LabRatKing Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 https://phys.org/news/2020-11-paleontologists-identical-evolution-isolated.html Paleontologists at Friedrich-Alexander-Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg (FAU) and the University of Calgary in Canada have provided new proof of parallel evolution: conodonts, early vertebrates from the Permian period, adapted to new habitats in almost identical ways despite living in different geographical regions. The researchers were able to prove that this was the case using fossil teeth found in different geographical locations. A scanning electron microscope image of a dental platform element from the Conodont genus Sweetognathus, collected in Wyoming, USA. This specimen is between 293.7 and 294.9 years old. Credit: David Terrill, Charles Henderson Not going to lie...I misread the genus as "sweathog" 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Missourian Posted November 23, 2020 Share Posted November 23, 2020 Interesting read. Although the researchers state that we have good knowledge of tectonics over the history of the Earth, can they rule out the possibility that these marine environments were completely isolated from each other, especially considering the lengthy time period covered in the studied conodonts? One possibility is that Pangaea extended well into cold-water latitudes and precluded the movement of various organisms between various warm-water environments. Still, we don't know enough about conodont biology and the details of Permian geography to be sure. One undetectable Bosporus-like seaway could have allowed for migration of a cosmopolitan organism such as a conodont, and could 'contaminate' any potential indication of parallel evolution. 1 Context is critical. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now