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Protoanguilla, the new Coelacanth?

Adam Khor · 2011-08-19 00:21:13

It is already being called the greatest ichthyological discovery since the coelacanth. Protoanguilla palau, which, as its name implies, is an eel that lives in Palau, seems to have existed for about 200 million years (since the Early Jurassic period), making it a "living fossil"- even though fossils of this genus are…

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19-08-2011 1:21am

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Adam Khor

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It is already being called the greatest ichthyological discovery since the coelacanth.
Protoanguilla palau, which, as its name implies, is an eel that lives in Palau, seems to have existed for about 200 million years (since the Early Jurassic period), making it a "living fossil"- even though fossils of this genus are unknown (its age was calculated with genetic studies).
Most of its physical characteristics are more primitive than those of other living eels; but it also has physical characteristics more primitive than those of the oldest extinct eels!
This all makes Protoanguilla a living treasure, which may reveal a lot about the evolution of eels, which due to a fragmentary fossil record is not very well understood.

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