A new species of fossilized galeaspid
with "nine tails"
has been discovered in Guangxi Zhuang in southern China.
This is the world's first galeaspid fossil with
a well-preserved tail.
The nine tails covered in lightning-shaped scales (Xinhua - Europa Press).
According to the researchers from the Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, they named the new species of ancestral fish Foxaspis novemura.
It was so called because its caudal fin is composed of
nine fingerings covered in ray-shaped scales
, just like that of the Nine-Tailed Fox,
a mythical animal
from an ancient literature "Shan Hai Jing" (Classic of Mountains and Seas).
Its nine tails in perfect condition
The fossil specimen
fully preserves the caudal fin
in both the folded and flared states, revealing its morphological details to the greatest extent possible, according to Gai Zhikun, a research professor at the institute.
"We found that galeaspids can be active swimmers and can make good use of muscle contraction to control the contact area between the tail and the water flow, thus generating different buoyant forces," he said, quoted by Xinhua
.
The fossil specimen fully preserves the caudal fin both in the folded and flared state (Xinhua - Europa Press).
The team then analyzed the swimming speed of the geometric tail morphology and showed that
the galeaspid's cruising speed
was even faster than that of its more derived jawless and jawed relatives.
The researchers published the results of their study in the
National Science Review.
Europa Press.
look also
He is a musician, a youtuber... and a sperm donor: he already has 550 children
look also
She married a rag doll and claims she's "pregnant" with him
look also
The mystery of living stones: they grow, reproduce and breathe
GML
