Foreign Media: A research team led by Chinese scientists analyzed a fossil specimen dating back approximately 240 million years, discovering well-preserved soft tissue structures—including the stomach, liver, and intestines—of the oldest known reptile to date.
The remarkably complete skeletal fossil exhibits highly specialized anatomical features indicating an aquatic lifestyle, suggesting that the dispersal of archosauriforms into marine environments may have occurred earlier and across a broader range than previously believed by the academic community. This "Austronaga minuta" fossil from the Early Triassic period offers a "rare opportunity" to study how Triassic reptiles accomplished the pivotal evolutionary transition from land to sea.
In a paper published this Thursday in the peer-reviewed journal Science Advances, the research team led by the Chinese Academy of Sciences stated: "We report a well-preserved Triassic reptile fossil representing the earliest known archosauriform with clearly defined aquatic adaptations, and it preserves the oldest known reptilian stomach, liver, and intestinal tissues to date."
According to the introduction, archosaurs are a major group of reptiles that include birds, dinosaurs, crocodiles, and their extinct close relatives; while "archosauriforms" refer to extinct groups of reptiles closely related to archosaurs in the evolutionary lineage.
Original article: toutiao.com/article/1872135211650112/
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