A fossil found 80 years ago upsets evolution knowledge
He had taken a fossil over 80 years ago, and his discovery has just rewritten a part of evolutionary history. It is the account of Louis Grauvogel, an Alsatian naturalist who had found in 1939 the fossil of a reptile like the others, 247 million years old, dating from the time of the Middle Triassic.
To find out more, they decided to call on Dr Stephan Spiekman, paleontologist specializing in the evolution of the reptiles of the Triassic. And what he will discover will forever change understanding of the evolution of reptiles.
Tip technologies to describe this reptile
After more than three years of work on this reptile Mirasaura Grauvogeli, or “wonderful reptile”, as Louis Grauvogel called him, Stephan Spiekman and his research team published the results on July 23 in the journal Nature. Thanks to new technologies and synchrotron in Grenoble, a cutting -edge scientific research center, they were able to describe the physiognomy of this reptile.
The latter, which measures about 30 centimeters long, has a narrow muzzle and is almost devoid of teeth, large orbits, a curved skull close to that of a bird with a reptile body, and therefore a “Distinctive crest formed of elongated integumentary appendages extending in series along its back”as researchers write. This crest contains “melanosomes”, organelles, the shape of which resembles those present in the feathers but not with those of the skin of reptiles or the hairs of mammals.
Although there are similarities to birds, Mirasaura Grauvogeli is not related to modern birds or dinosaurs, but belongs to an extinguished group called Drepanosauromorpha. This would therefore show that the integumentary appendages would have appeared earlier and in more lines than what specialists have thought so far. “The fact that we have discovered such complex skin appendages in a group of reptiles as old as a new day enlightens their evolution”said Dr. Stephan Spiekman.
The incredible collection of Louis Grauvogel
The fossil collected by Louis Grauvogel therefore made it possible to advance the understanding of the evolution of certain species. According to his daughter, the naturalist thought that this reptile possessed “A fish fin or an insect wing”.
It is not the only memory of the Alsatian present in a museum. Indeed, Latest news from Alsace We learn that his butterfly collection has been kept at the Strasbourg Zoological Museum since 1986. His herbarium was given at the University of Strasbourg a dozen years ago, while his thousands of fossils remained stored on the Ringendorf family farm, acquired in 1974 to keep them.
Other collections, such as those of ferns, conifers, molluscs or insects, today even consulted by researchers from around the world, have been preserved thanks to Léa Grauvogel-Stamm, who became a paleontologist at CNRS in Strasbourg to honor the work of his father.
Source: Latest news from Alsace
With an unwavering passion for local news, Christopher leads our editorial team with integrity and dedication. With over 20 years’ experience, he is the backbone of Wouldsayso, ensuring that we stay true to our mission to inform.
