by Playfuls Staff |
19th October 2006
Australian scientists say the recent discovery of a fossil fish has rewritten the record of evolution of land [more] mammals.
The fossil skeleton, which is claimed to be 380 million-years-old, has been described as the missing clue in vertebrae evolution. The ancient fish was found in the Kimberley region of Western Australia by a research team led by the Museum Victoria.
The museum's head of science, John Long, told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. that the perfectly-preserved fossil illustrates the earliest phase in the transition from fish to land-dwelling animals and was a "spectacular discovery."
"Similar fish have been known for a long time, but they are mostly squashed flat on rocks," he said. "This is the first time anyone has found a complete, perfect three-dimensional specimen ... so we have the advantage of being able to study the bones in an uncrushed, undistorted state."
© 2006 UPI
