Scientists have identified a fossil site in Massachusetts that has preserved detailed tracks of the dense seafloor as far back as 300 million years ago when said areas were largely unknown. Published in Nature Communications, the results reveal a wealth of early land animals and plants that provide new details on our own evolution.
A Prehistoric Oasis
Named Lantern North, the fossil site is some 320-318 million years old and formed early in the Pennsylvanian. It is one of the few remaining windows into life during the Coal Age, which predates most well-known fossil sites in Earth’s record.
Over the years researchers have discovered a staggering wealth of fossils at the two sites, with over 130 different species represented by both body and trace fossils. For one, it held some of the earliest reptiles, amphibians, arachnids and insects, along with a remarkable array of plant fossils. Some date back to the earliest of their kind, providing a window into the beginnings and early transformation of the largest living representatives of those groups.
Understanding Prehistoric Behaviors
The Lantern North site is extraordinary not only for the variety of its fossils but because it offers a rare glimpse into behaviors and interactions of these ancient organisms. Alongside the body fossils, the researchers have found a veritable trove of trace fossils, which are things like footprints or burrows where animals left their mark.
This group of trace fossils is particularly intriguing because they give us a rare glimpse into the behaviors and ecological interactions of these early land-living animals. They documented some of the oldest insect behaviors, such as laying eggs (oviposition) and plant galling, predating these activities in the fossil record by millions of years. Such an exceptional level of preservation has enabled the researchers to infer how these 125-million-year-old plants interacted with insects, their relationships with other plants, and how they functioned as part of this ancient ecosystem in ways not possible by relying on body fossils alone.
Conclusion
The analysis of Lantern North’s fossil site in Massachusetts has uncovered a remarkable “treasure trove” of information on the early days of terrestrial life on Earth. The extraordinary detail of preservation for this extraordinarily rich diversity of taxonomic and ecological levels, allows a unique view on the evolution and ecology in these ancient ecosystems. The researchers here will continue to plunder this remarkable fossil site for more insights that will change our understanding further and shape our view of how the fundamental styles of life we now see in profusion across our landscapes evolved.
