Scientists discover "cosmic pearls" over 3 million years old

The researchers found something odd in a fossilized oyster in Miami, represented by dozens of small glbad beads, not exceeding a few millimeters.

Clams, which have been found in a quarry in Sarasota, Florida, may contain undiscovered meteorite remains dating back 3 million years, researchers said.

A new discovery study suggests that these pearl granules, known as microtektites, were formed when molten debris was recovered from a meteorite and recaptured after pbading through the Earth's atmosphere.

The research team discovered microtektites, while examining the sediments deposited in fossil fossil oysters.

These particles are usually produced from volcanic or industrial activities, but in this case this is not the case because the fossilized specimens have no volcanic effect, are not close to them. 39; no volcanic sources and are not artificial because of them There are between 5 million and 12,000 years long before the emergence of the industry.

According to the researchers, these formations would likely be the remains of one or more meteorites, appeared millions of years ago near Florida.

Clams (a mollusc-dwelling shellfish characterized by conical shells) are known to be good sources of old materials because they close their shells and protect their contents over the years from sediment accumulation.

"Among oysters of this type, we can find a whole crab, sometimes fish skeletons," said Roger Portill, director of scientific collections on invertebrate fossils at the Florida Museum of Natural History.

Contrary to expectations, the samples contained large amounts of sodium, a substance usually lost during combustion in the atmosphere, which the researchers found interesting.

The research team still has a lot to do with small microtektites. The researchers say they found the samples in four different layers of the quarry, each linked to a different period of time.

Source: Daily Mail

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