, a paleontologist at the University of Zurich.
“The elongated snout with many teeth suggests that: Pebanista Yacluna Like other species of river dolphins today, they eat fish. ”
large adult skull Pebanista Yacluna It was discovered in 2018 at an exposed stratigraphic level along the Rio Napo in Loreto, Peru.
“After 20 years of research in South America, we have discovered several giant dolphins in this region, but this is the first of its kind,” said Dr. Marcelo Sánchez Vilagra, a paleontologist at the University of Zurich. .
“We were particularly intrigued by its unique and deep biogeographical history.”
team's paper Published in the Journal on March 20, 2024 scientific progress.
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Aldo Benitez Palomino other. 2024. The largest freshwater toothed whale: A relative of the South Asian river dolphin that lives in the primitive Amazon. scientific progress 10(12); doi: 10.1126/sciadv.adk6320
Artistic restoration of Pebanista Yacuruna in the murky waters of the Peruvian Amazon
Jaime Blanc
The Amazon basin was once home to freshwater dolphins that grew up to 3.5 meters long, making them the largest river dolphin known to science.
Researchers say they made this surprising discovery during a 2018 expedition to Peru Aldo Benitez Palomino at the University of Zurich, Switzerland. When the research team saw the animal's fossilized skull sticking out of the river bank, they immediately knew it was a dolphin. Closer analysis confirms that this giant skull is unlike anything previously discovered.
Researchers named this new species Pebanista Yacluna. The name pays homage to the mythical aquatic people, Yacuruna, who are believed to live in underwater cities in the Amazon basin.
The 16 million-year-old fossils were unearthed in an area that was once covered by a “very large lake, almost like a small ocean in the middle of a jungle,” Benitez Palomino said. He says, based on the small eye sockets and large teeth of ancient dolphins. P. Yacluna It was probably a predator with poor eyesight. They relied heavily on echolocation to find fish. “We realized that it was really living in muddy water because its eyes started to get smaller,” Benitez-Palomino said.
Because the fossil was found in the Amazon basin, researchers expected the fossil's closest living relative to be the modern Amazon river dolphin.Instead, they found P. Yacluna It was more closely related to the river dolphin of South Asia. Like them, this ancient species also has a raised crest on its skull that enhances its echolocation abilities.
P. Yacluna Benitez-Palomino said it may have been driven to extinction amid broader ecological changes. “About 11 to 12 million years ago, this huge wetland system began to drain, making way for what is now the Amazon. At that moment, many species became extinct, which is why this giant dolphin Maybe it was fate.”
Pertocephalus maturin Its shell length probably reaches about 1.8 meters (5.9 ft), making it one of the largest freshwater turtles ever discovered. The discovery marks the latest known occurrence of giant freshwater turtles and suggests coexistence with early humans in the Amazon.
rebuilding the life of Pertocephalus maturin. Image credit: Júlia d’Oliveira.
The newly discovered turtle species lived in what is now Brazil during the late Pleistocene, between 40,000 and 9,000 years ago.
named Pertocephalus maturinthe ancient animal may have reached a carapace length of about 1.8 meters.
Dr. Gabriel Ferreira, a paleontologist at the Senckenberg Center, said: “Freshwater turtles, in contrast to their terrestrial and marine relatives, rarely have such gigantic morphologies and are the only known species to date. “This is very surprising since the youngest giant fossils come from Miocene deposits.” Human Evolution and Paleoenvironment at the University of Tübingen.
“In the past, only a few freshwater turtles with carapace lengths exceeding 1.5 meters (4.9 feet) were known,” he added.
“Such megafauna are most recently known, mainly from the Miocene period, about 23 million to 5 million years ago.”
huge partial lower jaw Pertocephalus maturin It comes from the Rio Madeira layer.
This specimen was collected by gold miners at a site known as the Taclas Quarry in Porto Velho in the Brazilian Amazon.
Morphological and phylogenetic analyzes of this fossil revealed close kinship with modern Amazonian species and suggested an omnivorous diet.
“Pertocephalus maturin “This is the youngest known giant freshwater turtle and suggests coexistence between this ancient species and early human residents of the Amazon region,” the paleontologists said.
“People settled in the Amazon region about 12,600 years ago. We also know that large turtles have been a food source for humans since the Paleolithic period.”
“Freshwater turtles are much more difficult to catch because of their agility, but we wonder if early humans also ate them.” Pertocephalus maturin It is not yet clear whether they fell victim to human expansion along with South American megafauna. ”
“Here we need further data from late Pleistocene and early Holocene deposits in the Amazon basin,” Dr. Ferreira said.
discovery of Pertocephalus maturin is reported in paper in a diary biology letters.
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GS Ferreira other. 2024.Latest freshwater giants: new Peltocephalus (Pleurodira: Podocnemididae) A late Pleistocene turtle of the Brazilian Amazon. Biol.Let 20(3):20240010; doi: 10.1098/rsbl.2024.0010
The African manatee is one of three subspecies of these creatures. It belongs to the mammal family that also includes dugongs.
Imaginechina/Sipa US/Alamy
“This is the perfect place for manatees,” said Lucy Keith Diagne, looking out at the slow mudflow of the Niandang River. It seems unlikely, but how did this mobile aquatic mammal, also known as a sea cow, live some 4,000 kilometers up Guinea's Niger River, almost as close to the Sahara Desert and the Atlantic Ocean? Is there one? But Keith Diagne, the world's leading expert on African manatees, should know.
These chubby creatures are known to inhabit the lower reaches of the Niger River, which stretches like a gigantic boomerang through much of West Africa, and long-standing anecdotal evidence suggests that they can be found separately in the upper reaches of tributaries near its source. This suggests that there is a population of Additionally, Dr. Keith Diagne believes that because this group has been separated from other manatees for so long, its members may have evolved into separate subspecies. “They went up the Niger River. They found something good. They kept going. They never came back and ended up different,” she said. Masu. But for now, this is just a guess.
To learn more, we drove hundreds of kilometers from the marshy coast of Guinea, across the highlands and down into the forested savanna in search of these elusive creatures. Keith Diagne and his team will spend a two-week expedition interviewing local residents, following clues from recent sightings, and searching for signs of feeding along riverbanks. Importantly, they also collect samples of…
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