As of: February 20, 2024, 11:52 a.m
By: Julia Volkenand
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A find from the Alps in Trentino has now turned out to be a fake.
© IMAGO/imageBROKER/alimdi / Arterra / Philippe Clément
The mystery surrounding one of the most famous Alpine fossils has been solved.
But the truth is less spectacular than hoped.
Trentino - With an estimated age of 280 million years, the Tridentinosaurus antiquus was one of the most important discoveries made by paleontologists in the Alps.
The reptile, whose fossils were found near the Stramaiolo Formation in Trentino, Italy, is remarkably well preserved and clearly visible.
It was considered one of the oldest fossils with preserved soft tissues.
But the spectacular discovery made in 1931 may now be seen in a different light.
It turns out that the fossil is at least partially fake.
A group of researchers from the University of Cork in Ireland came to this conclusion in a study published in the journal Palaeontology.
Ancient Alpine fossil probably partly faked - disappointment for researchers
The images of the fossil clearly show that it stands out darkly from the surrounding lighter rock.
This color distinction has previously been interpreted as preserved soft tissue, such as skin, muscles, blood vessels and the like.
But the Cork experts concluded that Tridentinosaurus antiquus was a relief fossil that had been covered in black paint.
Dr.
Valentina Rossi and her team examined the fossil more closely, for example with microscopes, and found that the dark discolorations did not correspond to fossilized soft tissue.
Additionally, UV examinations showed that the fossil was coated with a layer.
This is not unusual, as in the past fossils were often prepared with varnish to make them more durable for exhibitions, for example.
But in contrast to authentic pieces, there was no evidence of real soft tissue fossilization under the paint layer.
“Fossil soft tissues are rare, but when found in a fossil they can provide important biological information such as external color, internal anatomy and physiology,” explains Dr.
Rossi in a report from University College Cork.
The researchers answer the question of why the fake remained undetected for so long by saying that the fossil was never thoroughly examined, although it has been discussed in specialist circles for over 90 years.
For years, scientists puzzled over what type of reptile the unusually well-preserved fossil could belong to.
Prof. Evelyn Kustatscher, co-author of the study, puts it in a nutshell: “Now everything makes sense.
What has been described as petrified skin is just paint.”
Despite everything, parts of the reptile are authentic.
The bones behind the paint layer are obviously real fossils, even if some of them are poorly preserved.
Fossil discoveries continue to lead to new insights, such as the case of a 244-million-year-old fish that caused a sensation in Lower Saxony.
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