After seven decades of searching, a long-lost fossil "treasure trove" has been found.

Researchers that came before us were not successful in recording their precise location.

 

After failing to find their way back to the distant spot where they first found a fossil site in Brazil more than seven decades ago, researchers have now been able to rediscover the site and bring it back to the attention of the scientific community. The one-of-a-kind geological conditions at the long-lost location preserve paleontological treasures that have the potential to provide insight into one of the most significant mass extinctions in the history of the Earth.

 

The rediscovered location, which has been given the name Cerro Chato, may be found in the southern Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul, close to where Brazil shares a border with Uruguay. Around 260 million years ago, towards the end of the Permian epoch (299 million to 251 million years ago), the conditions at the location were optimal for capturing and storing deceased species. This occurred between the years 299 million and 251 million. As a consequence of this, numerous rock layers at Cerro Chato are packed to the gills with fragile fossils. This is especially true with plant fossils, which do not generally fossilize as effectively as animal fossils do since they do not have any hard parts.

 

The remnants of Permian organisms that were found at Cerro Chato were remarkably well preserved when they were initially discovered in 1951 by paleontologists. The researchers were unable to accurately record the precise geographical coordinates of the site because they did not have any recognizable landmarks or modern technologies such as GPS. As a result, when they attempted to return to the Permian treasure trove, they were unsuccessful and were unable to locate it. Following several failed attempts to go back over their previous movements, the group eventually gave up the hunt and acknowledged that they had lost the location of the place. Despite this, a new team of investigators took up the challenge in 2019 and was successful in locating the previously unknown location.

 

 

"For decades, the geographic location of this outcrop was unknown," which inspired the new research team to conduct a massive "treasure hunt" to find it again, said Joseline Manfroi, a paleobotanist at the University of Vale do Taquari in the Rio Grande do Sul, and co-author of a new study describing the rediscovered site. "For decades, the geographic location of this outcrop was unknown," which inspired the new research team to conduct a massive "treasure. "Thank goodness, after such a long time, we will have the opportunity to continue recording [the site's] history through the fossil record," Manfroi said in a statement. "[T]he fossil record will be our primary source of information."

 

More than one hundred fossils, the majority of which are plants but also include some fish and mollusks, have been discovered at Cerro Chato by the original team as well as the co-authors of the new study. These fossils date back to the Cretaceous period. According to the findings of the experts, some of the petrified plants represent the ancestors of contemporary conifers and ferns.

 

The new group of researchers, on the other hand, has a hunch that these fossils are merely the tip of the iceberg. Even though it was rediscovered almost three years ago, there is still a lot of ground to cover at Cerro Chato. When the first researchers discovered the site, they were only able to scratch the surface of Cerro Chato's fossil deposits before they lost track of its location. Even though it was rediscovered, there is still a lot of ground to cover. According to the announcement, the primary author of the study, Joseane Salau Ferraz, is a Ph.D. candidate at the Federal University of Pampa in the Rio Grande do Sul. She stated that "the region to be studied is immense." According to my estimation, we haven't even examined 30 percent of all the space that's available.

 

The plant fossils found at Cerro Chato could be of assistance to researchers in their efforts to gain a better understanding of the drastic climate change that occurred toward the end of the Permian period. This climate change was the direct cause of an extinction event that wiped out approximately 90% of all life on Earth. "The fossils we are examining are of global relevance because they are direct testimonies of the environmental changes that took place throughout the Permian period," said Ferraz. "The Permian period was a time when a lot of different things happened to the environment." The results of these investigations will assist us in obtaining knowledge regarding the distribution of these plants across the planet.

 

The scientists presented their findings online for the first time on May 15 in the journal Paleodest, which the Brazilian Society of Paleontology publishes. The research may be downloaded for free in both English and Portuguese. According to Ferraz, "we decided to publish the piece in Portuguese specifically to make the text available to the populace in the area." It's great to see how enthusiastic they are about paleontology. They get into it.

Article source : https://www.livescience.com/lost-fossil-site-rediscovered

Image source  : https://pixabay.com/id/photos/welwitschia-mirabillis-namibia-fosil-49479/

Are fossils treasure trove?

What happened to dinosaur fossils?

What if I found treasure?

Can you keep treasure you find UK?