On October 24, the reporter learned from the Hubei Academy of Geological Sciences that through systematic excavation and research, researchers found a large number of Hubei crocodiles and primitive ichthyosaurs and finosaur fossil materials in The Yinggou of Luoxing Village, Hekou Township, Yuan'an County, with a good fossil structure, and the oldest is 247 million years old.
The Triassic period was a geological epoch dating from 250 million to 200 million BC, located between the Permian and Jurassic periods. Hubei crocodile and ichthyosaur were marine reptiles of the early Triassic period. Among them, Hubei crocodile fossils have only been found in Yuan'an and the Nanzhang inspection area near Yuan'an, which is a unique special taxon in the world.
A total of more than 30 aquatic animal fossils were found in the fossil pit of Luoxing Village, of which the largest length of hubei crocodiles reached nearly 3 meters, and the large number of fossils of these large marine reptiles in the early Triassic is an important scientific evidence to prove the recovery of marine ecology. At present, the Provincial Academy of Geological Sciences Yuan'an Marine Reptile Fossil Excavation Project Team has transferred the excavated ichthyosaur fossils and Hubei crocodile fossils to the fossil research site, and the next step will be to repair the fossils and splice the broken fossil bones to make them have scientific research value.
Source: Three Gorges Daily reporter Liao Quan
(Editor-in-Charge Chai Zhiqi)
![Dinosaurs also "catch a cold"? The latest international study has found fossil evidence of respiratory infections in dinosaurs[fig]](data:image/gif;base64,R0lGODlhAQABAIAAAP///wAAACwAAAAAAQABAAACAkQBADs=)