A fossil site in Wales has revealed incredible finds from 462 million years ago, including preserved eyes and brains of very different creatures among a host of species unknown to science. Published in the scientific journal Nature Ecology, the study on the fossil deposit describes findings from the site called Castle Bank.
There, a true treasure is preserved, composed of creatures with soft bodies and organs, which hardly survive the fossilization process. The richness of the place has led to comparisons with other prolific sites such as the Burgess Shale in Canada and the Qingjiang biota in China. Castle Bank, however, is 50 million years younger, and gives scientists a unique glimpse into an era that supported life with soft, diverse structures — the Ordovician Period (485.3 to 443.8 million years ago).
New and old species
According to scientists’ reports, more than 170 species of creatures were found at the site, most of which are still unknown. Among them, there are curious examples from the late Cambrian period, such as the bizarre opabinids (Obabinia), aquatic beings resembling arthropods, but sporting a proboscis with teeth at the end.
There are also early examples of animals that evolved into current species, such as barnacles, shrimp, and unidentified critters, such as a 6-legged insect-like creature, and remnants of eyes and brains. Other known but now extinct animals were also present, such as the fossilized digestive system of trilobites, as well as whole worms and sponges.
Excited, the researchers say they find something new every time they visit the site again. It is believed that it will take decades to untangle all the knowledge provided by the site. The exact location, by the way, is kept secret by request of the owner, only being described as “a small quarry in a field of sheep”.
The pair of scientists responsible – Joseph Botting and Lucy Muir – discovered the site in 2020, during isolation by covid-19, and spent more than 100 days studying it. As they are independent researchers, they had to use collective funding to acquire the necessary equipment for the study, such as a microscope to check details — some of the fossils are only 3 millimeters long. Later, an international team of researchers joined them to complete the survey.
The preserved environment of Castle Bank may have been a nursery for younger animals, according to one of the theories raised by the research, since there are only juvenile examples of the most common trilobites (Ogyginus corndensis), but the reduced size raises another interesting possibility: that it would be a characteristic of the local community, since its miniaturization is “impressive”, in the words of the scientists.
Source: Nature Ecology and Evolution
