Gliding lizard fossil in recent years caused widespread concern in western Liaoning, Jehol Biota a major new discovery in the world, is up to 200 million years of evolution lizard history, currently only able to glide fossil species. This ancient gliding lizard fossil was named "Zhao Xianglong" is Chinese scientists working in the field of western Liaoning found.
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20, the reporter learned from the Shenyang Normal University, has attracted enormous attention in western Liaoning, Jehol Biota has a new major discovery in the world, experts discovered an ancient gliding lizard fossils. At the same time may prove more similar to western Liaoning in the early Cretaceous in southern China and Southeast Asia with the climate, tropical jungle regions; paleontological research also shows Shenyang Normal University has reached a new level.
130 million years ago, will be gliding lizard Xianglong named Zhao
This life dating back about 130 million years ago in the jungle lizard should have a strong ability to adapt, both to climb in the woods, it can fly in the air gliding. This fossil is a lizard up to two hundred million years of evolutionary history, the only gliding fossil species. This ancient gliding lizard named Zhao Xianglong (xianglong zhaoi), thanks to the great efforts and contributions to Shenyang Normal University Professor Zhao Dayu paleontological research on the promotion of the school made.
According to experts, gliding motion is a very economical way, is often considered the prototype of the flight. Among vertebrates, there are many groups have evolved the ability to glide, among mammals such as flying squirrels and a frog among amphibians. Gliding flight organ morphology of these diverse animals, such as flying frog with webbed toes to glide expanding, flying squirrels are connected to the body with the skin on both sides of the film expanded into a hind wing between the front to glide in the air. Found in Jehol Biota Zhao Xianglong and life is very similar to flying lizards in Southeast Asia and southern China, the wing membrane is elongated ribs on both sides by the body to support formation. Interestingly, this structure on life on Earth two hundred million years ago in North America and Europe, a kind of lizard ancestor's body also appeared. In different groups apart so long recurring same flight structures aroused great interest of scholars. Shenyang Normal University scholars would call it a very strange phenomenon of convergent evolution. Convergent evolution refers to the different origins of biological evolution in order to adapt to an environment similar to a similar organ structure. The findings for the study of Zhao Xianglong provides an illustration of this phenomenon. Shenyang Normal University, experts and scholars in the hope of future work, using molecular biology, developmental uncover the mechanisms of evolution, which will further deepen our understanding of the kind of gliding animals.
Western Liaoning Province was a tropical jungle
Zhao Xianglong found not only in the formation and ecological diversity of Early Cretaceous of western Liaoning Province has a biological significance, indicating that in the early Cretaceous in western Liaoning Province in southern China and Southeast Asia may be associated with the climate is similar to the area, a tropical jungle regions; while paleontological studies also indicate Shenyang Normal University has reached a new level.
Recently, Shenyang Normal University has received notification United States, "National Academy of Sciences," the editorial department, the school completed "Early Cretaceous of China gliding lizard" research papers will be published in the magazine. Because of the importance and attractiveness of the research results to the public, this paper will serve as the "National Academy of Sciences" of the highlights of the research paper, published in the weekly news column hospital to be a special presentation. United States' National Academy of Sciences "is the world's leading integrated class scientific journals, has an important impact on the scientific community.
Institute of Paleontology, Shenyang Normal University in the Liaoning provincial government and the Provincial Department and other departments of the attention, support and assistance in the Chinese Academy of Sciences and other research institutions at home and abroad, the fossils in the Jehol Biota completed a number of aspects of investigation, excavation, restoration research work, has made remarkable achievements, previously has published many papers on the "Geology", "Journal of Paleontology," "World Geology" and other domestic and foreign academic journals.
Today, the paper U.S. "National Academy of Sciences" to be published, and also marks the Liaoning Province paleontological research has entered a new era. With the deepening of research work, will effectively promote the development and construction of the Liaoning Provincial Museum of Paleontology, demonstrating with regional characteristics, world-renowned "Jehol Biota" paleontological resources, and thus enrich the cultural construction of Liaoning Province. |
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