What are the Most Important Historical Fossil Finds?

Fossils are paleontological remains, relics, or relics that remain in rocks. The most common are bones and shells.

fossil

(Remains, relics, and relics of paleontology in geohistory)

The word fossil comes from the Latin fossillis, meaning digging. Fossil is

Although whether an organism can form fossils depends on many factors, five factors are basic:

People already know that by

Fossils in the strata can be roughly divided into four categories based on their preservation characteristics:

The "age" of the earth is about 4.6 billion years. The Cambrian period is 540 million to 510 million years ago. More familiar than us

For many people, the term "fossil" is not new, because fossils are often displayed in natural museums. But if you ask how fossils are formed? What is its scientific significance? I am afraid that few people will make it clear. To put it simply, fossils are the remains or relics of ancient creatures that were buried in the stratum after the death of ancient creatures. After long-term petrification, they turned into something like "stones". For example, if an ancient fish died, the corpse would not have been eaten by other animals, nor would it have been washed away by the turbulent current.

Fossils, a concept that was learned in school, appeared among rocks and formed thousands of years ago. But there is still a certain amount

Fossilization refers to the diagenesis of sediments into rocks, and the biological remains buried in the sediments undergo physical and chemical transformation, but still retain the biological appearance and part of the biological structure.

There are three ways of fossilization: mineral filling, alternating and uplifting.

Living fossil refers to some existing species that are very close to the fossil species, or some creatures that are only known from the fossils have been found to exist (the most famous example is the American tapir Limulus polyphemus ).

Tongue-shaped shellfish, cormorant (also known as "horse hoof crab"), metasequoia, ginkgo, etc. are living fossils.

Dinosaur Egg Fossil

Dinosaur egg fossils are very precious paleontological fossils. They were first discovered in the Cretaceous strata of Provence in southern France in 1869. Due to the small number of dinosaur egg fossils found worldwide. The calcareous shells of eggs are generally seen. It is rare to find eggs that hold some kind of dinosaur embryo fossils. It is difficult to determine which type of dinosaur the egg fossils were found to be. Therefore, in a long period of time, the research work on dinosaur egg fossils has not made important progress.

A dinosaur egg fossil with a history of 65 million years was unearthed in China in 1984. After the "dinosaur egg nest" fossil was unearthed, it was lost to China after several rounds. This "dinosaur egg nest" fossil contains 22 egg-stolen dragon dinosaur eggs, among which 19 embryonic dinosaur embryos can be seen. In 2003, an American collector bought it for $ 420,000 at a public auction in the United States, and then returned to China for free through various negotiations. This is also the first time that the Chinese government has pursued the loss of paleontological fossils from abroad through diplomatic channels.

Dinosaur egg fossils (8 photos)

Fossil eggs of dinosaurs found all over the world

According to a report in June 1993, a total of about 500 dinosaur egg fossils have been found worldwide. Among them, there are only about 100 dinosaur egg fossils containing embryos. With the continuous discovery of dinosaur egg fossils, the total number of dinosaur egg fossils found worldwide has been increasing. According to a report in July 1993, a large number of new discoveries of dinosaur egg fossils in the western and southwestern Henan Province of China, especially in the Xixia region, refreshed the old statistics of dinosaur egg fossils in the world. Relevant experts believe that there have been more than 400 dinosaur egg fossils discovered in China in the past, accounting for about 80% of the total dinosaur egg fossils found in the world. More than 2,000 dinosaur egg fossils were collected by a collector in Henan Province alone. According to preliminary statistics, about 4,000 dinosaur egg fossils have been discovered in China. Its total ranks first in the world.

Fossil dinosaur eggs buried throughout the formation

Some Chinese experts have analyzed and speculated that China's dinosaur egg fossil resources are extremely rich, and its burial volume is about 10,000 or more. Another Chinese expert estimates that there are no less than tens of thousands of dinosaur egg fossils buried in the area of Xixia County, Henan Province, China, which is rare in the world.

Spatiotemporal distribution of dinosaur egg fossils on earth

According to reports, in addition to Antarctica (there are reports of dinosaur bones found in Antarctica), dinosaur egg fossils have been found in other continents of the world. Saint-Victoire, southeastern France, is one of the world's famous dinosaur egg fossils. By 1990, hundreds of dinosaur egg fossils had been found in the area, some of which were complete dinosaur egg fossils. Early Cretaceous in Mesozoic, about 130 million years ago. The Xixia region in Henan Province, China is the earliest dinosaur egg fossil origin that has been discovered in China, and its geological age is also about the Early Cretaceous, about 100 million years ago. In addition, 33 dinosaur egg fossil origins have been found in the western and southwestern Henan Province of China. Experts believe that it is rare in the world for its large quantity, concentrated origin, early geological age, and primitive structure. By 1990, the fossils of dinosaur eggs that had been discovered in China were limited to the Late Cretaceous red clay rocks. The geological age of a dinosaur egg fossil found in Guangdong Province, China is about the end of the Late Cretaceous, about 65 million years ago. It can be seen that, in terms of time distribution, the geological age of dinosaur egg fossils has been found in the world, which is approximately equivalent to the Early Cretaceous to the end of the Late Cretaceous, about 130-65 million years ago. However, the history of the rise and fall of dinosaurs in the world is that they appeared in the Triassic during the Mesozoic, flourished in the Jurassic and Cretaceous, and became extinct to the end of the Cretaceous. This indicates that the world has found dinosaur egg fossils in temporal distribution, which are close to the late dinosaur peak period and extinction period. In addition, dinosaur egg fossils are sometimes characterized by a large distribution area, concentrated banding, and stratified distribution. For example, the distribution area of dinosaur egg fossils in the Xixia region of Henan Province, China, reaches 40 square kilometers; the burials are concentrated, and they are distributed in a band-shaped type II, about 2 kilometers wide and about 10 kilometers long. From the local excavation profile, it can be observed To the three fossil layers, the fossils are embedded in the maroon soft stone layer

