A groundbreaking study published in the journal PLOS ONE has revealed the significant impact that exceptional fossil sites, known as lagerstätten, have on our understanding of the evolutionary relationships between various fossil groups.
This research, for the first time, quantifies the influence these remarkable sites have on piecing together the history of life on Earth.
Among the most astonishing findings is the pivotal role of the Late Cretaceous Gobi Desert in shaping our understanding of lizard evolution.
This desert, more commonly associated with the discovery of the Velociraptor, holds a treasure trove of fossilized lizards that are both incredibly diverse and exceptionally well-preserved.
These findings underscore the Gobi Desert’s profound effect on our comprehension of ancient and contemporary life.
Dr. Hank Woolley, the study’s lead author and a Postdoctoral Research Fellow at the Dinosaur Institute, expressed enthusiasm over the Gobi Desert deposits.
According to Woolley, the diversity and exceptional preservation of lizard skeletons from this era provide a unique snapshot of biodiversity that greatly aids in constructing the squamate Tree of Life.
Squamates, a reptile group that includes lizards, snakes, and mosasaurs, are particularly well-represented in these deposits, offering a rich source of data for understanding their evolutionary history.
The completeness of these fossils is key to tracing the lineage and relationships of different species over time.
The more complete a skeleton, the more traits can be observed and compared, providing valuable phylogenetic data that contribute to the broader Tree of Life.
However, Woolley also cautioned about the potential bias exceptional preservation sites can introduce. While they offer a detailed view of biodiversity at a specific time and place, they may not accurately reflect global patterns across different periods.
To assess the impact of lagerstätten on evolutionary studies, Woolley and his team analyzed published records of over 1,300 species, including non-avian theropod dinosaurs, Mesozoic birds, and fossil squamates.
Their findings highlighted the unique contribution of the Gobi Desert’s squamate fossils to our understanding of their evolution, despite the desert’s arid and sandy conditions—environments not typically associated with traditional lagerstätten, which are often characterized by marine, lagoon, or lake deposits.
This study bridges the gap between phylogenetics, the study of evolutionary relationships, and taphonomy, the study of how organisms decay and become fossilized.
By doing so, it opens new avenues for incorporating the vast diversity of Earth’s extinct biodiversity into our understanding of life’s history.
The discovery challenges preconceived notions about fossil preservation and highlights the importance of diverse depositional environments in the fossil record.
As researchers continue to explore these intersections within paleontology, our picture of the past becomes increasingly detailed, offering more clues to the intricate web of life that has shaped our planet over billions of years.
The research findings can be found in PLOS ONE.
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