The Discovery of a Golden Fossil
All that glitters is not gold. But in the world of fossil discovery, a golden glitter is plenty of cause for celebration − even if it’s not real.
That was the case for Luke Parry, a paleobiology professor at Oxford University, who this week announced he’d unearthed a fossil in New York state that is perfectly and beautifully preserved in pyrite − otherwise known as fool’s gold − giving it a sparkling golden color.
In a report published Tuesday in the journal Current Biology, Parry and a team of researchers announced the fossil is a previously unknown species of arthropod − a category that includes spiders and insects − dating back 450 million years ago to the Ordovician Period (485-443 million years ago).
A Glimpse into the Past
“There are more species of arthropod alive than any other group of animals, and this fossil tells us what these animals looked like almost half a billion years ago in amazing detail,” Parry told USA TODAY on Wednesday.
The fossil was first scanned by Parry in 2019 and highlights how arthropods continued to evolve during a time when scientists previously believed them to be extinct, Oxford University said in a news release. Until recently, scientists thought arthropods flourished during the Cambrian Period (538-485 million years ago), which came before the period in which the specimen found by Parry’s team was fossilized, according to Oxford University.
Preservation in Fool’s Gold
The pyrite that fossilized the specimen, named Lomankus edgecombei, “preserves critical evidence of the evolution of life in the oceans 450 million years ago,” said co-author Derek Briggs in a news release.
The heavy density of pyrite also means the fool’s gold material thoroughly filled in tiny areas where the arthropod’s body once lay in sediment − including internal body parts, scientists said.
“These fossils are spectacularly preserved. They look as if they could just get up and scuttle away,” Parry said. “It’s amazing that these fossils exist at all,” he added.
Additional Insight:
By discovering a fossil preserved in fool’s gold, researchers like Luke Parry are shedding new light on the evolution of arthropods and challenging previous beliefs about their extinction timelines. The detailed preservation of the specimen not only provides a glimpse into ancient marine life but also emphasizes the importance of unconventional preservation methods in paleontological research.
