Discovered 20,000 ancient fossil creatures

Scientists have discovered nearly 20,000 fossils belonging to ancient aquatic species buried under a mountain in China.

Archaeological site in the mountains of Luoping in Yunnan Province, China. (Photo: Daily Mail).

A group of paleontologists from the University of Bristol (UK) and scientists from Chengdu Geological Center (China) conducted an excavation of an archaeological site in the mountains of Luoping in Yunnan and Central provinces. National.

Dr. Shixue Hu, a member of the research team, said on the Daily Mail: ' It took us three years to excavate this large area. But perhaps, it will take us at least another 10 years to study and analyze thousands of fossil samples we have just discovered . '

The entire skeleton of ancient organisms including predators like saurichthys was discovered. (Photo: Daily Mail).

Scientists have found nearly 20,000 fossils of creatures at the Luoping Archaeological Site, including fossils of crustaceans, sea urchins, aquatic predators, and giant plants. . These fossils are estimated to be around 250 million years old, at the end of the Permian.

The largest fossil found in the Luoping excavation site is the thalattosaur , a 10-meter long underwater reptile. In addition, scientists also discovered fossils of fish lizards that are similar to today's dolphins.

The fossil of a fearsome fish lizard - one of the largest and oldest marine predators. (Photo: Daily Mail).

Half of the fossils were found to be quite intact because they were not destroyed by bacteria. This is extremely important because it helps scientists better understand the great extinction in the Permian period.

According to previous scientific studies, a major extinction of species has occurred at the end of the Permian, about 250 million years ago, when massive volcanoes on Earth erupted violently, causing the climate. Global warming suddenly. After this mutation event, only 1/10 species of organisms survived.

Dr Michael Benton, a paleontologist at Bristol University, said the new discovery also helps scientists better understand the recovery and development of ecosystems on Earth after the greatest extinction. in the calendar at the end of the Permian.