By the 1990s it was clear that the so-called Yixian Formation contained uniquely well-preserved remains of dinosaurs, birds, mammals, insects, frogs, turtles and other creatures. Unlike the skeletal and often fragmentary fossils unearthed at most other sites, many animals came complete with internal organs, feathers, scales, fur, and stomach contents. It suggested that there was a sudden, unusual conservation process at work.
The leading hypothesis for the perfect fossils so far is sudden burial by volcanism, perhaps like the waves of hot ash from Vesuvius that occurred in 79 AD. buried many citizens of Pompeii. . Although the idea of Pompeii is very attractive, a study says it is completely wrong. Instead, the study says the creatures were preserved by more mundane events, including cave collapses and rainy periods that built up sediments that buried the dead in oxygen-free pockets. The current study used new, advanced technology to date the fossils to a compact period of less than 93,000 years, during which nothing unusual happened.
Published – Nov 9, 2024 11:00 PM IST
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