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scientist inChinahave unearthed two superbly preserved , 160 million - year - old lamprey eel fossils — including the largest find to date — beam a twinkle on this group ’s unsung evolutionary chronicle .
lamper eel are one of two living jawless vertebrate groups that first appear in the fossil record around 360 million year ago , during theDevonian period(419.2 million to 358.9 million year ago ) . These ancient Pisces , including 31 species animated today , typically have teeth - fill up sucker mouthpiece that they use to latch onto prey to extract blood and other body fluids .
These Jurassic lampreys have the most powerful “biting structures” among known fossil lampreys and suggest an ancestral flesh-eating habit of living lampreys.
The new key fossil appointment to theJurassic period(201.3 million to 145 million days ago ) and bridge over a col between early fossil discovery and extant lineages . Researchers unearth the specimen from a fogey bed in northeastern China and constitute themYanliaomyzon occisorandY. ingensdentes — their mintage name calling meaning " killer " in Latin and " large teeth " in Greek , respectively .
" These fossil lampreys were exquisitely preserved with a complete suite of feeding social structure , " researchers wrote in a study published Tuesday ( Oct. 31 ) in the journalNature Communications .
look at early fossil , it has long been percipient that lamper eel have undergone major changes since the Devonian , the generator wrote . But until now , huge gaps in the fossil record mean scientists did n’t know when these changes occurred .
A Jurassic lampreyYanliaomyzonwith feeding apparatus that surprisingly resembles that of pouched lampreys (Geotria australis).
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Y. occisor , the larger of the two newfound fossils , measure 25.3 inch ( 64.2 centimeters ) long and is the big lamprey fossil ever observe , according to the survey .
Living lamprey species can get much big than this , however ; sea lampreys ( Petromyzon marinus ) grow up to 4 feet ( 120 cm ) long , andPacific lampreys(Entosphenus tridentatus ) contact up to 2.8 base ( 85 cm ) .
The earliest lampreys , on the other script , were only a few inch long . They had tiny , simple teeth and likely no anticoagulant - bring forth glands , which their modern counterparts habituate to keep their prey ’s origin flowing . The mouthpart of these early lampreys indicate they were n’t predatory or even epenthetic , the authors wrote , but alternatively fed on algae . " Their eating opportunities were rather limited because the immense bulk of their possible hosts then all had buddy-buddy scales or armor " that they would not have been capable to get through , the researchers total .
The newly described fogey showed " extensively jagged " back talk , suggesting lamper eel were preying on other animals at least 160 million years ago , fit in to the study . The mouthparts ofY. occisorandY. ingensdentesalso bear a striking resemblance to those of extant protrude lampreys ( Geotria australis ) , pointing to " an patrimonial flesh - corrode drug abuse for forward-looking lampreys , " the authors wrote . This predatory lifestyle probably led to an step-up in lampreys ' body sizing by the Jurassic period , they added .
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Lampreys also undergo major changes in their life history between the Devonian and the Jurassic , agree to the study . The declamatory size of it ofY. occisorin particular is similar to subsequent species that evolve a three - staged life cycle — incorporate a larval , metamorphic and adult phase — indicate it may also have a triphasic cycle and transmigrate up river to spawn .
The discovery fills a opening in the evolutionary history of lamprey , throw light both on changes in the fishes ' feeding habits and on the modernization of their biography history during the Jurassic period , harmonize to the study .
" This history can be divided into two episodes linked by the Jurassic coinage , " the authors write .
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