Fossils of strange Ordovician creatures have appeared intact, with each cell replaced by gold, but it’s “fool’s gold.”
Unearthed in New York, USA, these tiny fossils resembling shimmering gold jewelry have helped paleontologists identify a new species named Lomankus edgecombei.
“In addition to their beautiful and striking gold color, these fossils are also remarkably preserved,” said paleontologist Luke Parry from the University of Oxford (UK), a member of the international research team.
Close-up of the 450-million-year-old fossil recently excavated in New York – (Photo: CURRENT BIOLOGY).
According to Science Alert, this new species is a marine animal belonging to the Megacheiran family, an extinct class of arthropods characterized by large “arms” at the front of their bodies for capturing prey.
The fossils unearthed are 450 million years old, dating back to the Ordovician period, when the northern tropical region was almost entirely oceanic, and most of the land on Earth was gathered into the southern supercontinent Gondwana.
These Ordovician creatures were incredibly diverse and strange, inheriting characteristics from the Cambrian explosion—an earlier period of significant biological development.
Appearance of Lomankus edgecombei when alive – (Graphic: Xiaodong Wang).
The fact that they are not exactly “fossils” but rather transformed into “fool’s gold” makes this discovery even more intriguing.
“Fool’s gold” is the name scientists have given to pyrite (FeS2).
Sulfate-reducing bacteria produce hydrogen sulfide when decomposing organic material in an oxygen-depleted environment. This substance can then react with iron to form pyrite.
“The sediments containing the fossils have low organic material content but high iron content, so the remains of the animals were preserved like small islands, where conditions were suitable for pyrite formation,” the authors explained.
This mineral has a beautiful color resembling gold, with a slight metallic sheen, making it very easy to confuse. Hence, the name “fool’s gold.”
This new species exhibits many distinct evolutionary traits compared to other Cambrian relatives, featuring more formidable and versatile appendages.
Therefore, even though they have not turned into real gold, considering their age, fossilization condition, and position on the evolutionary ladder, they are worth more than pure gold.
The study of the new organism has just been published in the scientific journal Current Biology.
