This 245-million-year-old fossil still has its stomach and intestines
Paleontologists have discovered a 245-million-year-old marine reptile fossil in China that contains a remarkably preserved digestive system. The specimen, Austronaga minuta, provides rare insight into the anatomy and swimming adaptations of early archosaur relatives.
Why it matters
This discovery is significant for evolutionary biology as it is the oldest known example of a largely complete digestive system preserved in a reptile, offering clues about ancient marine ecosystems.
A remarkably preserved fossil from China is giving scientists an unusually detailed look inside a marine reptile that lived about 245 million years ago.
Researchers from China, Europe, and the USA, including Dr. Stephan Spiekman, a paleontologist at the State Museum of Natural History Stuttgart and the University of Hohenheim, have described an exceptional specimen of the long-necked marine reptile Austronaga minuta . Although its ancestors lived on land, Austronaga had already developed sophisticated adaptations for life in the water by the Middle Triassic.
The fossil is nearly complete and preserves not only most of the animal's skeleton, but also large portions of its digestive system. Using modern analytical techniques, researchers identified several internal organs, including the stomach, liver and intestines. It is the oldest known example of a largely complete digestive system preserved in a reptile.
The findings have been published in Science Advances .
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