Tibetan Himalayan ichthyosaur, A. Fossil specimens: upper and lower jaw parts and vertebral bodies; B. Restoration (cited in Dong Zhiming, 1972). Photo courtesy of Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Beijing, May 17 (Zhongxin Net) -- On the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau, which is known as the roof of the world, is there really a mysterious ancient sea dragon - the ichthyosaur that once stood "three-legged" with pterosaurs and dinosaurs in the Mesozoic Era, respectively dominating the sky, earth and sea?
More than half a century ago, Chinese paleontologists found ichthyosaur fossil materials in Qinghai-Tibet scientific expeditions, but because the fossil materials were only scattered bones and were not properly kept due to the limitations of the times and conditions, the international paleontological community has always doubted whether the "Himalayan ichthyosaur" really exists.
The Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition team of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences found the fossil vertebral body and ribs of the ichthyosaur in the Triassic rock formation in the Dingri area of Tibet. Photo courtesy of Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology and Paleoanthropology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences (Institute of Vertebrate Paleontology of the Chinese Academy of Sciences) announced on May 17 that on the basis of the field work carried out by the older generation of scientists, the Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition team of the Institute rediscovered and confirmed Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils in the Triassic (about 250 million to 200 million years ago) strata of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau in late January and April 2023, based on the field work carried out by the older generation of scientists. This is of great significance and far-reaching impact on improving and enriching the history of life evolution based on Chinese fossil materials, and on understanding the life homeland of the ancient Tethys Ocean more than 200 million years ago and the environmental changes of the Qinghai-Tibet Plateau.
How to discover?
Members of the Qinghai-Tibet expedition of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences took a group photo with the found Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils. Photo courtesy of Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
The Institute of Paleovertebrate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that on January 30 this year, the institute gathered more than 20 researchers from different research directions to open a paleontological expedition in the Tethys Himalayan region and a scientific expedition to find Mesozoic marine vertebrates in the Everest area. Judging from the bone structure, it is the fossil of the Himalayan ichthyosaur that "breaks through the iron shoe and has no place to find".
This important moment of the discovery of important fossils has passed nearly 60 years since Academician Liu Dongsheng (1964) and Academician Qiu Zhanxiang (1966) discovered Triassic Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils.
In the further investigation carried out by the Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition team of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences in April this year, in addition to Dingri County, Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils were found in many contemporaneous strata such as Nyalam County and a Daoban on National Highway 318, which can be called "effortless". Among these ichthyosaur fossils are both larger adult ichthyosaur fossil skeletons and small, slender ribs, which may be fossilized skeletons of Himalayan ichthyosaur larvae or small individual new ichthyosaur groups.
What's the point?
The Qinghai-Tibet Plateau is a hotspot for earth science and life science research, how did it rise from the ocean to become the "roof of the world" today? How has it affected the ecology of the plateau and surrounding areas? How did organisms evolve in response to such major geological and environmental events? ......
These scientific questions have attracted generations of paleontological researchers to the plateau in search of answers. The Everest region has developed marine sedimentary strata of the Tethys Ocean that are basically continuous from the Paleozoic era to the early Cenozoic era, which provides a valuable window for understanding the marine ecology and marine biodiversity evolution of the ancient Tethys Ocean.
The Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition team of the Institute of Paleovertebrate of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that the rediscovery of Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils "has opened the door to discovery, but it is only the beginning of research, and the subsequent research on these fossil materials will definitely get more discoveries and results." As the former maritime overlord of the Triassic, the rediscovery of Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils has added a significant touch to the understanding of the movement of the earth's crust plates and the history of life evolution.
At the same time, a large number of ammonite, bivalve and other fossils accompanied by ichthyosaur fossils also provide scientists with more information about the Triassic paleomarine ecosystem. In addition, while looking for fossils, the expedition team systematically collected rock samples on the profile in order to carry out sedimentological and geochemical analysis and promote more information about the paleomarine environment.
Members of the Qinghai-Tibet expedition of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences conducted a carpet search of Triassic strata in the Nyalam area to find fossils. Photo courtesy of Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
What kind of dragon?
What kind of dragon is an ichthyosaur? The Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition team of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences said that ichthyosaurs are a class of extinct aquatic reptiles living in the Mesozoic ocean, and they appeared millions of years earlier than dinosaurs (dinosaurs lived in the late Triassic-end Cretaceous, and ichthyosaurs were early Triassic-early Late Cretaceous), and in the ocean more than 200 million years ago, a giant body more than ten meters long evolved. Therefore, ichthyosaurs are the earliest huge vertebrates in the history of life evolution, and they are also veritable Mesozoic marine overlords.
Members of the Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences investigated the Triassic strata in the Nyalam area of Tibet. Photo courtesy of Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
However, these Triassic marine "giants", there are not many fossil records left in the world, especially in the middle and late Triassic, so far only a few areas in the world have fossils found, namely the western edge of the North American continent, the European Alps and China's Himalayas, paleontologists' understanding of ichthyosaurs is still very limited. The Himalayan ichthyosaur of Tibet, China, is particularly mysterious because of its scarcity of fossil materials and its location on the roof of the world.
The Himalayan ichthyosaur was discovered in the Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition in China in the 60s and 70s of the 20th century, especially the mountaineering expedition of Mount Everest and Shishabangma, and became the four major discoveries of the Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition that year - Himalayan ichthyosaur, Chinese spinytooth shark, three-toed horse and alpine oak. These discoveries are not only landmark scientific achievements of historical significance, but also the spiritual symbol of the Qinghai-Tibet scientific expedition under special circumstances, and also lay the foundation for subsequent Qinghai-Tibet scientific expeditions.
Deng Tao (left) and Shang Qinghua (right), members of the Qinghai-Tibet Expedition of the Institute of Paleovertebrae of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, observe the ichthyosaur fossils in the rock formation in the Dingri area. Photo courtesy of Institute of Paleospine, Chinese Academy of Sciences
Although the materials of the Himalayan ichthyosaur fossils discovered by Chinese scientists more than half a century ago are limited, its teeth longer than the length of the palm and the vertebral body close to or even more than the size of the frisbee show that the Himalayan ichthyosaur is huge. The fossilized tooth had a crown that was 6 centimeters tall and 4 centimeters wide, with bladed sides that undoubtedly indicated that the Himalayan ichthyosaurs were a ferocious marine predator. The 15-meter-long Himalayan ichthyosaur is also considered to be one of the top "giant killers" that have existed in history because of its sharp and huge teeth. (End)