Second place in the world! Jaw fish fossils found 423 million years ago in Chongqing

On June 19, the international authoritative academic journal Current Biology (SCI included journal, impact factor 9.6) reported a new genus and species of jaw fish, pocket border fish, from Xiushan County, Chongqing about 423 million years ago.

The research was jointly completed by Chongqing Municipal Bureau of planning and natural resources, Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, Chinese Academy of Sciences and Qujing Normal University. It represents a major breakthrough in the investigation and research of Silurian fish fossils in Xiushan, Chongqing. It is a major original scientific research achievement in the field of exploration and discovery of the origin of life.

Research map of △ Biancheng fish

In this major discovery, the first fully preserved jaw fish, the pocket border fish, was found in Xiushan County about 423 million years ago, making Chongqing one of the few areas in the world where complete Silurian jaw fish have been found.

Research shows that this new fish is closely related to the origin of modern jaw vertebrates. The jaw bones of Biancheng fish represent a new transitional state between the jaw bones and teeth of modern fish and those of primitive pelagic fish, which provides important fossil evidence for the origin and evolution of jaw bones and teeth of modern jaw like animals including us.

Micro photography of fish in border city

The Paleovertebrate fossils with clear location and horizon records in Chongqing are reptiles (dinosaurs, turtles) and fish fossils of Early Jurassic about 200 million years ago. The Silurian fish fossil fauna discovered in Xiushan for the first time has a wide range of distribution, large age span, rich species, high scientific research value and development and utilization potential, which has pushed forward the distribution history of ancient vertebrate fossils in the primary strata of Chongqing for at least 200 million years.

Front side restoration of fish in border town

Fish bearing strata in Xiushan County of Chongqing span the whole Silurian system. The Early Silurian strata (Rongxi formation) about 430 million years ago are the earliest strata containing jaw fish fossils in China, at least 10 million years earlier than the Xiaoxiang fauna in Qujing, Yunnan. The discovery of Early Silurian jaw fish fossils in Xiushan is a new breakthrough in the history of vertebrate evolution research. It provides unique and important empirical data for the early evolution research of jaw fish, and will fill some key gaps in the "from fish to human" evolution pedigree.