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 Researchers at the
University of the West of England in Bristol have made a
significant discovery – the oldest fossilised fish trails
ever recorded, offering a new perspective on one aspect of life
from the very dawn of existence.
400 million years ago, in a river that ran in the region that is
now on the border between England and Wales, strange fish swam in a
fresh water river running through a semi-desert landscape. These
fish, known as cephalaspids, were very different from the river
fish we know of today. Though there are fossils of this fish which
tell us what it looked like, scientists have been unable to
understand how it might have swum, given its very different
arrangement of fins.
All that has changed with the researchers’ discovery of
fossilised fish swimming trails – or Undichna as
they’re known. Fossilised fish trails have been found before,
but never from as early a period as this.
Significantly, the trails show that this fish rested on its
pectoral fins and used them to push up from the bottom as it took
off to swim. This is an important discovery, offering tantalising
indications of the behaviour of these early vertebrates - quite
possibly the start of rudimentary limbs that would one day walk on
land.
Expected footage:
- GVs Researchers working in Sandstone Quarry
- GVs fossils and fish model
- Researcher talks through and indicates relevant aspects of the
fossils seen
- Animation of fish swimming – overhead view
- Animation of fish swimming – side view
Interviews:
- Dr. Susan Marriott, Reader in Earth Sciences, University of the
West of England, Bristol
- Lance Morrissey, Phd Research Student, School of Geography and
Environmental Management, University of the West of
England
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