Science News
Triassic fish from the Dolomites
PUBLICATION — Pindakiewicz, M.K., Hryniewicz, K., Janiszewska, K., Kaim, A. A microfossil evidence for the composition of fish communities in the Late Triassic of Tethys: examples from Cassian Formation, Italy. Lethaia 57(3): 1-15, published online 19 November 2024. https://doi.org/10.18261/let.57.3.7
Where the Dolomites stand today, about 235 million years ago there was a warm sea with many coral reefs. Now this reef limestone builds crags of the Dolomites. These rocks are known for enormous variety of mollusk fossils, but only few remains of fish and marine reptiles have been found up to now. We discovered an assemblage of otoliths, teeth, and other microfossils; they testify to a formerly existing rich assemblage of ray-finned fishes, including basal flying fishes, relatives of gars and the oldest teleosts.