Fossil of 210 million-year-old lungfish that predates dinosaurs discovered

210-million-year-old fossilized remains of a lungfish species have been unearthed in Zimbabwe.

This was the time when continents were all joined and dinosaurs began to emerge during the

Triassic period. These early dinosaurs were small, bipedal predators; but they were not the dominant creatures of the time.

Paleontologists at the Natural History Museum recognized the remnants as belonging to a new lungfish species — named Ferganoceratodus edwardsi .

The fossil suggests that many lungfish — once thought to be distant relatives — are actually much more closely related.

Steve Edwards, a safari guide and amateur fossil hunter from northern Zimbabwe, was honored for his achievements by having the fossil species named after him.

“Steve is an important force for palaeontology, having discovered several Late Triassic sites in southern Africa,” said Professor Paul Barrett, the co-author of the research.

Lungfish are living fossil

For centuries, scientists have been fascinated with lungfish, an extraordinary freshwater fish.

Surprisingly, Lungfish species have survived for 420 million years. Even the earliest lungfish species share striking similarities with today’s lungfish, making them prime examples of ‘living fossils.’

As the closest living relatives to land-dwelling, four-limb animals, they offer invaluable clues about the evolution of amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals.

Lungfish stand out from other fish due to their unique ability to breathe air. Their swim bladders have evolved into lungs, allowing them to survive in oxygen-poor environments across Africa, South America, and Australia.

“Lungfish have a fairly paradoxical fossil record. Generally, we expect there to be fewer fossils as we go back in time, but it’s the other way around for lungfish,” said Barrett.

“Most of the preserved specimens come at the start of their evolution, when we find many different lungfish species with well-preserved skeletons. However, in the Mesozoic Era between 252 and 66 million years ago, we only find teeth and the occasional skull,” added Barrett.

Discovery of teeth plates

Isolated lungfish tooth plates were unearthed from the Upper Triassic Pebbly Arkose Formation of the Mid-Zambezi Basin, Zimbabwe. This site is popularly referred to as ‘The Dentist’ since multiple fossilized teeth of prehistoric species were discovered there.

The fossils included teeth plates, which are identical to those used by modern lungfish to crush a variety of shellfish, crabs, and other aquatic creatures.

Because of their high mineral content, the tooth plates are better preserved as fossils than the rest of the lungfish’s cartilaginous body. That’s why, paleontologists often rely mostly on these plates for species identification.

“By comparing the tooth plates from a variety of genera, we found that they’re often very similar,” added Barrett. “While we’re confident that the fossils indicate many different species of lungfish, we think that they all belong to the same group of close relatives, known as a genus.”

The evidence suggests that Ferganoceratodus species first emerged in the southern supercontinent Gondwana during the Early Triassic. Thereafter, the species migrated and spread across Africa and South America later in the same period.

“Their fossil record then becomes more sporadic in the rest of the Mesozoic, although they seem to have spread all over the world, with the last fossils found in the Late Cretaceous,” Barrett noted in the press release.

The findings were published in the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology.