In the unfathomable river of time, fossils have become silent recorders of history. Unlike common dinosaur fossils, the Guanling region of Guizhou has revealed a fascinating fossil – turtle fossils. This mysterious discovery has solved the mystery of the evolution of the ancient turtle and amazed international experts. What kind of fossil is this?And how did you solve the mystery of science?Let's have a hard time.
For most people, turtles are commonplace amphibians, with stiff dorsal and ventral carapaces. There are many species of Chinese grass turtles, Chinese flower turtles, money turtles, snapping turtles, etc., which are widely distributed. However, turtles are one of the oldest living reptiles, dating back 2-300 million years, and their long evolutionary history has given birth to a diverse variety of species.
In particular, if you ask if a turtle has teeth, probably 80% of them will answer yes. But in fact, turtles are toothless. The mouth of a turtle is similar to that of a bird, and it is made up of beaks, which are hard with raised upper and lower jaws, which have the function of crushing food, but are not real teeth. This peculiar phenomenon is so puzzling that paleontologists have long wondered why turtles also have beaks. After years of research, experts have finally revealed the mystery.
As we all know, biological evolution is mainly divided into two situations: gradual change and mutation. Gradual change is the core of Darwinian evolutionary research, emphasizing that small and slow changes lead to the evolution and differentiation of organisms under the accumulation of time, that is, "quantitative change causes qualitative change". On the other hand, mutations, also known as genetic mutations, are chromosomal mutations in biological genes due to environmental influences, resulting in abnormal changes. In the process of biological evolution, gradual changes predominate, while mutations rarely occur.
What puzzles experts is whether the evolution of turtles is gradual or abruptDid turtles have no teeth in the first place?In order to answer these questions, it is necessary to rely on the definitive evidence of fossils. In 2008, a piece was found in the Guanling area of Guizhou Province, about 2A 200-million-year-old turtle fossil that was confirmed by experts to have teeth, but had nails on the abdomen and no nails on the back. This suggests that early turtles did have teeth, but it remains unclear whether the evolution of turtles was gradual or mutated.
Over time, paleontologists have continued to do their research. In 2015, Prof. Li's research group from the Institute of Paleontology went to Guanling, Guizhou Province to find more turtle fossils to study the evolution of turtles. The Guanling area is steep in mountains, with an average altitude of more than 900 meters, and according to fossils and geological structures, it was once an ocean hundreds of millions of years ago, so there is a high probability of turtle fossils. The experts traversed the mountains, sparing not a single piece of exposed rock, and eventually found fossil traces in a marine marl.
After careful cleaning, experts excavated a rock containing fossils, and after studying, they confirmed that it was a turtle fossil, with a long tail in a circle, more than 2 meters long, but a body trunk of only 82 centimeters. The experts were overjoyed and brought the discovery back to the institute for study. The results showed that the turtle fossil was about 22.8 billion years old, and the dorsal and ventral carapaces have not yet been formed. To the surprise of the experts, the turtle had teeth on the back of the upper and lower jaws, but the front part formed a raised cuticle, similar to the beak of a bird fossil. Therefore, this turtle can be vividly described as being in the stage of "half teeth, half", which is a typical feature of the gradual evolution of organisms.
This is the first time that a similar turtle fossil has been found in the world, so experts named it the "Chinese Prime-beaked Turtle". Based on the characteristics of the Chinese protocarpus "half tooth, half", experts determined that the evolution of the turtle was gradual, and it also supported Darwin's theory of evolution. In fact, this phenomenon is not difficult to understand, just as a black cat wants to evolve into a white cat, it may appear black and white in the intermediate stage, so the turtle gradually evolves from a toothless state to a toothless horny beak state, successfully unraveling the mystery of turtle evolution.
The quest for the mysteries of biological evolution is a slow and difficult process, full of errors and confusion. However, behind every mistake lies an undiscovered truth. For experts, it is normal to make mistakes or be confused in the process from the unknown to the known, but with unwavering faith, the ultimate truth can be found.
References:
Common paleontological fossils in China, author: Tang Yonggang, Xing Lida, publisher: Chongqing University Press.
The Mystery of Evolution: Reflections Triggered by the Discovery of the Archaeopter Turtle in China.
This article about the discovery of the Chinese arche-beaked turtle takes us on a journey through the evolution of ancient life, revealing the mystery of this ancient group of creatures. With clear logic and vivid description, the article vividly shows the process of scientific exploration, and at the same time presents the uniqueness of this new species of China's protobeaked turtle.
First of all, from the perspective of fossils, this paper introduces the evolutionary process of turtles. Through the explanation of the two possibilities of turtle evolution, gradual change and mutation, it provokes readers to think about the law of life evolution. This approach makes scientific content more understandable and brings obscure scientific concepts to life and interesting.
Secondly, the article highlights the uniqueness of the newly discovered Chinese beaked turtle. Turtles have always been ancient creatures of great concern, but the discovery of the Chinese beaked turtle has brought us new knowledge. In particular, the alternation of the evolutionary stages of teeth and beaks shows the characteristics of gradual changes in the evolution of life, which provides strong evidence for the verification of Darwin's theory of evolution. Such discoveries have made us more deeply realize that the evolution of life is a complex and changeable process, full of unknown mysteries.
The archaeological discovery process in the article also presents the reader with the excitement and toil of scientific research. Experts have spared no effort in the investigation of Guanling in Guizhou, and after many years, they have extracted important clues about the evolution of life from rocks. This description makes readers cherish the unremitting efforts of scientists in the field of expanding human cognition, and at the same time stimulates our strong interest in scientific exploration.
At the end of the article, taking the new species of "Chinese primordial turtle" as an example, the gradual characteristics of biological evolution are once again emphasized, and the abstract scientific concept is more vivid and easy to understand through the metaphor of images. The conclusion of the article provides readers with a comprehensive understanding of this new discovery and leads us to think more deeply about the mysteries of the evolution of life.
Overall, this article provides an in-depth interpretation of the discovery of the Chinese archaeopterine turtle, showing the process of scientific exploration, the mysteries of biological evolution, and the cognitive impact of new species. After reading the article, one can't help but be full of curiosity about the evolution of ancient life, and excited by the endless possibilities of scientific research.
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