Scientists announced today that they have made one of the biggest discoveries about life on Earth. According to the study, signed by scientists from Curtin University and published in the journal Science, the oldest heart fossil in the world has been unearthed. The age of the fossil, which was determined to be extremely well preserved until today, was determined as 380 million years.
According to the shared information, the 380 million-year-old heart was the heart of an ancient fish. Along with this heart, the fossilized stomach, intestines and liver of the fish were also unearthed. Moreover, the discovered fossils also provided important information about the history of evolution.
Here is the oldest heart in the world:
Kate Trinajstic, the head of the research, stated in her statement that the discovered fossils point to a larger evolutionary leap between jawless and jawed vertebrates. Kate said the hearts of these fish are literally in their mouths and under their gills. This is also the case with sharks today.
However, it was stated that the liver of the fish was large and this allowed them to stay afloat, just like sharks today. The fish showed that today’s bony fish also evolved independently of these fish, not at the same time as fossil fish, but at a later time. Because scientists could not find any trace of lungs in any of the extinct fish they examined. The lungs of lungfish were thought to have evolved from fish swim bladders.
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