Feature classification

In terms of how well the original structure of dinosaur eggs was preserved in the formation, they are generally divided into two categories: one is a dinosaur eggshell fossil; the other is a complete dinosaur egg fossil. A considerable portion of complete dinosaur egg fossils contain embryos. Dinosaur egg fossils can be produced in nests and arranged in order. For example, in the Xixia region of Henan Province, China, there are generally several to 30 or more dinosaur egg fossils per litter, and up to 79 fossil dinosaur egg fossils have been found. On a 50 cm square stone plate, a dinosaur bone fossil and three dinosaur egg fossils are embedded, which is a rare treasure in the world. Dinosaur egg fossils can be black, yellow, blue, gray, brown, red and other colors. Its oblate shape is bile, commonly known as "stone gall", and looks like an inverted turtle cover. Its surface is covered with a layer of smooth nails with thick nails and slight lines. You can smell a faint fishy smell by knocking a piece of leather before reaching the nose. The largest diameter of dinosaur egg fossils in the Xixia region of Henan Province, China is 18 cm and the smallest diameter is 3 cm.

It can be seen that little dinosaurs, like birds, will instinctively stay in the nest, no matter what happens to their parents. Some dinosaur's nests are close to each other, so experts speculate that dinosaurs may have social habits. Surprisingly, dinosaur eggs are not as large as imagined. If the size of the dinosaur's eggs is proportional to the size of the dinosaur, the egg shell will be thick enough for the little dinosaur to hatch; and it will not be possible to get enough oxygen into the egg to feed the little dinosaur.

The eggs of small theropod dinosaurs such as egg-stealing dragons, chilongs, and wound-toothed dragons are generally long; the big-legged eggs that walk on four legs, such as Mamenxisaurus, Lianglong, and Leilong, are round; duck-billed Oval eggs with bird-footed dinosaurs like dragons; as for the Mesozoic overlord-Tyrannosaurus rex, it has not been determined yet

Important value

Dinosaur egg fossils are rare treasures that have evolved over thousands of years and hundreds of millions of years. They are important scientific specimens in the history of biological and human evolution, and they are precious scientific and cultural heritage in the world. Dinosaur egg fossils are used to explore the reproduction behavior of dinosaurs, the origin and evolution of dinosaur eggshells, and restore the ecological environment of the dinosaur era; to study the emergence, prosperity, and extinction of dinosaurs; to divide and contrast the Cretaceous strata and determine the geological age of the strata; It is a rare and precious material for studying paleoclimate, paleography and paleontological changes and providing prospecting inspiration. Moreover, the dinosaur egg fossil group and its concentrated place of origin are still a very valuable tourism geological resource, which provides a god-given opportunity for the development of tourism. Therefore, dinosaur egg fossils have very important scientific value, ornamental value, collection value and tourism value. We must cherish and protect the fossils of dinosaur eggs and the geological environment in which they occur. The conservation of dinosaur egg fossils is precious in nature and in its original state. If it is excavated from the existing geological environment, it will greatly lose its scientific value and other values. To this end, we must strictly enforce the law, manage according to law, strengthen the awareness of the protection of scientific and cultural heritage and cultural relics, and give play to the role of the media and public opinion in monitoring.

The dinosaur egg fossil site in China is located in Huangtuling, Guangyang Township, 40 kilometers west of Huangshan District, and the site is close to the Taiping Lake in the south. The site was discovered in early 1995 during the construction of the Huangtuling section of the Tonghuang Highway (Tongling to Huangshan). The area of unearthed egg fossils is nearly 100 square meters. The unearthed dinosaur egg fossils were excavated by provincial archeologists and identified by national paleontological research experts. They belong to the duck-billed dragon fossil eggs of dinosaurs 75 million years ago. The egg fossils coming out of the land are oblate and olive-shaped. The oblate diameter is 10-12 cm, the olive shape is 18 cm long, and the diameter is 6-7 cm. According to highway construction personnel, a total of 5-6 nests were unearthed, with dozens of them, most of which were destroyed, and only more than 20 were collected at the provincial and district level 2. The dinosaur egg fossil site was first unearthed in our province, so it was included in one of the major archeological discoveries of Anhui Province in 1995.

On April 19, 2015, at the Datong South Road road reconstruction construction site in Heyuan City, Guangdong, construction workers dug a large nest of dinosaur egg fossils in a deep trench less than 2 meters when laying an underground pipe network. This nest of dinosaur egg fossils is located in the red sandstone layer. Due to the construction, it was divided into 14 pieces, a total of 43 pieces, of which 19 were complete, all of which are "big men" with a diameter of about 13 cm. It is reported that this is the first time that Guangdong Heyuan has found so many dinosaur egg fossils in the downtown area.

According to Du Yanli, the curator of the Heyuan City Museum, the dinosaur egg fossils were unearthed in the red sandstone layer because the discovery was located in the red sandstone area, which also means that other dinosaur egg fossils may be found in the area where the discovery is located.

On August 5, 2015, during a surprise inspection, Guangdong Heyuan Police seized 213 stolen dinosaur egg fossils from a local resident's home, and simultaneously seized a complete dinosaur skeleton fossil. After preliminary identification, this complete The dinosaur skeleton fossils are parrot-billed dragon skeleton fossils unearthed from western Liaoning and Liaoning. The dinosaur egg fossils are mostly late Cretaceous round dinosaur egg fossils from Heyuan.