ミャンマー産の1億年前の琥珀から、新種の昆虫が発見された。このカメムシの仲間は、カニのハサミに似た大きな爪を持つ独特な前脚を備えている。研究チームは、K-POPグループのStray Kidsにちなんで「Carcinonepa libererrantes」と命名した。
ミュンヘン大学の研究者らが主導した今回の研究では、ミャンマーのカチン州で採掘された化石が調査対象となった。研究チームはマイクロCTスキャンを用いて、この昆虫の解剖学的構造を詳細な3D画像として再現した。また、現存種および絶滅種を含む2000以上の類似構造と、この爪の比較分析を行った。
Researchers have identified a 500-million-year-old fossil from Utah as Megachelicerax cousteaui, the earliest known chelicerate and relative of spiders, scorpions and horseshoe crabs. The discovery, detailed in a Nature study, extends the group's evolutionary history by 20 million years to the Cambrian period. A tiny claw uncovered during preparation confirmed its significance.
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More than 700 fossils from the Jiangchuan Biota in Yunnan Province, southwest China, dating 554-539 million years ago in the late Ediacaran, include early relatives of starfish, acorn worms, deuterostomes, and other bilaterians. Led by Dr. Gaorong Li of Yunnan University, the discovery—after nearly a decade of fieldwork—challenges the suddenness of the Cambrian explosion by showing diverse animal communities predated it. The results, published in Science (DOI: 10.1126/science.adu2291), feature exceptionally preserved carbonaceous films revealing fine details like digestive systems.
Researchers have identified a massive new species of long-necked dinosaur in Thailand that ranks as the largest ever found in Southeast Asia. The discovery adds to the growing list of prehistoric finds in the region.
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Small fossils of Liaoningosaurus paradoxus, once thought to represent a miniature species of armored dinosaur, have been confirmed as juveniles, including some less than a year old and a possible hatchling. Researchers analyzed bone growth patterns to reach this conclusion, challenging earlier ideas about the animal's size and lifestyle. The discovery provides insights into early development of ankylosaurs.