SHIJIAZHUANG: A fossil of an extinct lamprey that can date back 134 million years, was found in Chengde, a city in north China’s Hebei Province, according to the provincial department of natural resources on Thursday.
The fossil was later identified as the extinct species Mesomyzon mengae Chang by Zhang Jiangyong, a researcher from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology, the Chinese Academy of Sciences.
This discovery, made in Fengning Manchu Autonomous County, marks the first time such a lamprey species has been unearthed in Hebei. It indicates that Mesomyzon mengae Chang had a broader geographical distribution, extending beyond Inner Mongolia and the western part of Liaoning to include the northern part of Hebei.
Mesomyzon mengae Chang fossils are reportedly extremely precious due to the absence of hard bones and scales. It was once considered the only known jawless fossil since the Mesozoic era.
Earlier, An international team of scientists discovered fossils of a 16-foot-long aquatic reptile from the Triassic Period of China dating to around 240 million years old.
The snake-like Dinocephalosaurus orientalis boasts 32 separate neck vertebrae — an extremely long neck — and flippered limbs. The fossil also features “exquisitely preserved fishes in its stomach region,” according to National Museums Scotland.
The fossil bears “superficial similarities” but is not related to the famous long-necked plesiosaurs, which only evolved around 40 million years later and inspired the myth of the Loch Ness Monster.
“This discovery allows us to see this remarkable long-necked animal in full for the very first time,” Nick Fraser, keeper of natural sciences at National Museums Scotland, said in a statement. “It is yet one more example of the weird and wonderful world of the Triassic that continues to baffle paleontologists. –Agencies
