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Fossil site in Massachusetts reveals 320-million-year-old ecosystem

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2024-09-28 18:00:06

This article has been reviewed according to Science X's editorial process and policies. Editors have highlighted the following attributes while ensuring the content's credibility:

Researchers have discovered an exceptionally preserved fossil site in Massachusetts that provides a rare glimpse into terrestrial life from over 300 million years ago. The findings, published in Nature Communications, reveal a diverse ecosystem of early land-dwelling animals and plants from a time period that has been poorly understood.

The fossil site, called Lantern North, dates to approximately 320–318 million years ago during the early Pennsylvanian period and is located in the Wamsutta Formation of eastern North America. This predates many well-known fossil sites from the Coal Age. Researchers uncovered body and trace fossils of over 130 different species, including early reptiles, amphibians, arachnids, insects, and an array of plant fossils. Many represent some of the oldest known examples of their groups.

The site preserves not just body fossils, but also footprints, burrows, and other trace fossils that provide insight into animal behaviors and interactions. Evidence was also found of some of the earliest known insect behaviors, including oviposition (egg-laying) and plant galling. This pushes back the fossil record for these activities by millions of years.