Ogden Standard-Examiner | 1922-08-17 | Page 2 | Ancient Fish Gives Surprise

ANCIENT FISH GIVES SURPRISE Fossil 400 Million Years Old Has Interior Well Preserved CHICAGO. Aug. 17. (By the Associated As-sociated Press) A fish macropotal-lohthys macropotal-lohthys by name which died some 400,000,000 years ago of some unknown un-known cause and sank to the bottom of the ocean near where Leroy, New Vork. now stands, today astonished the scientists nt tho Field museum. Some 399.99y.900 years after Its death, In what Is popularly called the I nineteenth century, the fossilized remains re-mains of the macropotnllchthys was dug up by an enterprising geologist. OPENED W ITH OHI&EL "A splendid specimen f Devonian fish." admiring sclentlst.s exclaimed when the fossil w.is exhibited at the Chicago world's fair In 1893. Lost Wei h the fossil W&8 found In the show ase In which It ha'l heen resting in stony somnorlfic content since the fair by Dr. Erik Stensio, docent In paleontology paleon-tology at the University of Upsala, near Stockholm, Sweden, who obtained obtain-ed permission to open the fossil with a chisel with a result that has startled the museum authorities as well ae himself. ii letunu inui me- ultimo, inu nerve canals und arterial canals as well as the Intricate structure- of th ear remained Intni t preserved in stone and giving a previously un-thought un-thought opportunity tor studying tho internal structure of a fish of the Devonian De-vonian age. "Recent fosusllf." said Dr. W II Nichols, of the museum, ' often have their Interior well preserved, that Is If they are not more than 60.000.000 or 100,000,0,00 years old But never before. 1 believe, has a specimen this old been found so well preserved Internally." In-ternally." mi st REVAMP iii:s "Even though I have mado only preliminary study." Dr. Stenelo declared de-clared today, "I have mado discoveries which will probably make great changes in morphological lews This fish, for instance, was thought to be related to the lung fish is really a close relative of the modern shark "It aso astonishes me to learn that this specimen was Well equipped with bony structure in the head. Previously Previous-ly It was thought that the fishes of the Devonian age possessed only cartilage. car-tilage. That too. changes our Ideas about the evolution of the bony structure. struc-ture. The discovery of this specimen will probably give us a great deal of knowledge about other forms of life In the- Devonian age." oo