Palaeontologists in southern Argentina have uncovered an enormous meshwork of fossils date back to theJurassicperiod , enabling them to reconstruct an integral ecosystem that has remained “ frozen ” in clock time for around 140 to 160 million age . The uncovering occurred in the locality of La Bajada , in a realm of southeast Patagonia called the Deseado Massif , where recent territory eating away across an area traverse some 60,000 square kilometers ( 23,000 square naut mi ) has exposed the fossil .
All specimen have been exceptionally well preserve viasilicification , which mention to the process of becoming saturate in a chemical chemical compound ring silica , usually derive from volcanic material . Since the period and location from which the fossils initiate is associated with intense volcanic activity , the researcher suggest that “ silicification belike fall out while organisms were alive or shortly after their death . ”
Since then , they have remained encased inchert , a aqueous rock-and-roll material pen of atomic number 14 dioxide that preserve subdued - corporal organisms . Like amber , this has enable scientist to obtain treasured glimpses into the evolution of terrestrial surround . However , report their findings in the journalAmeghiniana , the study authors explain that the sheer variety of fossils at La Bajada ensures that this discovery yield significantly more elaborate data about Jurassic ecosystem than any other chert deposit ever discovered .
collect more than 1,000 samples from La Bajada in 2014 , researcher note that the unbelievable teemingness of fossilized plant and microorganism allows them to reconstruct key feature of speech of the Jurassic landscape , while also identifying relationships within the local food range .
For instance , the dispersion of algae normally associated with either deep or shallow water paints a picture of the aquatic subenvironments present during the Jurassic period . Additionally , the position of certain fungus and other micro-organism in relation back to emcee plants supply information regarding how these organisms fed on organic thing , with cleared evidence of parasitic engagement .
The enormous copiousness of well - preserved plant life cloth supply a detailed perceptiveness into which species existed at the time , and how they acquire over a period of time of around 20 million age . This , in turn , enable researchers to identify the evolutionary roots of many modern plant and ecosystems . For example , among the species found in La Bajada are several types of fern belong to theOsmundaceaefamily . Previously , scientists have struggled to determine whetherfossilized fragmentsof these fern find elsewhere represent dissimilar developmental stages of the sametaxon , or were in fact distinct from one another in evolutionary terms .
By studying the specimens uncovered at La Bajada , the researchers hope to fill at least some of these gap in our knowledge of how these metal money evolve .
