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According to a new study, the discovery of a fossilized fish could give an idea of the day an asteroid struck the Earth and erased dinosaurs from the planet 66 million years ago.
The "exquisitely preserved" fossils, some of which consist of fish with hot glass gills, were found in the Hell Creek Formation of North Dakota and would be formed after the formation of an asteroid in Mexico, causing the rain of burning debris. , according to a press release from the University of Kansas.
The fossils offer the "first detailed snapshot of the terrible moments that followed the impact of Chicxulub – the most cataclysmic event known to have hit life on Earth," the statement said.
(Robert DePalma / University of Kansas / AFP / Getty Images) This photo taken on March 29, 2019 by the University of Kansas shows a 66 million year old fish fossil, partially exposed and perfectly preserved. The site seems to date to date, 66 million years ago, when a meteor struck the Earth. , killing almost all life on the planet.The impact destroyed about 75% of the animal and plant species living on Earth at that time, including dinosaurs.
The fossilized creatures lived near a deeply chiseled river, according to the release. An influx of water precipitated within minutes of the impact probably created the "tangled mass of freshwater fish, terrestrial vertebrates, trees, branches, logs, marine ammonites, and other marine creatures. ", all of which have been preserved in a layer of rock formation discovered Robert DePalma, PhD student in geology at the University of Kansas.
The fish were killed "quite suddenly because of the violence of this water," said David Burnham, co-author of the study, a preparator of vertebrate paleontology at the Institute of Biodiversity's University of Kansas. One of the fossilized fish was broken in half after hitting a tree, Burnham said.
The discovery of these hundreds of ancient fish fossils is even more significant because fish are cartilaginous instead of bone, and less prone to fossilization, Burnham said. Scientists are also discovering new species in the fossil collection.
(Robert DePalma / University of Kansas / AFP / Getty Images) On March 29, 2019, Robert DePalma (left) of the University of Kansas and Kylie Ruble (right), field assistant, searched fossil carcasses from the Tanis deposit.The planet has been "inherited" by mammals after the impact of the asteroid, Burnham said.
"We understood that bad things happened right after the impact, but no one found this type of smoking gun evidence," he said. "People said," We understand that this blast killed the dinosaurs, but why do not we have corpses everywhere? "Well, now we have corpses, they are not dinosaurs, but I think they will eventually be found."
The study will be published Monday in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, according to the University of Kansas.
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