The Megascorpion Remains
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have stumbled upon something intriguing in the midst of the fossil shown. Using an extremely powerful microscope, remnants of protein and chtin (a type of fungi that grows on the exoskeletons of insects) were detected and thoroughly examined. This particular fossil is of a four hundred and seventeen million-year-old megascorpion, which was thought to be around six feet long. George Cody of the Carnegie Institute in Washington and his crew found the remnants while studying the fossil in February 2011. Before this intriguing discovery, the oldest remnants of chitin found in a fossil dated back to twenty five million years ago. Upon being asked about his discovery, Cody responded, "It turns out that vestiges of chitin and structural protein are abundant in much older fossils than we thought. Who knows what other surprises we’ll find when we search for organic material in even older fossils.”
Scientists at Berkeley Lab have stumbled upon something intriguing in the midst of the fossil shown. Using an extremely powerful microscope, remnants of protein and chtin (a type of fungi that grows on the exoskeletons of insects) were detected and thoroughly examined. This particular fossil is of a four hundred and seventeen million-year-old megascorpion, which was thought to be around six feet long. George Cody of the Carnegie Institute in Washington and his crew found the remnants while studying the fossil in February 2011. Before this intriguing discovery, the oldest remnants of chitin found in a fossil dated back to twenty five million years ago. Upon being asked about his discovery, Cody responded, "It turns out that vestiges of chitin and structural protein are abundant in much older fossils than we thought. Who knows what other surprises we’ll find when we search for organic material in even older fossils.”
